Schizodactylus monstrosus
Encyclopedia
Schizodactylus monstrosus is a species of large cricket
Ensifera
Ensifera is a suborder of the order Orthoptera, comprising insects commonly known as crickets, katydids and bush crickets. "Ensifer" means "sword bearer" in Latin, and refers to the typically elongated and blade-like ovipositor of the females...

 found in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. It is found mainly in sandy habitats and has large flattened tarsal extensions and wings that are curled at the tip. They are nocturnal and show a high degree of variation in activity during the day and night. They are known to be cannibalistic in captivity as adults as well as nymphs.

The preferred habitats is along the sandy banks of rivers. The splayed and flattened appendages on the tarsi is presumed to be an adaptation to sandy soils where they dig deep burrows. It has been noted that a closely related species S. inexpectatus
Schizodactylus inexpectatus
Schizodactylus inexpectatus is a species of dune cricket . It is endemic to sand dunes near Gülek, Turkey.-Taxonomic history:...

is carnivorous and this species is also expected to be carnivorous. T B Fletcher
Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher
Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher was an English entomologist. He was a naval paymaster until 1910 and was later appointed Imperial entomologist in India, succeeding Harold Maxwell-Lefroy. He took great interest in various aspects of entomology in India, especially those of economic importance. He also...

 declared that an individual in captivity did not feed on any vegetable matter.

These crickets are favourite food for many tribes in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...

.
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