Patterns of regional endemism among New Zealand invertebrates

Persisting in a glaciated landscape: Pleistocene microrefugia evidenced by the tree wētā Hemideina maori in central South Island, New Zealand

“…Repeated glaciation impacted on the distribution of many New Zealand taxa (Wallis, Judge, Bland, Waters, & Berra, 2001; Wallis & Trewick, 2009), particularly in the central ‘waist’ of South Island (Trewick & Wallis, 2001; Wallis & Trewick, 2001), a region of low diversity known as the biotic gap (Figure 1b). Originally named the ‘beech gap’ (Cockayne, 1928), characterized by the absence of Nothofagus (southern beech; now Fuscospora ; Heenan & Smissen, 2013) forest species (Burrows, 1965; Leathwick, 1998; Wardle, 1963), a loss of diversity has been recorded in many temperate and alpine species (McGlone, Duncan, & Heenan, 2001), including 2,322 invertebrates (Taylor‐Smith, Morgan‐Richards, & Trewick, 2020) and most likely reflects repeated cycles of glaciation (Hall & McGlone, 2006; Wallis et al., 2016). In species with a broad sub‐alpine/alpine interglacial distribution (Figure 1a), areas to the north (north‐west Nelson) and south (Otago/Southland) of glaciated areas are regions of higher diversity that probably acted as glacial refugia (Figure 1b) (Dussex et al., 2014; Leschen et al., 2008; McCulloch et al., 2010; Neiman & Lively, 2004; Weston & Robertson, 2015).…”

A new species of large Hemiandrus ground wētā (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) from North Island, New Zealand

“…The scarcity of H. jacinda sp. nov. despite a relatively wide geographic range and close proximity to region of highest human population which can influence biological discovery (Taylor-Smith et al 2019), is a cause for concern. That such a large and striking animal can elude observation suggests that either its behaviour is highly effective at minimising detection or it now exists at low density.…”

“…Unlike other New Zealand Anostostomatidae, Hemiandrus inhabit capped soil burrows during the day (Johns 2001;Trewick & Morgan-Richards 2019). Some species are known to use abdominal drumming communication (Chappell et al 2012) but their lack of tibial tympana (ears) compared to most other anostostomatids (Field 1993) correlates with a lack of audible stridulation, further adding to their crypsis.…”

Viromes of Freshwater Fish with Lacustrine and Diadromous Life Histories Differ in Composition

“…The Zealandia continental waka carried unique Gondwanan species into ecological isolation, and during this process, early mammalian lineages became extinct [6]. This unique ecological isolation resulted in many endemic and native species of insects, birds, reptiles, and fish [7][8][9][10]. Analysis of the viruses that infect these endemic species provides an opportunity to identify whether this vicariance event has left an impression on virus ecology and evolution.…”