''Macropathus'' is a genus of

cave wētā The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include cave wētā, cave crickets, camelback crickets, camel crickets, Hogan bugs, spider crickets (sometimes shorten ...

in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand.

Distribution and habitat

''Macropathus'' are only found in New Zealand, and can be found in both the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

and the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. There are yet to be any observations on the offshore islands. They live in caves, and in the open, under rocks.

Threats

''Macropathus'' face the same threats as most species of wētā, predation by introduced species, and habitat destruction by humans.

Species

This genus was revised a number of times before

Aola Richards Dr Aola Mary Richards (16 December 1927 – 2 November 2021) was a New Zealand entomologist specialising in the study of New Zealand and Australian cave crickets, or wētā (Rhaphidophoridae), and Australian ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae). She wa ...

examined the type material from the British Museum of Natural History (London) and clarified how if differs from the genus ''Pachyrhamma''. Genetic data suggests that ''Macropathus filifer'' is sister to New Zealand and Tasmanian and Falkland Island species. * ''

Macropathus filifer ''Macropathus'' is a genus of cave wētā in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to New Zealand. Distribution and habitat ''Macropathus'' are only found in New Zealand, and can be found in both the North Island and the South Island. T ...

'' Walker, 1869 * '' Macropathus huttoni'' Kirby, 1906

References

Ensifera genera Cave weta {{rhaphidophoridae-stub