Dares verrucosus

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Dares verrucosus
Dares verrucosus - pair.JPG
Dares verrucosus, pair
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Heteropterygidae
Subfamily: Dataminae
Tribe: Datamini
Genus: Dares
Species:
D. verrucosus
Binomial name
Dares verrucosus
Subspecies [1]
  • Dares verrucosus verrucosus
  • Dares verrucosus tawauensis

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.

Contents

Male from the side Dares verrucosus - male.JPG
Male from the side
Two different colored females and one male Dares verrucosus - females and male.JPG
Two different colored females and one male

Characteristics

Both sexes have the typical habitus for the genus. For the 41 to 46 millimetres (1.6 to 1.8 in) long females this means that they have no spines and that the body surface is occupied by many tubercles. The coloring is mostly dominated by a rather light brown, more rarely by a darker shade of brown. Lighter and darker, blurred spots complement the coloring. The underside is colored light brown to beige. The antennae consist of 25 segments. Their basal segment (scapus) is flat and has one or two teeth on the outside. The abdomen is widest in the middle and increases in height in adult, egg-laying females, which makes the animals look very plump, especially from the side. The males remain smaller than the females at 32 to 38 millimetres (1.3 to 1.5 in) in length. They are usually light brown, more rarely medium brown. On the upper side of the thorax, more precisely on the meso- and metanotum, there are usually two almost black longitudinal stripes interrupted by spines and segment boundaries to form spots, which also extend to the first segments of the abdomen are sufficient. They are flanked by particularly light, almost beige areas on the edge of the meso- and metanotum and in their center. In the case of darker specimens, the light area in the middle may be missing. Half of the middle and hind femura are colored black. The males have four spines on their heads. At the front edge of the mesonotum and in the rear area of the meso- and metanotum there are three further pairs of spines. To the side of the spines on the meso- and metanotum there is a further small spine on the pleura. All of the spines on the thorax are in their arrangement identical to those of Dares ulula , but remain much shorter than its ones. On the entire upper side of the abdomen, from the second segment onwards, there are paired, spine-like lobes. The antennae of the males consist of only 23 segments. [2] [3]

Distribution area and way of life

Dares verrucosus is native to the Malay state of Sabah in the north of the island of Borneo. Most of the secured origins are in the east of Sabah.

The nocturnal way of life and the defense behavior corresponds to that of the other Dares species. In this species, too, the defense strategy consists of an almost perfect phytomimesis, which is possible due to its color and body shape. When touched, the animals drop to the ground. They stay there for a while and playing dead. The females lay one to three eggs a week on the ground. These are almost spherical, 3.5 to 3.8 millimetres (0.14 to 0.15 in) in size and speckled from dark gray to dark brown. There are 0.3 mm long, creamy white, curved hairs on the surface. The lid (operculum) has a diameter of 2.3 to 2.4 millimetres (0.091 to 0.094 in). The micropylar plate has three arms, one of which points towards the lid (operculum). The other two run circularly around the egg. After three to five months the nymphs hatch. Often in older nymphs there are a few light, almost white spots at the base of the abdomen, as is typical for many other Dares nymphs. It takes a good year for them to grow into imagos. Adult animals can live to be several years old. Kim D'Hulster reports of a female who lived five years after hatching. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy

The first scientific description of the species took place in 1906 by Josef Redtenbacher. The specific epithet verrucosus chosen by him means "warty". Klaus Günther introduced the species in 1935 as synonym to Dares ulula. Burghard Hausleithner identified the specimens he examined in 1991 as Dares validispinus , which Günther had also synonymous with Dares ulula. In 1998 Philip Edward Bragg validated Dares verrucosus again and found in the specimens examined by Hausleithner that only the females belong to Dares validispinus, while the males are representatives of Dares verrucosus. Bragg also describes a great similarity in particular of the females with the somewhat larger Dares breitensteini living in the more central part of Borneo and does not rule out that both belong to one species. Recent genetic studies do not confirm this, but place Dares verrucosus in the vicinity of Dares philippinensis and Dares murudensis . From the four females and one subadult male deposited as paralectotypes in the Natural History Museum, Vienna, Bragg selected the male as lectotype. [2] [6] [7]

Francis Seow-Choen described with Dares verrucosus tawauensis a second subspecies which was found in Tawau. A difference to the nominate subspecies is in particular the lack of the paired, spine-like lobes on the upper side of the abdomen of the males. The female holotype and a male paratype are deposited at the Forestry Research Center in Sepilok. Another male paratype can be found at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore. [1] [8]

Terraristic

Dares verrucosus is the second Dares species that was introduced into European terrariums. The then unidentified species was first imported in 1984 by Jonathan Cocking. The first specimens came from the Sepilok Rainforest Reserve west of Sandakan. Further imports from the same area followed.

The species is easy to keep and breed. A higher humidity is preferred, which can be achieved by a layer of soil covered with moist moss. The leaves of bramble and many other Rosaceae are eaten, as well as those of most of the Betulaceae and of Grossulariaceae. [3] [4] [5]

From the Phasmid Study Group Dares verrucosus is listed under PSG number 69. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sungaya</i> Genus of stick insects

Sungaya is a monotypic genus of stick insects, containing the species Sungaya inexpectata. Its common name is the sunny stick insect, derived from the less commonly used sungay stick insect. The genus name refers to the locality of the holotype, i.e. the region where the insect was first collected. The species name is derived from the Latin as "inexpectatus" and means "unexpected".

