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Giant wētā are several species of wētā in the genus Deinacrida of the family Anostostomatidae. Giant wētā are endemic to New Zealand and all but one species are protected by law because they are considered at risk of extinction.
Deinacrida heteracantha, also known as the Little Barrier giant wētā or wētāpunga (Māori: wētāpunga), [2] is a wētā in the order Orthoptera and family Anostostomatidae. It is endemic to New Zealand , where it survived only on Hauturu ( Little Barrier Island ). [ 3 ]
The Cook Strait giant wētā is found only in New Zealand, on the islands of the North, South and Middle Trio, Stephens, Maud, Matiu/Somes and Mana. [4] [5] In 2007, this species was reintroduced to mainland New Zealand, where it had been extinct for over 100 years, and is now found in Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary in the North Island. [6]
Wētā is a loanword, from the Māori-language word wētā, which refers to this whole group of large insects; some types of wētā have a specific Māori name. [2] In New Zealand English, it is spelled either "weta" or "wētā", although the form with macrons is increasingly common in formal writing, as the Māori word weta (without macrons) instead means "filth or excrement". [3]
In an experiment, D. connectens' ability to disperse seeds of Gaultheria depressa by feeding was found to be dependent on the size of the wētā. [12] At smaller sizes, fewer seeds were eaten and the wētā could be considered seed predators, (almost no seeds made it intact through the guts of individuals measuring 2 cm or less). [12]
An adult Poor Knights giant wētā (Deinacrida fallai) from Aorangi Island, Poor Knights Island group, Northland, New Zealand. Deinacrida fallai was only described as a new species in 1950. [2] It is the second largest wētā species in the world, [2] with females weighing up to 40g and measuring up to 73mm (2.87 inches) in length. [5]
As one of the smallest known species of giant wētā, Deinacrida tibiospina grows to only around 30-40mm long, and weigh just 7 grams. [1] [2] [4] Like many other giant wētā, such as Deinacrida rugosa, the overlapping armoured plates on their back are wrinkled. [5] Adults of the species can be varying shades of brown, sometimes with a reddish ...
Sculpture of a Mahoenui giant wētā (Deinacrida mahoenui) on the main street of Te Kūiti, New Zealand. Female Mahoenui giant wētā lay 200–400 eggs in autumn, burying them about 25 mm deep into the soil with their ovipositor. The eggs are about 7 mm long, and take 10 months to hatch, with the 8 mm nymphs emerging in March or April.