| Hoploclonia gecko | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hoploclonia gecko, female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Heteropterygidae |
| Subfamily: | Obriminae |
| Tribe: | Hoplocloniini |
| Genus: | Hoploclonia |
| Species: | H. gecko |
| Binomial name | |
| Hoploclonia gecko (Westwood, 1859) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Acanthoderus geckoWestwood, 1859 | |
Hoploclonia gecko is a relatively small, spiny and darkly colored stick insect species that is native to the northwest of Borneo. [2]
Alfred Russel Wallace collected in Sarawak in 1858 a number ofspecimens, but did not leave any more precise information about the location. John Obadiah Westwood described these the following year as Acanthoderus gecko. When describing it, both males and females were available to him. Because of the specific epithet chosen by Westwood, it is also called "Gecko Stick Insect".
In 1875 Carl Stål established the genus Hoploclonia for this species alone, which became the type species as Hoploclonia gecko. The genus remained monotypical until the description of Hoploclonia cuspidata in 1906.
In 1995 a female of Philip Edward Bragg from the specimens collected by Wallace was selected as lectotype. It is deposited together with two male paralectotypes in the Natural History Museum. Other specimens collected by Wallace are kept as paralectotypes in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. [1] [3]
The insects, wingless in both sexes, have typical spines on their bodies like all representatives of this genus. In the 30 to 35 millimetres (1.2 to 1.4 in) long males, these are located in pairs on the head and the thorax, but not on the abdomen. The pair of spines on the pronotum is forked. Adult males are dominated by a dark, mostly black-brown basic color with a bright yellow-orange to red longitudinal line, which extends from the rear edge of the pronotum to the middle of the abdomen. As with the other representatives of the genus, the areas around the coxae, as well as the distal ends of the femurs and the proximal ends of the tibae, ie the knee area, colored light yellow to orange.
The females are 40 to 50 millimetres (1.6 to 2.0 in) long. They can be colored more or less high-contrast light, dark or red-brown. They have clear spines on the thorax. On the mesothorax the first pair of spines forms a flat triangle, very broad at the base, which is much more pronounced than in other Hoploclonia species. Overall, they are very robust from the habitus. The relatively short abdomen is plump in egg-laying females and approximately cylindrical in cross-section. The end of the abdomen is formed by a short ovipositor, which is used to lay the eggs in the ground. [2] [4]
Hoploclonia gecko is native to the northwest of Borneo, more precisely in the far west of the Malaysian state Sarawak. The species was found here in Bako National Park, on Mount Santubong, on Mount Serapi, in Matang and Lingga. The main area of distribution is the area around Kuching, the capital of Sarawak. On Mount Santubong she was found up to a height of 300 metres (980 ft). [4]
Like almost all stick insects, Hoploclonia gecko is nocturnal. To eat, they do not climb higher than 30 centimetres (12 in) up the food plants. The females lay their eggs with the ovipositor only a few millimeters deep in the ground. The eggs are 4.1 to 4.2 millimetres (0.16 to 0.17 in) long, 2.9 to 3.0 millimetres (0.11 to 0.12 in) high and 2.6 to 2.7 millimetres (0.10 to 0.11 in) wide. Like all Hoploclonia species, they are more arched on the dorsal side and have a lid (operculum) sloping towards the ventral side, which forms an opercular angle of less than 10 degrees. Of the three arms of the micropylar plate, one faces the lid, while the other two run laterally in the direction of the lower pole and enclose about 2/3 of the egg. [4]
Hoploclonia gecko was the first species of the genus that appeared in the terrarium at the end of the 1980s. Philip Bragg collected some specimens in December 1987 in the Bako National Park, which he was able to successfully reproduce and spread. He brought further representatives of this species with him from Mount Serapi in 1990. The species was given PSG number 110 by the Phasmid Study Group.
As with all Hoploclonia species, keeping and breeding is considered difficult. Small terrariums with higher humidity and a substrate for laying eggs are required. Leaves of bramble, other Rosaceae, as well as oak, ivy, Crataegus and Pyracantha species are accepted as food. [2] [5]
Heteropteryx is a monotypic genus of stick insects containing Heteropteryx dilatata as the only described species. and gives its name to the family of the Heteropterygidae. Their only species may be known as jungle nymph, Malaysian stick insect, Malaysian wood nymph, Malayan jungle nymph, or Malayan wood nymph and because of their size it is commonly kept in zoological institutions and private terrariums of insect lovers. It originates in Malay Archipelago, more precisely on the Malay Peninsula and Borneo and is nocturnal.
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.
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.
Hoploclonia is the only genus of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly colored Phasmatodea species.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Aretaon muscosus is a stick insect species from the family Heteropterygidae, which is native to Borneo.
Trachyaretaon carmelae is a species of stick insects. Even if there was no formal synonymisation, Trachyaretaon brueckneri is generally used as its synonym.
Tisamenus serratorius is a stick insect species that occurs on the Philippine island Luzon.
Tisamenus deplanatus is a stick insect species native to the Philippine islands Luzon and Mindanao occurs.
Hoploclonia cuspidata is a stick insect species native to the north of Borneo and is also called Brunei Hoploclonia 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.
Data related to Hoploclonia gecko at Wikispecies
Media related to Hoploclonia gecko at Wikimedia Commons