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Story: Wētā

Tusked wētā

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Tusked wētā

Three species of tusked wētā are known in New Zealand. The largest, pictured here, is restricted to a tiny island in the Mercury Islands group, off the Coromandel coast. Males use their tusks for fighting.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10043265

by Brett Robertson

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How to cite this page

George Gibbs, Wētā – Other wētā, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/9718/tusked-weta (accessed 5 June 2026).

Story by George Gibbs, published 1 March 2009.