Mondo Knows Facts
The giant weta is heavier than a sparrow
Some New Zealand specimens weigh around 70 grams
Little Barrier Island giant wetas have been recorded at about 71 grams, heavier than many small birds. They areflightless relatives of crickets that grew large in the absence of mammals on New Zealand. Their size is a textbook example of island gigantism.
Where this comes from
New Zealand Department of Conservation
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Tags: insects, weta, new zealand
The giant weta is heavier than a sparrow: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Some New Zealand specimens weigh around 70 grams. The figure is taken from New Zealand Department of Conservation, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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- Yes. It sits on the Records & Extremes shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
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