Pharmacus montanus

Pharmacus montanus, the Mount Cook flea, is a type of cave wētā found above the tree line in the South Island of New Zealand.^[1] It was first described by Francois Jules Pictet de la Rive and Henri Saussure in 1893.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]} Pharmacus montanus is one of the most widespread species within the genus, found from Aoraki/Mount Cook to Mount Owen in northern South Island (Kahurangi National Park).^[15] The highest recorded specimens of this species are from a population between 2700 and 2800 m above sea level on Mount Annan above the Tasman Glacier.^[16]

Pharmacus montanus
Pharmacus montanus illustrated by Des Helmore
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Ensifera
Family:	Rhaphidophoridae
Genus:	Pharmacus
Species:	P. montanus
Binomial name
Pharmacus montanus Pictet & Saussure, 1891
Synonyms
Pharmacus dumbletoni Richards, 1972