South American Giant Mayfly vs Cumberland Plateau Cave Cricket

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute South American Giant Mayfly Cumberland Plateau Cave Cricket
Scientific Name Campsurus major Hadenoecus cumberlandicus
Order Ephemeroptera Orthoptera
Family Polymitarcyidae Rhaphidophoridae
Size 15-25 mm 15-25 mm
Habitat Rivers & Streams Caves
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions South America United States
Conservation Least Concern Vulnerable

South American Giant Mayfly

A large tropical mayfly found in South American rivers and floodplains. Males have distinctive elongated forelegs used for grasping females during mating flights.

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Did You Know?

Its mass emergences from Amazonian rivers provide a critical food pulse for fish and birds.

Cumberland Plateau Cave Cricket

A cave cricket restricted to caves in the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and Kentucky. It has smaller eyes than surface-dwelling relatives.

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Did You Know?

It represents an independent colonization of caves from the related H. subterraneus.