Crau Plain Grasshopper :: Prionotropis rhodanica

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 079

On today’s show we learn about the Crau Plain Grasshopper, a critically endangered insect native to Western Europe, to the south of France, in the Provence region, in the Bouches-du-Rhone department, specifically found in the dry grasslands of the Crau Plain. Its scientific name is Prionotropis rhodanica, and it was first described in 1923.

For more information about conservation on the Crau Plain please see Conservatoire d'espaces naturels de Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur at https://cen-paca.org.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (21:37) Citations
• (23:47) Music
• (28:51) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from:

• Bröder, Linda, Laurent Tatin, Anja Danielczak, Tobias Seibel, and Axel Hochkirch. 2019. "Intensive Grazing as a Threat in Protected Areas: The Need for Adaptive Management to Protect the Critically Endangered Crau Plain Grasshopper Prionotropis rhodanica." Oryx 53 (2): 239–246. – https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605318000170
• Bröder, Linda, Laurent Tatin, Axel Hochkirch, Anja Schuld, Linda Pabst, and Aurélien Besnard. 2020. "Optimization of Capture–Recapture Monitoring of Elusive Species Illustrated with a Threatened Grasshopper." Conservation Biology 34 (3): 743–753. – https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13449
• Bröder, Linda, Laurent Tatin, and Axel Hochkirch. 2023. "Quantifying Predation to Insects: An Experimental Approach." Global Ecology and Conservation 44: e02485. – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02485
• Ecomuseum of the Crau. n.d. "The Crau Plain Grasshopper." Life SOS Criquet de Crau. Accessed May 18, 2026. – https://www.lifecriquetdecrau.com/en/le-criquet-de-crau/lespece/
• Foucart, Antoine, and Michel Lecoq. 1996. "Biologie et dynamique des populations de Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica Uvarov, 1923 dans la plaine de la Crau (France) (Orthoptera, Pamphagidae)." Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France 101 (1): 75–87. – https://doi.org/10.3406/bsef.1996.17220
• Foucart, Antoine, and Michel Lecoq. 1998. "Major Threats to a Protected Grasshopper, Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica (Orthoptera, Pamphagidae, Akicerinae), Endemic to Southern France." Journal of Insect Conservation 2 (3): 187–193. – https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009691612698
• Foucart, Antoine, Michel Lecoq, and R. Sieglstetter. 1999. "Alarm on an Endemic Protected Grasshopper of the Crau Plain (Southern France), Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica (Orthoptera: Pamphagidae)." Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 35 (3-4): 337–340. – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291864068_Alarm_on_an_endemic_protected_grasshopper_of_the_Crau_plain_Southern_France_Prionotropis_hystrix_rhodanica_Orthoptera_Pamphagidae
• Hochkirch, Axel, Laurent Tatin, and Mark Stanley Price. 2015. Crau Plain Grasshopper Conservation Strategy. Technical Report. IUCN SSC Grasshopper Specialist Group. – https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.3933.3925
• Hochkirch, A. & Tatin, L. 2016. Prionotropis rhodanica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T15038481A47713628. – https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T15038481A47713628.en
• iNaturalist - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?captive=false&nelat=43.60771507014928&nelng=4.966360194513175&quality_grade=research&subview=map&swlat=43.499515082721146&swlng=4.812502979314948&view=species
• Piry, Sylvain, Karine Berthier, Laurence Streiff, Stephane Cros-Arteil, Antoine Foucart, Laurent Tatin, Linda Bröder, Axel Hochkirch, and Marie-Pierre Chapuis. 2018. "Fine-Scale Interactions Between Habitat Quality and Genetic Variation Suggest an Impact of Grazing on the Critically Endangered Crau Plain Grasshopper (Pamphagidae: Prionotropis rhodanica)." Journal of Orthoptera Research 27 (1): 61–73. – https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.27.15036
• Streiff, R., P. Audiot, Antoine Foucart, and Michel Lecoq. 2006. "Genetic Survey of Two Endangered Grasshopper Subspecies, Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica and Prionotropis hystrix azami (Orthoptera, Pamphagidae): Within- and Between-Population Dynamics at the Regional Scale." Conservation Genetics 7 (3): 331–344. – https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-005-9043-3
• Tatin, Laurent, Raphaël Streiff, Antoine Foucart, and Gilles Besnard. 2013. "Chapitre 6: Présentation de l'espèce: Le criquet rhodanien." In Écologie et conservation d'une steppe méditerranéenne: la plaine de Crau, edited by Laurent Tatin, Axel Wolff, Jean Boutin, Etienne Colliot, and Thierry Dutoit, 93–102. Versailles: Éditions Quae. – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326389866_Le_criquet_rhodanien
• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouches-du-Rhône

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A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m a musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.