Colossopus grandidieri[1] is a nocturnal bush cricket endemic to southwestern Madagascar.[2] C. grandidieri appears to be omnivorous and is the only member of its genus that has been bred successfully in captivity, with a diet including leaves, fruit, living and dead insects, and processed food including dog food and fish flakes.
| Colossopus grandidieri | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Parc Mosa, Ifaty, Madagascar | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Subfamily: | Conocephalinae |
| Tribe: | Euconchophorini |
| Genus: | Colossopus |
| Species: | C. grandidieri
|
| Binomial name | |
| Colossopus grandidieri Saussure, 1899
| |
Description
editThe pale brown, cigar-shaped eggs are deposited singly in soil, measuring only 6 mm when laid and swelling in size as they develop over three months to a year. Females lay 150 to 200 eggs in a lifetime. Adult females and males have similar coloration, except that the labrum ("upper lip") is orange-red in females and yellow-orange in males. When confronted, adults rear up on their hind legs, spread their forelegs, and open their mandibles in a defensive posture. Adult males make a shrill noise when in this position, and adult females do not make a sound. If the disturbing organism approaches, C. grandidieri attempts to grab it with the forelegs and bite it with the jaws.[3]
References
edit- ^ Saussure HLF (1899) Abh. Senckenb. Natforsch. Ges. 21: 628.
- ^ "Colossopus grandidieri". iNaturalist. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ ÜNAL, MUSTAFA; BECCALONI, GEORGE W. (2017-10-31). "Revision of the Madagascan genera Oncodopus Brongniart and Colossopus Saussure (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae; Euconchophorini), with description of Malagasopus gen. nov". Zootaxa. 4341 (2): 193. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4341.2.2. ISSN 1175-5334.