The conservation status of New Zealand Orthoptera

Abstract

Six New Zealand Orthoptera are considered Threatened: Sigaus homerensis is Nationally Critical; Brachaspis robustus and Sigaus “yellow” are Nationally Endangered; while Sigaus “green”, Sigaus “blue” and Hemideina thoracica with a chromosome arrangement of 2n=23/24 are Nationally Vulnerable. Forty taxa are At Risk comprising one Declining (Sigaus minutus), two Recovering (Deinacrida mahoenui, Motuweta isolata), six anostostomatids that are Relict and 31 Naturally Uncommon taxa. The remaining taxa known to occur in New Zealand comprise eight taxa that are Introduced and Naturalised, 19 that are Data Deficient and 94 taxa, including 80 species, that are Not Threatened. Factors influencing the vulnerability of threatened Orthoptera in New Zealand are noted.

Keywords:

• Brachaspis
• Hemideina
• Sigaus
• threat status
• threatened species