Tag: grasshopper

Rare grasshopper thought extinct rediscovered after 40 years

Unique to the island of São Nicolau, the insect is a “living fossil” that has shown remarkable resilience, surviving for millions of years.

The Monte Gordo Grasshopper (Eyprepocprifas insularis) has proved to be a rare and elusive species: its last, and, until now, only sighting was a single specimen found in 1980. This is why researcher Dr. Michel Lecoq declared it extinct in 1996.

A photo of a holotype grasshopper, Eyreprocoprizias insularis, labeled with collection details from San Nicolau, Cape Verde, 1980.
Eyprepocprifas insularis, male, holotype. This specimen, collected by the Programme de Recherche Interdisciplinaire Francais sur les Acridiens du Sahel team at São Nicolau, Cape Verde, in Oct. 1980, was the only known for many decades. Scale bar: 1 cm. Photo credit: Christophe Herve, MNHN, Paris.

After more than 40 years of no records, an exciting discovery happened thanks to a holiday Rob Felix took with his fellow researcher Annelies Jacobs in Cape Verde, the insect’s only known location, “to look for birds and other interesting stuff for field biologists like us. Before going on our trip, we looked for information about this peculiar grasshopper that was thought to be extinct for a long time. We were hoping and dreaming that maybe we could find it again.”

“During a night walk on our first evening on São Nicolau to a colony of a unique seabird species, the Fea, I stumbled upon a grasshopper sitting on the path. When I looked closer in the torch’s light, I immediately recognised its unique appearance. I shouted out loud: it’s Eyprepocprifas! To my surprise, correct at once because it’s not the most easily pronounceable genus name,” he says.

Close-up photo of a brown grasshopper perched on textured, reddish-brown rocks.
Eyprepocprifas insularis, male. This endemic to Monte Gordo Natural Park, São Nicolau, Cape Verde, was rediscovered in 2023 after being declared extinct. Photo credit: Rob Felix

In the following days, Rob and Annelies found several other specimens in Monte Gordo Natural Park and its surroundings.

Endemic to the island of São Nicolau, this grasshopper is a “living fossil,” meaning it hasn’t evolved significantly for millions of years and has few or no living relatives.

Habitat of Eyprepocprifas insularis on São Nicolau, Cape Verde. Photo credit: Rob Felix

“E. insularis must have been there for a very long time and has been able to withstand the severe ecological conditions,” the researchers write in their paper, which was published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research.

  • A close-up photo of a brown grasshopper perched on vibrant green leaves.
  • A close-up photo of a brown grasshopper with two white stripes along its back resting on a vibrant green leaf.
  • Close-up photo of a brown and tan grasshopper resting on earthy soil with dried plant material.
  • Close-up photo of a dark, textured grasshopper on a rocky surface.
  • Close-up photo of a brown grasshopper perched on a wooden surface.
  • A close-up photo of a brown grasshopper resting on a green leaf.
  • Close-up photo of a brown, textured grasshopper perched on green leaves.
  • A photo of a small, brown grasshopper sitting on a green leaf.

This montane grasshopper has shown remarkable resilience, surviving in the challenging environment of Cape Verde’s islands and enduring periods of intense drought and strong winds that can introduce new species from the African continent.

“The rediscovery of the only endemic brachypterous (short-winged) grasshopper, Eyprepocprifas insularis, on São Nicolau, an island with a volcanic origin dating back approximately five million years, provides significant insight into the island’s ecological and evolutionary history,” the researchers write.

They say this rediscovery is a crucial first step toward the insect’s conservation: as a threatened species restricted to a small area, E. insularis might actually be closer to extinction than we think.  Now that it has been found again, we have the opportunity to take steps to protect this unique species and its habitat.

Research article:

Felix R, Jacobs A, Lecoq M (2025) Rediscovery of the Monte Gordo Grasshopper Eyprepocprifas insularis: An ancient brachypterous species endemic to São Nicolau, Cape Verde (Orthoptera, Eyprepocnemidinae). Journal of Orthoptera Research 34(2): 159-168. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.34.144016

Decade-old photographs shared on social media give away a new species of pygmy grasshopper

While scrolling through iNaturalist – a social network where professional and citizen scientists share their photographs, in order to map biodiversity observations from across the globe – a group of students from Croatia discovered a couple of curious pictures, taken in 2008 in the Peruvian rainforest and posted in 2018. What they were looking at was a pygmy grasshopper sporting a unique pattern of lively colors. The motley insect was nothing they have so far encountered in the scientific literature.

While scrolling through iNaturalist – a social network where professional and citizen scientists share their photographs, in order to map biodiversity observations from across the globe – a group of students from Croatia discovered a couple of curious pictures, taken in 2008 in the Peruvian rainforest and posted in 2018. What they were looking at was a pygmy grasshopper sporting a unique pattern of lively colors. The motley insect was nothing they have so far encountered in the scientific literature.

The scientist and photographer Roberto Sindaco, Museo Civico di Storia naturale (Torino, Italy) graciously shared his camera roll with Niko Kasalo, Maks Deranja, and Karmela Adžić, graduate students under the mentorship of Josip Skejo, all currently affiliated with University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Croatia. Together, they published a paper describing the yet to be named insect in the open-access scientific journal Journal of Orthoptera Research.

Typically, new species are described from specimens collected from their natural habitats and then deposited in a museum to be preserved for future reference. The authors, possessing several high-quality photographs, decided to challenge the norm and name the new species based on photographs only. The paper was initially rejected, but a compromise was reached—it could be published with the species name removed.

The International Code of Zoological nomenclature is a document that contains regulations for proper scientific naming of animal species. It allows naming species from photographs, but the practice is generally looked down upon. Thus, the authors decided to use the nameless species to draw attention to this problem and bring more clarity. Names in zoology consist of two words: the genus name and the species name. As the species name was denied, the grasshopper is now mysteriously referred to as „the nameless Scaria“.

Another important message of this paper is how citizen science portals, such as iNaturalist, allow everybody interested in nature to contribute to ‘real’ scientific work by posting their findings online.

The authors believe that including laypeople in the scientific process can help bridge the communication gap between scientists and the general population, dissipating the growing suspicion towards science. The researchers urge everybody to engage with nature around them and capture its beauty with their camera lens. 

“Only by interacting with nature can we truly feel how much we might lose if we do not take care of it, and care is urgently needed,”

said the authors of the study.
Male of the nameless Scaria species
Photo by Roberto Sindaco

Original source:

Kasalo N, Deranja M, Adžić K, Sindaco R, Skejo J (2021) Discovering insect species based on photographs only: The case of a nameless species of the genus Scaria (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae). Journal of Orthoptera Research 30(2): 173-184. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.30.65885