IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Island Invertebrates Specialist Group

Species

Back • Calliptamus plebeius (Walker, 1870)

Calliptamus plebeius (Walker, 1870)

Canarian Pincer Grasshopper

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Coleoptera
  • Family: Acrididae
LC Least Concern
IUCN Red List Status:
  • EX
  • EW
  • CR
  • EN
  • VU
  • NT
  • LC
  • DD
  • NE

Countries of Occurrence:
Spain - Canaries

Archipelago(s):
Canaries

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Assessor/s:
Hochkirch, A.

Reviewer/s:
Odé, B. & García, M.

Contributor/s:
Kranz, M. & Jakobs, D.

Facilitators / Compilers/s:

Assessment Rationale:

The Canarian Pincer Grasshopper (Calliptamus plebeius) is common on the Canary Islands and has a large population. It is probably little affected by human activities and is therefore assessed as Least Concern (LC). Research on its taxonomy is needed as it is assumed that each island may maintain a different species, as well as on its population trend, ecology and threats.

Geographic Range:

The Canarian Pincer Grasshopper is endemic to the Canary Islands, where it occurs on all the islands except for Fuerteventura (Holzapfel 1970, Gangwere et al. 1972, Bland et al. 1996). Its presence on Lanzarote is uncertain. Its extent of occurrence (EOO) is c. 27,500 km².

Regions:
Spain - Canaries
Extent of Occurrence (EOO):
27500 (km2)
Area of Occupancy (AOO):
760-5000 (km2)
Elevation Lower Limit:
(m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
2700 (m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Paleartic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Canaries
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

There is no information available on the population size and trend of this species, although it is very widespread and common throughout its range.

Habitat and Ecology

This species is not very specialised in ecology and is a habitat generalist which occurs in many open habitat types, including coastal Euphorbia shrubland, grasslands, road edges, rocky areas, open pine forests and sub-alpine areas (Gangwere et al. 1972, Hochkirch 1997).

Major Threat(s):

No major threats caused by human activities have been reported. It may be locally affected by urbanisation and touristic development. Some subpopulations may be threatened by geological events.

Conservation Actions

No specific conservation action is in place for this species, but it occurs in several protected areas throughout its range. Research is needed concerning the differentiation of island populations, which may represent unique species (Bland 2001). Furthermore, research on its population trends, threats and ecology is required.