| Aretaon muscosus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Aretaon muscosus, female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Heteropterygidae |
| Subfamily: | Obriminae |
| Tribe: | Obrimini |
| Genus: | Aretaon |
| Species: | A. muscosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Aretaon muscosus (Redtenbacher, 1906) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Aretaon muscosus is a stick insect species from the family Heteropterygidae, which is native to Borneo.
While in the sister species Aretaon asperrimus only occasionally nymph with a clear green component appear in the coloration, the nymphs of Aretaon muscosus are always colored green. The adult females are also intensely green in color. At 72 to 74 millimetres (2.8 to 2.9 in), they remain somewhat smaller than those of Aretaon asperrimus. Their most noticeable feature are the lobes or leaf-like extensions on the edges of the abdomen. They exist from the first through the eighth segments, with the largest being on segments three through seven. The dorsal edges of the tibiae are equipped with easily recognizable spines. Their color and body structure make them look like they are overgrown with moss. The rather golden yellow and brown patterned males reach a size of 49 to 50 millimetres (1.9 to 2.0 in). They too have lobes on the edges of the abdomen, which can be found here on segments three to nine. Like the abdominal segments themselves, they also gradually increase in size towards the end of the abdomen. [2] [3]
Josef Redtenbacher described the species in 1906 as Obrimus muscosus. [2] James Abram Garfield Rehn and his son John William Holman Rehn transferred them in 1939 together with Obrimus asperrimus also described by Redtenbacher to the genus Aretaon, which was specially established for these two species. [4] As syntypes are diverse, 47 to 64 millimetres (1.9 to 2.5 in) long, male and female specimens deposited. Two female and one male syntypes are in the Natural History Museum Vienna and three nymph syntypes in the Zoological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. As early as 1935 Klaus Günther considered that Aretaon muscosus could be more spiny representatives of Aretaon asperrimus. However, because of the pronounced spines of the smaller specimens, he considered this to be unlikely. Also Philip Edward Bragg, who had already made the experience that the spines in adult Aretaon asperrimus are significantly reduced, mentioned this possibility in 2001, holding a synonymization but for too hasty. [5] In 2004 Oliver Zompro also mentioned that Aretaeon muscosus is very likely a synonym of Aretaon asperrimus. [6] Daniel Otte and Paul D. Brock finally used Aretaon muscosus as a synonym in 2005. [7] Francis Seow-Choen revalidated the species in 2016 because its syntypes match perfectly with the specimens he found from the Gunung Mulu National Park. [1] [3]
Aretaeon muscosus occurs in the Malay part of Borneo, more precisely in the northwestern state of Sarawak. There the species was found in the Gunung Mulu National Park. For most syntypes, Kinabalu in Sabah is given as the place where it was found. [3] [1] As with Aretaon asperrimus, Rehn and Rehn state that they also examined specimens from the island Labuan from the collection of Morgan Hebard in Aretaon muscosus. [4]
In July 2014 Albert Kang collected specimens in the Gunung Mulu National Park, which Thierry Heitzmann was able to bring to the Philippines. The resulting parthenogenetic stock can now also be found in the terrariums of European breeders and was initially called Aretaon sp. 'Mulu'. After the revalidation of Aretaon muscosus and the publication of the first pictures of adult specimens by Seow-Choen in 2016, it became clear that the breeding stock is identical to this species both in appearance and in terms of where it was found. Since then he has been referred to as Aretaon muscosus 'Mulu'. Various ferns, as well as bramble, hazel and mango are accepted as fodder plants. [3]
The Heteropterygidae is a family of stick insects belonging to the suborder Euphasmatodea. Species can be found in Australasia, East and Southeast Asia. More than 130 valid species have been described.
Datamini is the only tribe within the subfamily of the Dataminae from the order of the Phasmatodea. The representatives of this subfamily are on average not as large as those of the other two subfamilies belonging to the family of Heteropterygidae.
Heteropterygini is the only tribe within the subfamily of the Heteropteryginae. With 19 representatives described, this subfamily includes the fewest species of the three subfamilies, but includes the largest and most striking species of the family.
The genus Planispectrum combines very small and compact species from Southeast Asia.
Hoploclonia is the only genus of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly coloured Phasmatodea species.
Haaniella is a genus of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae from Southeast Asia.
Aretaon is a genus of stick insects native to Borneo and the Philippine island Palawan.
Theramenes is a genus of medium-sized stick insects in the tribe Obrimini, which is native to the Philippines and to the Indonesian Talaud Islands.
Aretaon asperrimus is a species of insect in the Aretaon genus of the Phasmatodea order. The sometimes used common name thorny stick insect is a bit misleading, since the species does not correspond to the typical stick-like habitus and many other species are thorny as well.
Orestes mouhotii is an insect species belonging to the order of Phasmatodea. Because of its synyonym Orestes verruculatus, it is the type species of the genus Orestes. Because of its compact body shape, the species is sometimes referred to as small cigar stick insect.
Dares verrucosus is a species of stick insects. Like most other members of the genus Dares, the species is native to Borneo, more precisely in the north of the island.
Hoploclonia cuspidata is a stick insect species native to the north of Borneo and is also called Brunei Hoploclonia stick insect.
Spinodares is a monotypic stick insect genus endemic to Borneo, containing Spinodares jenningsi as the only valid species.
Haaniella scabra is a species of stick insect native to Borneo and a typical representative of the subfamily Heteropteryginae. The occasionally used common name Small Haaniella refers to the size of this.
Haaniella parva is a species of stick insect from the subfamily Heteropteryginae and belongs to the representatives of the genus Haaniella native to Sumatra. It is their smallest representative.
Brasidas cavernosus is a representative of the stick insects native to the Philippine island Luzon. It is considered one of the largest species in the subfamily Obriminae.
Pylaemenes sepilokensis is a species of stick insects (Phasmatodea) that is found in Borneo, more precisely in the Malay state of Sabah.
Pylaemenes mitratus is a species of stick insects (Phasmatodea) native to Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. The species is also known by the common name Money Plant Stick Insect, which refers to the most well-known food plants, Epipremnum aureum, which is also known as money plant.
Pterobrimus is a monotypic genus of stick insects (Phasmatodea), containing the species Pterobrimus depressus, which is native to Fiji.
Brasidas lacerta is a species of stick insect in the family Heteropterygidae which is endemic to Mindanao. Due to its extreme variability, and the nymphs being spinier than to the adults, the species has been described under other names, resulting in a total of seven synonyms.
Data related to Aretaon muscosus at Wikispecies
Media related to Aretaon muscosus at Wikimedia Commons