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Family: Anostostomatidae (weta, Parktown prawn)
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta >
Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa
> Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Phylum:
Arthopoda > Mandibulata >
Atelocerata > Panhexapoda >
Hexapoda
> Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota >
Metapterygota > Neoptera > Polyneoptera > Anartioptera >
Orthopterida > Orthoptera
Henicus brevimucronatus, known only from
Newlands Forest in the Cape Peninsula. |
Henicus monstrosus, recorded from Cape Peninsula and
vicinity. |
The members of this family used to be placed
in either the families Stenopelmatidae (king crickets), Henicidae or Mimnermidae. The most
well-known species in South Africa is the 'Parktown
prawn' Libanasidus vittatus
which is commonly encountered in people's homes in Johannesburg. Members of the genus Henicus
are almost entirely limited to the Western and Eastern Cape and recent investigations by
Peter Johns (from New Zealand) have shown that there are many undescribed species and that
the species of this genus tend to be highly endemic with relatively small distributions.
Publications
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Field, L.H. (ed.) 2001. The Biology of
Wetas, King Crickets and their Allies. CABI Publishing, Wallingford.
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Johns, P.M. 1997. The Gondwanaland weta: family Anostostomatidae (formerly in
Stenopelmatidae). REF?
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