Sand-dune-endemic
Guides
Ammopelmatus monahansensis
Ammopelmatus monahansensis is a species of Jerusalem cricket in the family Stenopelmatidae, described by Stidham & Stidham in 2001. The genus Ammopelmatus comprises sand dune endemic species found in the southwestern United States. These flightless orthopterans are characterized by their large size, fossorial habits, and nocturnal activity patterns. A. monahansensis is one of several described species within this genus that are restricted to specific sand dune systems.
Arenivaga investigata
desert cockroach
Arenivaga investigata, the desert cockroach, is a species in the family Corydiidae endemic to the Colorado Desert of California. It is notable for its ability to absorb water vapor from unsaturated air above 82.5% relative humidity, a physiological adaptation that allows survival in one of the most arid environments on Earth. The species exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism, with wingless females and fully winged males. It inhabits sand dunes and is primarily found in subsurface microhabitats where temperature and moisture conditions remain favorable.
Chrysobothris mescalero
Chrysobothris mescalero is a metallic wood-boring beetle in the family Buprestidae, described in 2007 by Wellso and Manley. It belongs to the taxonomically challenging Chrysobothris femorata species-group. The species is endemic to sand dune habitats in New Mexico and west Texas, where it develops exclusively in oak (Quercus) species. Adults are characterized by uniformly brown frons and clypeus in both sexes, and three distinct elytral costae with indistinct foveae.
Plagiostira gillettei
Gillette's shieldback
Plagiostira gillettei is a shield-backed katydid in the family Tettigoniidae, first described by Caudell in 1907. The species occurs in arid and semi-arid regions of western North America, with records from California, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah. One subspecies, P. g. utahensis, is endemic to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes in Kane County, Utah. The common name honors an individual named Gillette, likely the collector or an entomological colleague.
Polyphylla aeolus
Kelso Dunes June Beetle
Polyphylla aeolus is a sand dune specialist scarab beetle endemic to California's Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert. Described by La Rue in 1998, this species belongs to a genus noted for large-bodied beetles with males possessing greatly enlarged, fan-like antennae used to detect female sex pheromones. Like other Polyphylla species restricted to sand habitats, females are likely flightless and rarely encountered. The species epithet references Aeolus, the Roman king of the winds, perhaps alluding to the wind-dispersed nature of related taxa or the windy dune environment.
Polyphylla mescalerensis
Polyphylla mescalerensis is a species of scarab beetle described by Young in 1988. It belongs to the genus Polyphylla, commonly known as lined June beetles, which are characterized by large body size, fan-like antennae in males, and strong attraction to lights. The species is known from sand dune habitats in southeastern New Mexico and adjacent areas, where it was first collected at Mescalero Sand Dunes. Like other Polyphylla species, males likely use their enlarged antennae to detect female sex pheromones.
Prionus spinipennis
Prionus spinipennis is a large long-horned beetle (Cerambycidae: Prioninae) endemic to sand dune habitats of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas. It is one of two Prionus species specialized to this ecosystem, with P. arenarius occupying spring and early summer, while P. spinipennis occurs in late summer and fall. Males are attracted to prionic acid lures, a synthetic analog of female sex pheromones. The species was described by Hovore & Turnbow in 1984.
Trogloderus
Trogloderus is a genus of psammophilic darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) endemic to dunes and sandy habitats in the western United States. The genus comprises ten described species, including six new species described in 2019 from desert regions across the Intermountain Region. Molecular phylogenetic analysis dates the most recent common ancestor to 5.2 million years ago, with speciation driven by geographic features of the Lahontan Trough, Bouse Embayment, and Kaibab Plateau during the mid-Pleistocene.