North American Pygmy Mole Cricket vs Tenerife Cave Cricket

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute North American Pygmy Mole Cricket Tenerife Cave Cricket
Scientific Name Neotridactylus apicialis Petaloptila canariensis
Order Orthoptera Orthoptera
Family Tridactylidae Gryllidae
Size 5-7 mm 10-15 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Caves
Diet Herbivores Omnivores
Regions Eastern United States Canary Islands
Conservation Least Concern Vulnerable

North American Pygmy Mole Cricket

A minute mole cricket found on sandy shores of rivers and ponds in North America. It burrows just beneath the wet sand surface.

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Did You Know?

Its hind tibiae bear paddle-like swimming plates that allow it to skim across the surface of water when flooded out of its burrow.

Tenerife Cave Cricket

A pale cave-dwelling cricket found in lava tubes on Tenerife. It has reduced eyes and elongated antennae adapted to life in darkness.

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Did You Know?

It relies entirely on its extremely long antennae to navigate the pitch-dark cave environment.