''Pharmacus montanus'', the Mount Cook flea, is a type of

cave wētā Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock sh ...

found above the

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It was first described by Francois Jules Pictet de la Rive and

Henri Saussure Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

in 1893. ''Pharmacus montanus'' is one of the most widespread species within the genus, found from Aoraki/

Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, , is listed as . It is situated in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ch ...

to Mount Owen in northern South Island (

Kahurangi National Park Kahurangi National Park is a national park in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the second largest of the thirteen national parks of New Zealand. It was gazetted in 1996 and covers , ranging from the Buller River near Murc ...

). The highest recorded specimens of this species are from a population between 2700 and 2800 m above sea level on Mount Annan above the

Tasman Glacier Tasman Glacier (officially Haupapa / Tasman Glacier) is the largest glacier in New Zealand, and one of several large glaciers which flow south and east towards the Mackenzie Basin from the Southern Alps in New Zealand's South Island. Geography ...

References

Kirby, W.F. (1906) Orthoptera Saltatoria. Part I. (Achetidae et Phasgonuridae.), A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera (Orthoptera Saltatoria, Locustidae vel Acridiidae), British Museum (Natural History), London 2:i-viii, 1-562 Karny In Wytsman d.(1937) Orthoptera Fam. Gryllacrididae, Subfamiliae Omnes, Genera Insectorum, V. Verteneuil & L. Desmet, Brussels 206:1-317 Pictet & Saussure (1893) De quelques orthoptères nouveaux, ''

Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft ''Alpine Entomology'' is an open access peer-reviewed academic journal of entomology, published by Pensoft Publishers on behalf of the Swiss Entomological Society. History The journal was established in 1862 as ''Mitteilungen der Schweizerisch ...

'' 8:293-318, pls. 1-2 Hutton (1896) The Stenopelmatidæ of New Zealand., Transactions of the New Zealand Institute (Trans. N. Zeal. Inst.) 29:208-242 Richards, A.M. (1972), Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand (J. Roy. Soc. New Zealand) 2(2) Johns In Burrows (1977), Cass: History and Science . . . Univ. Canturbury Christchurch, Cass: History and Science, Univ. Canturbury, Christchurch, New Zealand Hutton (1904), Index Faunae Novae Zealandiae, Index Faunae Novae Zealandiae Dumbleton (1935), N. Z. Alpine Jour. 6(22) Dumbleton (1952), New Zealand Entomologist (New Zealand Ent.) 1(2) Dumbleton In Connor (1966), Mount Cook National Park, Mount Cook National Park Miller, D. (1971), Common Insects New Zealand, New Zealand xix + 178 pp. ''OrthopteraSF: Orthoptera Species File''. Eades D.C., Otte D., Cigliano M.M., Braun H., 2010-04-28 {{Taxonbar, from=Q10626657 Rhaphidophoridae Cave wētā Endemic insects of New Zealand