A new species of cave cricket has been found living within an artificial tunnel on the Greek island of Kastellorizo.
Named Dolichopoda balrogi – after the tunnel-dwelling demon Balrog from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – the species belongs to the genus Dolichopoda, a group of cave crickets adapted to dark, humid underground habitats. The genus is found across southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.
Described in a new study, published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research, D. balrogi has a brown body and long, arching legs, which it uses to cling firmly to walls and overhanging surfaces.
Located off the south-east coast of Greece, Kastellorizo is a small island measuring about 6km long and 3km wide. It is known among biologists for its rare invertebrates – including scorpions, isopods, bush-crickets and beetles.
Keen to learn more about Kastellorizo’s fauna, a team of researchers decided to venture into the island’s only land cave, a 25m-deep, man-made tunnel on the slopes of Mount Vigla. To their surprise, they noticed the walls of the tunnel were scattered with crickets.
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Detailed morphological analysis and DNA testing of the specimens allowed the researchers to confirm the cricket as a new species. The discovery increases the number of Dolichopoda species to 68, with 51 of these occurring in Greece.
Unlike Tolkien’s formidable Balrog, with its fiery whips, D. balrogi is harmless, yet no less impressive for its ability to thrive in darkness.
“These findings remind us that biodiversity discoveries are not limited to remote tropical forests or deep oceans,” says lead researcher Konstantinos Kalaentzis. “Even familiar landscapes and human-made structures can harbour species that have remained unnoticed.”
The researchers warn that cave-adapted organisms such as Dolichopoda crickets are sometimes only found in a single cave or underground system, making them particularly vulnerable to habitat disturbance.
“A more detailed and specialised survey of the island’s caves should be conducted to determine whether additional populations of the species exist on the island,” say the authors in the study. “Furthermore, it would be valuable to consider possible management strategies to ensure the conservation of the population.”
Top image: Artificial tunnel of Kastellorizo. Credit: Konstantinos Kalaentzis
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