Sandgroper (insect)

Sandgroper
Cylindraustralia kochii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Caelifera
Superfamily: Tridactyloidea
Family: Cylindrachetidae
(Giglio-Tos, 1914)
Genera

Cylindracheta
Cylindraustralia
Cylindroryctes

Sandgropers are wholly subterranean apterous insects of the family Cylindrachetidae that may grow up to 7 cm (3 in) long. Three genera of these orthopterans are currently recognised: Cylindracheta, Cylindraustralia and Cylindroryctes. Like many subterranean animals, little is known about their habits and diet, but Western Australian farmers have blamed them for substantial crop losses.[1]

Sandgropers were once thought to be degenerate mole crickets, but they are now known to be more closely related to pygmy mole crickets, in the Caelifera, which includes grasshoppers.

Although widely believed to be herbivorous, some have been found with animal remains in their gut.

  1. ^ "Unearthing the Secrets of Sandgropers" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-06-03.