Cooloola (genus)

Cooloola
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Ensifera
Superfamily:	Stenopelmatoidea
Family:	Cooloolidae
Genus:	Cooloola
Species
Cooloola dingo – Dingo monster Cooloola propator – Cooloola monster Cooloola ziljan – Sugarcane monster Cooloola pearsoni

Cooloola is a genus of ensiferan orthopterans. It is the only genus in the family Cooloolidae of the superfamily Gryllacridoidea.

Four species are known from this family, all endemic to Queensland, Australia. The name originated from the discovery of the most well-known member of the family, the Cooloola monster (Cooloola propator), in the Cooloola National Park.

Little is known about their life histories, as they lead an almost entirely subterranean existence, but it is believed that they are predaceous towards other soil-dwelling invertebrates.

The Cooloolidae are unusual in the primitive superfamily Gryllacridoidea in that members' antennae are considerably shorter than their body length.

Further reading

• Grasshopper Country: The Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia, by David C. Rentz. 1995. ISBN 0-86840-063-7

External links

• Species synopses by the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage
• Orthoptera Species File Online