Psaltoda aurora

Psaltoda aurora
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Family: Cicadidae
Genus: Psaltoda
Species:
P. aurora
Binomial name
Psaltoda aurora

Psaltoda aurora, also known as the red roarer, is a species of cicada in the true cicada family. It is endemic to Australia. It was described in 1881 by English entomologist William Lucas Distant.[2][1]

Description

The forewing length is 50โ€“62 mm.[3]

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in Queensland from the Windsor Tablelands to the west of Paluma, and southwards to Rockhampton and the Dawson River. It inhabits dry sclerophyll forest, as well as eucalypts growing on the margins of rainforest and along the edges of rivers.[3]

Behaviour

Adults may be heard from mid-November to February, clinging to the trunks and upper branches of eucalypts, uttering calls characterised by a low, rumbling growl, rising in pitch into a slow, harsh yodelling sequence.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Distant, WL (1881). "Descriptions of new species belonging to the homopterous family Cicadidae". Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1881: 627โ€“648 [644โ€“645].
  2. ^ a b "Species Psaltoda aurora Distant, 1881". Australian Faunal Directory. Dept of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia. 2025. Retrieved 2025-08-27.
  3. ^ a b c L.W. Popple (2025). "Red Roarer Psaltoda aurora Distant, 1881". A web guide to the cicadas of Australia. Popple Creative Industries. Retrieved 2025-08-27.