Beetle cricket

Rhabdotogryllus caraboides

FAMILY

Gryllidae

TAXONOMY

Rhabdotogryllus caraboides Chopard, 1954, Mt. Nimba area; Keoulenta, Guinea, Africa.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Both sexes with shortened, thick tegmina covering half of abdomen, venation consists of many straight, parallel veins. Males do not have sound-producing modifications on wings and are presumably silent. Black, shiny, resembles small beetle.

DISTRIBUTION

Guinea (West Africa).

HABITAT

Litter of the lowland and midelevation tropical rainforest, sometimes observed on termite mounds.

BEHAVIOR

Almost nothing is known; may be associated with termites but nature of association is unknown.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Nothing is known.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Nothing is known.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN, but likely threatened by habitat loss.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.