Mearnsiana bullosa

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Mearnsiana bullosa
Mearnsiana bullosa - pair2.jpg
Mearnsiana bullosa,
left male, right female
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Heteropterygidae
Subfamily: Obriminae
Tribe: Obrimini
Genus: Mearnsiana
Species:
M. bullosa
Binomial name
Mearnsiana bullosa
Synonyms [1]
Even hatched nymph Mearnsiana bullosa L1 nymph.jpg
Even hatched nymph
Portrait of a male Mearnsiana bullosa - portrait of a male.jpg
Portrait of a male

Mearnsiana bullosa, occasionally referred to by the common name Manobos stick-insect, [1] [2] is a species of stick insect in the family Heteropterygidae. It is native to the Philippine islands of Mindanao and Leyte. Until 2023 it was the only described representative of the genus Mearnsiana .

Contents

Description

The species, wingless and thornless in both sexes, is the most colorful of the known representatives of the family Heteropterygidae. The body surface is shiny. The 4.5 to 5.1 centimetres (1.8 to 2.0 in) long males have an olive green basic color. The joint membranes and partly also the margins of the individual segments are colored bright yellow. meso- and metathorax are colored orange-brown above and below and have two pairs of slightly darker humps on the upper side. The coloring of the upper side of the abdomen is striking. A wide yellow vertical stripe runs along its entire length, flanked by two green stripes and two red stripes towards the edge. With more than 5 centimetres (2.0 in) the antennae are good body length. At 8 to 9.8 centimetres (3.1 to 3.9 in), the females are significantly longer than the males. Their antennae are with about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) in length shorter than the body. This is colored bright green or a bit more plain green-brown on the top. Legs, antennae and ovipositor are always light brown. The color of the underside varies from orange brown to slightly purple. The abdomen can swell significantly during egg production. The abdomen ends in a long, straight secondary ovipositor, which surrounds the actual ovipositor. [3] [4] [5]

Distribution

For a long time, Mearnsiana bullosa was only known from the Philippine province Province of Cotabato on the island of Mindanao, where it was found in the area around the volcano Mount Apo. There is now also evidence from the provinces of South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur on Mindanao and from Mount Balocaue on the island of Leyte, located north of Mindanao. [2]

Behaviour and ecology

The species is nocturnal like the other members of the family, but adult specimens do not hide during the day, but hang freely in the food plant. When touched, they drop to the ground and then usually start running immediately. Plants from the genus Leptospermum and Casuarina on which the animals were found belong to the natural food spectrum. The bulbous-shaped eggs are laid in the ground as a clutch of 20 to 30 eggs at intervals of 2 to 3 weeks. They are gray in color, 5.1 millimetres (0.20 in) long, about 3.7 millimetres (0.15 in) wide and have a black lid (operculum). The micropylar plate has four arms and its shape resembles a horizontally flattened "X". The two upper arms can also flow together to form a single, wider arm. After about 3 to 5 months the nymphs hatch. Their bodies and legs are very flat and almost black except for a light spot between pro- and mesonotum. At first they walk around very briskly with their abdomen rolled forward. The white margins of the abdomen on the underside are shown. This behavior only changes with the start of food intake and the nymphs, which are now gradually getting lighter, nestle flat against twigs or branches of the food plants, making them barely detectable. Older stages develop a light brown and pale green camouflage pattern, which is complemented by a kind of white lichen pattern. They keep their flat shape until the last moult and have a dull and relatively blistered body surface. Males are adult after around 5 to 6 months. Females need about one month longer. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy

In 1939 James Abram Garfield Rehn and his son John William Holman Rehn described the species using a male nymph as Mearnsiana bullosa. It was found at the Mount Apo in Mindanao and is deposited as holotype in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The name Mearnsiana is dedicated to the American ornithologist and natural scientist Edgar Alexander Mearns, who found the holotype at the Mount Apo. The specific epithet bullosa means "blistered" and probably refers to the vesicular tubercles coated body surface, especially of the nymphs. [1] [7]

