Red List of South African Species

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Endangered (EN)
B1ab(iii)
Assessors: Corinna Bazelet Piotr Naskrecki
Reviewers: Axel Hochkirch Luc Willemse

Rationale

The threat status of the Jambila Seedpod Shieldback (Thoracistus jambila) is Endangered under criterion B1. Its extent of occurrence is small (~1,000 km2), it has only been recorded in 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.

Distribution

The Jambila Seedpod Shieldback is endemic to Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces, South Africa.

Population trend

Trend

No information on population sizes or trends is available.

Threats

This species occurs in temperate and subtropical grasslands in regions which are under intensive grazing pressure by livestock and wildlife. The habitat is also intensively cultivated with non-timber crops and plantation forestry, and is 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 it occurs on the outskirts of Kruger National Park, so is expected to occur within the park as well.

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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