Zoologist rediscovers grasshopper species believed extinct

A zoologist has rediscovered a grasshopper thought to be extinct after its last documented sighting in 1946. The Appalachian grasshopper (Appalachia hebardi) is a flightless species about 1.5 inches long that camouflages with its surroundings—perhaps part of the reason people haven’t seen it in so long. Scientists had only documented it in five counties in Virginia and in the neighboring states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Andrew Rapp, a zoologist with the Natural Heritage Program of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, had seen some reports on iNaturalist that he thought could have been the species. He went out to investigate, and after surveying several locations, he found a female. “It’s very restricted in its range, but I think that there were just not enough surveys in the right particular habitat, the right time of year,” Rapp told the News & Observer. The Virginia agency announced the discovery alongside reports of a new species of cave beetle and other finds.

Read more at the News & Observer.