Anderus subantarcticus

Anderus subantarcticus is a species of ground weta endemic to New Zealand.^[1][2]

Anderus subantarcticus
Conservation status
Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Ensifera
Family:	Anostostomatidae
Genus:	Anderus
Species:	A. subantarcticus
Binomial name
Anderus subantarcticus (Salmon, 1950)
Synonyms
Zealandosandrus subantarcticus Salmon, 1950 Hemiandrus subantarcticus (Salmon, 1950)

Taxonomy

This species was first described as Zealandosandrus subantarcticus in 1950 by John Salmon. The first specimens are recorded as being collected during the 1907 New Zealand Government Expedition. Zealandrosandrus was recognized as a synonym of Hemiandrus in 1997 so this species was moved to Hemiandrus.^[2] In 2024 a new genus was created (Anderus), named for a Swedish entomologist (Ander), because the New Zealand species of Hemiandrus were not a monophyletic group.^[3] DNA sequencing data showed the species of Anderus are sister to genera in Australia.

Description

Anderus subantarcticus is roughly 30mm in length.^[1]

Habitat and distribution

This species is endemic to Snares Island. They are known to occur in the burrows of petrels.^[1]

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as Naturally Uncommon with the qualifiers of "Range Restricted", "Island Endemic" and "Conservation Dependent".^[4]