View source for Cooloola (insect)

{{Short description|Genus of cricket-like animals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
|image=CSIRO ScienceImage 10713 Cooloola Monster.jpg
|image_caption=''[[Cooloola propator]]'' &ndash; Cooloola monster
|grandparent_authority=Rentz, 1980
|parent_authority=Rentz, 1980
|taxon=Cooloola
|authority=Rentz, 1980
|subdivision_ranks=Species
|subdivision=4, see text
}}

'''''Cooloola''''' is a [[genus]] of [[ensifera]]n [[orthoptera]]ns known as '''Cooloola monsters'''.<ref name=osf1131773>{{OSF|name=family Cooloolidae Rentz, 1980
|id=1131773|accessdate=30 December 2018}}</ref> [[monotypic taxon|It is the only genus in the subfamily]] '''Cooloolinae''' and family '''Cooloolidae''' of the [[Taxonomic rank|superfamily]] [[Stenopelmatoidea]].

Four species are known from this family, all [[endemic]] to [[Queensland]], [[Australia]]. The name originated from the discovery of the best-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  they are believed to prey on other soil-dwelling invertebrates.  Cooloola monsters are unusual in comparison with other members of the primitive superfamily Stenopelmatoidea in that the {{not a typo|cooloolids}}' antennae are considerably shorter than their body lengths.

==Classification==
While often treated as a family, molecular evidence suggests that {{not a typo|cooloolids}} are in fact aberrant members of the family [[Anostostomatidae]], and the genus ''Cooloola'' might not be monophyletic.<ref name="VandergastEtAl">Vandergast, A.G., Weissman, D.B., Wood, D.A., Rentz, D.C., Bazelet, C.S., and Ueshima, N. (2017) Tackling an intractable problem: Can greater taxon sampling help resolve relationships within the Stenopelmatoidea (Orthoptera: Ensifera)? ''Zootaxa'' 4291, no. 1, p. 1. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4291.1.1</ref>

Species include:<ref name=osf>{{OSF|name=genus ''Cooloola'' Rentz, 1980|id=1131775|accessdate=30 December 2018}}</ref>
*''[[Cooloola dingo]]'' <small>Rentz, 1986</small> &ndash; dingo monster
*''[[Cooloola pearsoni]]'' <small>Rentz, 1999</small> &ndash; Pearson's monster
*''[[Cooloola propator]]'' <small>Rentz, 1980</small> &ndash; Cooloola monster
*''[[Cooloola ziljan]]'' <small>Rentz, 1986</small> &ndash; sugarcane monster

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*''Grasshopper Country: The Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia'', by [[David C. Rentz]]. 1995. {{ISBN|0-86840-063-7}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040923204432/http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/action/non-marine-invertebrates/species-1.html#cooloola Species synopses] by the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage

{{Orthoptera|1}}
{{Taxonbar|from1=Q2710963|from2=Q13553678}}

[[Category:Stenopelmatoidea]]
[[Category:Ensifera genera]]
[[Category:Orthoptera of Australia]]