Wētāpunga are very large insects, unique to New Zealand. When fully grown they can even be heavier than a mouse or sparrow.
During the day they usually hide in dead foliage such as the drooping dead fronds of tree ferns, nīkau palms or cabbage trees. At night they leave their resting places to move around in trees or on the ground.
Note: this 3d model does not contain the antennae as they were too fine for the scanner to pick up.
By Dinobass - Own work, Wikipedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
Deinacrida heteracantha (White, 1842)
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Orthoptera Family: Anostostomatidae Genus: Deinacrida
More information on the NZ Department of Conservation website.
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