In 2005 Ireneo L. Lit, Jr. and Orlando L. Eusebio described a species called Trachyaretaon manobo, which was also found at the Mt. Apo. Their type material is deposited at the University of the Philippines. In the following year Oskar V. Conle also described a remarkably colorful species from Mindanao. He named it Hennobrimus hennemanni in honor of his friend, Frank H. Hennemann, who was also researching phasmids. The type material of this kind is deposited in the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. A short time later, Conle assumed that this species was the rediscovered Mearnsiana bullosa. The multiple description results from the big difference between the nymph described by Rehn and Rehn and the until 2005 unknown imago. Both Trachyaretaon manobo and Hennobrimus hennemanni were in 2016 by Hennemann et al synonymized with Mearnsiana bullosa. [1] [3] [6] [8]

In terraristics

Dave Navarro collected animals of this species at Mt. Apo in April 2008. From the eggs he had sent to Europe, the Swiss phasmid breeder Bruno Kneubühler established the first breeding stock of the species. A second stock goes back to animals also collected in 2008 by Joachim Bresseel, Mark Bushell and Ellen Caluwe. From the Phasmid Study Group Mearnsiana bullosa has been listed under PSG number 338 since the middle of 2013. [9]

Mearnsiana bullosa is easy to keep and breed. A higher humidity is preferred. A suitable substrate must be offered for laying eggs (soil on the terrarium floor). Leaves of bramble and many other Rosaceae are eaten in captivity, as well as those of Hypericum , hazel, oak and salal. [3] [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

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

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 from the Malay Archipelago and is nocturnal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteropterygidae</span> 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 have been described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obriminae</span> Family of stick insects

The Obriminae are the most species-rich subfamily of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia. It is divided into two tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heteropterygini</span> Tribe of stick insects

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.

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

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obrimini</span> Tribe of stick insects

The Obrimini are the most species-rich tribe of the Phasmatodea family of the Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia.

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

Haaniella is a genus of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae from Southeast Asia.

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

Mearnsiana is a genus of stick insects, which is native to the Philippine islands Mindanao, Leyte and Dinagat.

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

The genus Tisamenus native to the Philippines combines small to medium-sized species of stick insects.

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

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

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

Trachyaretaon is a genus of stick insects native to the Philippines.

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

Brasidas is a genus of stick insects that is native to the Philippines and is named after the Spartan general Brasidas

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

Eubulides is a stick insect genus native to the Philippines.

<i>Theramenes</i> (insect)

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.

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

Trachyaretaon carmelae is a species of stick insects. It is one of the largest in the subfamily Obriminae.

<i>Tisamenus serratorius</i> Species of stick insect

Tisamenus serratorius is a stick insect species that occurs on the Philippine island Luzon.

<i>Brasidas samarensis</i> Species of stick insect

Brasidas samarensis is stick insect species from the family Heteropterygidae. Occasionally it is named Samar stick insect according to their origin. In addition is the type species of the genus Brasidas, which was named after the Spartan officer Brasidas.

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

Trachyaretaon echinatus is the type species of the genus Trachyaretaon in the order of the stick insects.

<i>Brasidas cavernosus</i> Species of stick insect

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.

<i>Brasidas lacerta</i> Species of stick insect

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Brock, P. D.; Büscher, T. H. & Baker, E. W.: Phasmida Species File Online. Version 5.0./5.0 (accessdate 23 June 2021)
  2. 1 2 Hennemann, F. H. (2023). A taxonomic review, including new species and new records of Philippine Obrimini stick insects (Insecta: Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae: Obriminae), Faunitaxys, 2023, 11 (71), pp. 67–72.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Dräger, H (2012) Gespenstschrecken der Familie Heteropterygidae Kirby, 1896 (Phasmatodea) – ein Überblick über bisher gehaltene Arten, Teil 3: Die Unterfamilie Obriminae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893, Triben Miroceramiini und Eubulidini Zompro, 2004, ZAG Phoenix, Nr. 6. Juni 2012 Jahrgang 3(2), pp. 2–21, ISSN   2190-3476
  4. 1 2 Esch, A. (2012) Stabschrecken, