Keyacris scurra

Keyacris scurra is a wingless grasshopper belonging to the family Morabidae, a group of flightless morabine grasshoppers endemic to Australia. Like other members of its family, it is flightless and relies on jumping and crawling for movement, which limits its dispersal ability and makes populations highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation. It feeds on grasses and forbs and, as a herbivorous insect, contributes to nutrient cycling and serves as a prey source for birds, reptiles, and other insectivores within its ecosystem.

The species occurs in southeastern Australia, historically distributed across the grasslands and grassy woodlands of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It favours native tussock grassland and open forest edges, habitats that have become increasingly rare and fragmented across its range.

Its decline is driven by extensive habitat loss and alteration. Urban and housing development has consumed native grassland remnants, while conversion of land for annual and perennial cropping and for livestock grazing has degraded or eliminated suitable habitat. Altered fire regimes, whether through fire suppression or increased burning frequency, disrupt the grassland structure the species depends on, and logging and wood harvesting further reduce habitat quality in wooded areas.

Conservation efforts focus on protecting and managing remaining native grassland remnants, many of which persist only in small, isolated patches such as cemeteries, roadside verges, and travelling stock reserves. Monitoring of known populations continues to inform habitat management decisions.

The species is classified as Endangered with a decreasing population trend. Continued loss and fragmentation of native grassland habitat across its range suggest that without sustained habitat protection, its populations are likely to remain under pressure.