Canyon-endemic
Guides
Ellipes monticolus
canyon pygmy mole cricket
Ellipes monticolus is a poorly known pygmy mole cricket endemic to canyon environments in the southwestern United States. First described in 1977 from genitalia drawings alone, the species remained without natural history documentation until 2020, when the first live photographs and field observations were published from the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. The species inhabits the Sky Islands region, a biodiversity hotspot characterized by isolated mountain ranges. As a member of Tridactylidae, it likely exhibits fossorial adaptations for burrowing in moist substrates near water.