Heteropterygidae Family of stick insects

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 are descriebed.

<i>Orestes</i> (insect) Genus of stick insects

The genus Orestes combines relatively small and elongated Phasmatodea species from Southeast and East Asia.

Heteropterygini Tribe of stick insects

Heteropterygini is the only tribe within the subfamily of the Heteropteryginae from the order of the Phasmatodea in the family Heteropterygidae. With 19 representatives described, this subfamily represents both the species-poorest and that of the three subfamilies, to which the largest and most striking species are counted.

<i>Epidares</i> Species of stick insect

Epidares nolimetangere, the touch-me-not stick insect, is an insect species from the order of the Phasmatodea and the only representative of the genus Epidares. The species name nolimetangere comes from Latin and means "don't touch me". It refers to the prickly appearance of the animals.

<i>Dares</i> (insect) Genus of stick insects

The genus Dares, which is mainly native to Borneo, combines relatively small and mostly dark-colored Phasmatodea species.

<i>Planispectrum</i> Genus of stick insects

The genus Planispectrum combines very small and compact species from Southeast Asia.

<i>Hoploclonia</i> Tribe of stick insects

Hoploclonia is the only genus of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly colored Phasmatodea species.

<i>Mearnsiana</i> Genus of stick insects

Mearnsiana is a monotypic genus of stick insects, containing Mearnsiana bullosa as the so far only described representative.

<i>Aretaon</i> (insect) Genus of stick insects

Aretaon is a genus of stick insects native to Borneo and the Philippine island Palawan.

<i>Aretaon asperrimus</i> Species of stick insect

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.

<i>Dares murudensis</i> Species of stick insect

Dares murudensis is a relatively small species of stick insect. Like most other members of the genus Dares, the species is native to Borneo.

<i>Dares philippinensis</i> Species of stick insect

Dares philippinensis is a species of stick insects. This species is not native to Borneo like most other members of the genus Dares, but to the Philippine island Palawan.

<i>Dares validispinus</i> Species of stick insect

Dares validispinus is a species of stick insects. Like most other members of the genus Dares, the species is native to Borneo, more precisely in the northwest of the island.

<i>Dares ulula</i> Species of stick insect

Dares ulula is a species of stick insects. Like most other members of the genus Dares, the species is native to Borneo, more precisely in the northwest of the island. The males are extremely prickly even for the representatives of the genus Orestes. Females are colored with a relatively high contrast.

<i>Aretaon muscosus</i> Species of stick insect

Aretaon muscosus is a stick insect species from the family Heteropterygidae, which is native to Borneo.

<i>Trachyaretaon carmelae</i> Species of stick insect

Trachyaretaon carmelae is a species of stick insects. Even if there was no formal synonymisation, Trachyaretaon brueckneri is generally used as its synonym.

<i>Hoploclonia cuspidata</i> Species of stick insect

Hoploclonia cuspidata is a stick insect species native to the north of Borneo and is also called Brunei Hoploclonia stick insect.

<i>Hoploclonia gecko</i> Species of stick insect

Hoploclonia gecko is a relatively small, spiny and darkly colored stick insect species that is native to the northwest of Borneo.

<i>Hoploclonia abercrombiei</i> Species of stick insect

Hoploclonia abercrombiei is a stick insect species known from the northwest of Borneo, more precisely from only one place in the Malay state Sarawak.

References

  1. 1 2 Brock, P. D.; Büscher, T. H. & Baker, E. W. Phasmida Species File Online . Version 5.0. (accessdate 31 July 2021)
  2. 1 2 3 Bragg, P. E. (2001). Phasmids of Borneo, Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, pp. 158–161, ISBN   983-812-027-8
  3. 1 2 3 Dräger, H. (2012). Gespenstschrecken der Familie Heteropterygidae Kirby, 1896 (Phasmatodea) – ein Überblick über bisher gehaltene Arten, Teil 2: Die Unterfamilie Dataminae Rehn & Rehn, 1839, ZAG Phoenix, Nr. 5 Juni 2012 Jahrgang 3(1), pp. 22–45, ISSN   2190-3476
  4. 1 2 Stabschrecken.com (2010). Haltungsberichte -Stabschrecken, Gespenstschrecken, Wandelnde Blätter, iter novellum Verlag, Saarbrücken, p. 71, ISBN   978-3-00-031913-6
  5. 1 2 phasmatodea.com by Hennemann, F. H.; Conle, O. V.; Kneubühler, B. & Valero, P.
  6. ↑ Josef Redtenbacher (1906). Die Insektenfamilie der Phasmiden. Vol. 1. Phasmidae Areolatae . Verlag Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, pp. 53–56
  7. ↑ Bragg, P. E. (1998). A revision of the Heteropteryginae (Insecta: Phasmida: Bacillidae) of Borneo, with the description of a new genus and ten new species, Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden 316, pp. 47-69, figs 1-150 ISSN   0024-1652, ISBN   90-73239-61-3, Download version
  8. ↑ Seow-Choen, F. (2016) A Taxonomic Guide to the Stick Insects of Borneo, Natural History Publikations (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, p. 385, ISBN   978-983-812-169-9
  9. ↑ Phasmid Study Group Culture List
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