Red List of South African Species

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Vulnerable (VU)
B1ab(iii)
Assessors: Corinna Bazelet Piotr Naskrecki
Reviewers: Axel Hochkirch Luc Willemse

Rationale

The threat status of the Golden Gate Seedpod Shieldback (Thoracistus aureoportalis) is Vulnerable under criterion B1. Its extent of occurrence is relatively small (~6,000 km2), it has only been recorded from four locations, and the quality of its habitat is expected to be in decline due to grazing pressure, cultivation, invasive alien plants and climate change. A large proportion of this species' distribution occurs in Golden Gate National Park and in Giant's Castle Nature Reserve, affording the species some protection against future changes. The entire geographic range of this species falls within sensitive mid to high altitude grasslands of the Drakensberg Mountains. While much of this habitat type is protected, a few extreme and unforeseen events may prove detrimental to the survival of the species. Furthermore, the exclusive presence of this species within protected areas indicates that the species may only be able to survive within pristine habitats.

Distribution

The Golden Gate Seedpod Shieldback has only been collected from the Drakensberg Mountains of Free State and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces, South Africa, along the northern border of Lesotho.

Population trend

Trend

No information on population sizes or trends is available.

Threats

This species occurs in montane, temperate grasslands in regions which are under intensive grazing pressure by livestock and wildlife. A large proportion of the species' distribution range falls within protected areas, and these areas are threatened with tourist activities. The regions outside of the protected areas are intensively cultivated with non-timber crops and plantation forestry, and are often invaded by alien plant species such as Lantana spp., bugweed and other non-native weed species. Furthermore, climate change is already causing increasingly frequent extreme weather events in these regions, which is liable to drastically effect the distribution of grasses, the katydid's food plant.

Uses and trade

This species is not utilized.

Conservation

No specific conservation measures are in place for this species but a large proportion of its distribution range falls within protected areas, most notably Golden Gate National Park and Giant's Castle Nature Reserve.

References 

[@electronic{58124,
 address = {www.iucnredlist.org},
 author = {IUCN},
 title = {The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3},
 year = {2014}
}
,@article{20659659,
 author = {Rentz, D.C.F.},
 journal = {Invertebrate Taxonomy},
 pages = {223--335},
 title = {The shield-backed katydids of southern Africa: their taxonomy, ecology and relationships to the faunas of Australia and South America (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae)},
 volume = {2.0},
 year = {1988}
}
,]
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