Petasida ephippigera
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Petasida ephippigera, the Leichhardt's grasshopper, Alyurr, is a relatively large, brightly coloured pyrgomorph species of grasshopper in the monotypic genus Petasida, native to the Top End region of tropical northern Australia.
The Leichhardt's grasshopper is largely restricted to remote sandstone areas with Pityrodia shrubs, which are the main food source for both the adults and the nymphs. Although this shrub is quite widespread in the region, the Leichhardt's grasshopper appears to be local, scarce and declining for reasons that are not fully understood, but the controlled burning practices within its range are possibly part of the explanation. The Leichhardt's grasshopper is one of the most emblematic animals of the Kakadu National Park (seeing it there requires some effort), and it also occurs in the Nitmiluk and Keep River National Parks.
This grasshopper is known as alyurr in the local Kundjeyhmi language and it plays a role in their mythology. The species is named after Ludwig Leichhardt. He was the second European to record this grasshopper in 1845 in an area that later would become part of the Kakadu National Park. The species was first recorded by John Dring... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Leichhardt's Grasshopper sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 76 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Leichhardt's Grasshopper in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, May–June and September, the lowest months. That is one of Kakadu National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain against almost none in August.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Leichhardt's Grasshopper sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Kakadu National Park, in our data
Kakadu National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Leichhardt's Grasshopper sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Orthoptera
The closest relatives of the Leichhardt's Grasshopper that you can see in Kakadu National Park (order Orthoptera, Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids) are Tropical Sharptail (about 20%), Giant Grasshopper (about 20%) and Nicsara trigonalis (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Leichhardt's Grasshopper is recorded against all the insects logged in Kakadu National Park (36 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
