| Hoploclonia abercrombiei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hoploclonia abercrombiei, female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Heteropterygidae |
| Subfamily: | Obriminae |
| Tribe: | Hoplocloniini |
| Genus: | Hoploclonia |
| Species: | H. abercrombiei |
| Binomial name | |
| Hoploclonia abercrombiei Bragg, 1995 | |
Hoploclonia abercrombiei is a stick insect species known from the northwest of Borneo, more precisely from only one place in the Malay state Sarawak. [1]
The first male of this species was discovered in 1992 by Philip Edward Bragg in the Niah National Park in Sarawak near the Great Cave of Niah. However, Bragg initially thought it was a male of Hoploclonia cuspidata , from which it differed mainly in the missing pair of spines on the fourth abdominal segment and the slightly different coloration. After a closer examination, he and Ian Abercrombie decided in 1994 to look again at the same place, where three more males and three females were found, two of them copulating pairs. In the following year Bragg described the species and dedicated the species name to Ian Abercrombie. A female is deposited as a holotype in the Natural History Museum, London. [1] [2] [3]
Hoploclonia abercrombiei and the Hoploclonia apiensis a species also described by Bragg in 1995 were synonymous with Hoploclonia cuspidata by Francis Seow-Choen in 2016. [4] As early as 2018, a study based on genetic analysis proved that Hoploclonia abercrombiei is an independent one and is therefore a valid species. [5]
In this species, the males are 35 to 40 millimetres (1.4 to 1.6 in) and the females 45 to 55 millimetres (1.8 to 2.2 in) long. The head, thorax and the second and third segments of the abdomen are covered with paired spines. In adult males, the spiny areas and especially the spines themselves are dark brown and therefore mostly a little lighter than the rest of the black-brown colored body. At the edges of the tergits of meso- and metathorax there are two beige to orange-yellow, species-typical marginal ridges. When viewed from above, they appear as two curved lines that converge closer to the rear. The base of the tibae is also noticeably yellowish. The females, which are also very dark in color, have shorter spines, but these are arranged in the same way as those of the males. The end of the abdomen forms a short laying spine (ovipositor) to deposit the eggs in the ground. [2] [6] [7]
During the day, the stick insects hide in the leaves or vegetation near the ground. At night they climb up the food plants, never climb areas that are far from the ground. The eggs, which are 3.3 to 3.9 millimetres (0.13 to 0.15 in)s long and 2.5 to 3.0 millimetres (0.098 to 0.118 in) wide, are laid in the ground by the females with the ovipositor. They have a bulging dorsal area and, as a result, a lid (operculum) that slopes downwards towards the ventral side. The nymphs need an average of six months to hatch, but depending on the climate it can be three to eight months. Until the moulting to imago passes again at least half a year. [2] [6] [7]
The breeding stocks found in the lovers' terrariums go back to the specimens found by Bragg and Abercrombie in 1994. Abercrombie successfully bred a pair of these animals. Only small terrariums are needed to keep them. It is important to have permanently high humidity and a layer of substrate suitable for laying eggs, at least three centimeters high, on the terrarium floor, but as with all representatives of the genus, breeding and keeping is tricky. The leaves of bramble, other Rosaceae, as well as hazel, oak or rhododendrons are easy to feed. For Hoploclonia abercrombiei the Phasmid Study Group assigned the PSG number 165. [2] [3] [6] [7] [8]
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.
Pylaemenes is a genus of stick insects in the family Heteropterygidae and subfamily Dataminae. It combines small to medium-sized, often brightly colored Phasmatodea species. Their representatives are found in large parts of Southeast Asia.
The genus Orestes combines relatively small and elongated Phasmatodea species from Southeast and East Asia.
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 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.
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.
The genus Dares, which is mainly native to Borneo, combines relatively small and mostly dark-colored Phasmatodea species.
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 colored Phasmatodea species.
Haaniella is a genus of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae from Southeast Asia.
The genus Tisamenus native to the Philippines combines small to medium-sized species of stick insects.
Aretaon is a genus of stick insects native to Borneo and the Philippine island Palawan.
Brasidas is a genus that is native to the Philippines and is named after the Spartan general Brasidas
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 murudensis is a relatively small species of stick insect. Like most other members of the genus Dares, the species is native to Borneo.
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.
Aretaon muscosus is a stick insect species from the family Heteropterygidae, which is native to Borneo.
Hoploclonia cuspidata is a stick insect species native to the north of Borneo and is also called Brunei Hoploclonia stick insect.
Hoploclonia gecko is a relatively small, spiny and darkly colored stick insect species that is native to the northwest of Borneo.
Data related to Hoploclonia abercrombiei at Wikispecies
Media related to Hoploclonia abercrombiei at Wikimedia Commons