Namibian arthropods
Location: Namibia (see above)
November 15, 2011 12:44 pm
Can you please name these.All pictures were taken in April 2011 in Namibia.
The cricket was taken in the Etendeke Mountain camp close to Palmwag. The other 2 images were taken at Durstenbruck farm north of Windhoek.
Signature: Roger Pinkney
Dear Roger,
We are finally getting around to your third identification request after having posted your Banded-Legged Golden Orb-Web Spider and your Tropical Centipede, and we haven’t heard back from you, though perhaps internet connectivity is not easy to find in Namibia. All of your photos are quite nice. The creature you refer to as a cricket is actually a Shield-Backed Katydid in the subfamily Tettigoniinae. We are going to write to Katydid expert Piotr Naskrecki from Harvard to see if he can provide a species identification for you.
This is Acanthoplus longipes.
Thanks for the species identification.
How large can this Katydid get? A family member was in Namibia and photographed one that looked to be in excess of 5+ inches. Thank you.
If the legs and antennae are considered, a five inch Katydid is very possible.
Thank you.