''Pleioplectron'' is a genus 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 ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rhaphidophoridae The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include cave crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets (sometimes shortened to "criders" or "sprickets"), and sand trea ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

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 ...

. These wētā are fairly common at night among the leaf litter in native forest 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 ...

of New Zealand. The species look very similar to species of '' Miotopus'', another New Zealand endemic genus, recently resurrected. There are currently ten recognised species of ''Pleioplectron''. The genus was described by

Hutton Hutton may refer to: Places ;Antarctica * Hutton Cliffs, Ross Island * Hutton Mountains ;Australia * Hutton Sandstone Formation ;Canada * Hutton, Alberta, a locality * Hutton, British Columbia, a railway point * Hutton railway station, Brit ...

in 1896, with six species, three of which have since been moved (to ''Miotopus'', '' Novoplectron'', and '' Pachyrhamma''), and two synonymised. The genus ''Weta'', erected by

Chopard Le Petit-Fils de L.-U. Chopard & Cie S.A., commonly known as Chopard (), is a Swiss manufacturer and retailer of luxury watches, jewellery and accessories. Founded in 1860 by Louis-Ulysse Chopard in Sonvilier, Switzerland, Chopard has been owned ...

in 1923, is now considered a synonym of ''Pleioplectron''. Seven additional species of ''Pleioplectron'' were named in 2019. All but one ''Pleioplectron'' species live in the South Island. The North Island species, ''Pleioplectron hudsoni'', is widespread in forests, and females lay eggs into the soil or soft wood. In the South Island, ''P. simplex'' is sometimes found in woodpiles around houses and in cool basements between

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

and

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

. This species can be infected with parasites (a

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

) that cause the wētā host to drown itself. An alpine species of ''Pleioplectron'' was discovered in 1993 by wildlife photographer

Rod Morris Rod Morris is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative front row forward, he played club football in the New South ...

in the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges and described in 2019 as '' Pleioplectron rodmorrisi''.

Species

* '' Pleioplectron hudsoni'' Hutton, 1897 * '' Pleioplectron simplex'' Hutton, 1897 *'' Pleioplectron thomsoni'' (Chopard 1923) *'' Pleioplectron auratum'' Hegg et al. 2019 *'' Pleioplectron caudatum'' Hegg et al. 2019 *'' Pleioplectron crystallae'' Hegg et al. 2019 *'' Pleioplectron flavicorne'' Hegg et al. 2019 *'' Pleioplectron gubernator'' Hegg et al. 2019 *'' Pleioplectron rodmorrisi'' Hegg et al. 2019 *'' Pleioplectron triquetrum'' Hegg et al. 2019

References

External links

*''Pleioplectron rodmorrisi'
photo on Rod Morris's website
Ensifera genera Cave wētā Rhaphidophoridae {{rhaphidophoridae-stub