"A newly discovered member of the group—the Denniston white-faced cave weta—isn’t quite that big or monstrous. In fact, the scientists who found and tentatively named the species (it hasn’t been given an official taxonomic name yet) don’t know how big the species grows, because only juvenile insects were found. But they do know that its only habitat could soon disappear.
This newest weta was discovered on the Denniston Plateau on the sparsely populated west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The plateau receives an amazing six meters of annual rainfall, creating unique rock formations that are home to many rare and endangered species. The 190-hectare area is slated to be converted into an open-cast coal mine that could increase the country’s coal exports by 63 percent but which conservationists say would destroy the habitat and its unique denizens.
The Denniston white-faced cave weta was found during a four-day “Bioblitz” in March that identified more than 500 confirmed species on the plateau and another 219 unconfirmed species. Among the hundreds of species was the new weta, which bears a mostly black body, a distinctive white band behind its head and leg spines unlike other weta species. “It just stood out,” Massey University (M.U.) associate professor Steve Trewick said in a prepared statement. “We haven’t seen anything with that appearance and coloration.”"
Source: Newly Discovered Cave Weta Species Endangered by Coal Mining | Extinction Countdown, Scientific American Blog Network
This newest weta was discovered on the Denniston Plateau on the sparsely populated west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. The plateau receives an amazing six meters of annual rainfall, creating unique rock formations that are home to many rare and endangered species. The 190-hectare area is slated to be converted into an open-cast coal mine that could increase the country’s coal exports by 63 percent but which conservationists say would destroy the habitat and its unique denizens.
The Denniston white-faced cave weta was found during a four-day “Bioblitz” in March that identified more than 500 confirmed species on the plateau and another 219 unconfirmed species. Among the hundreds of species was the new weta, which bears a mostly black body, a distinctive white band behind its head and leg spines unlike other weta species. “It just stood out,” Massey University (M.U.) associate professor Steve Trewick said in a prepared statement. “We haven’t seen anything with that appearance and coloration.”"
Source: Newly Discovered Cave Weta Species Endangered by Coal Mining | Extinction Countdown, Scientific American Blog Network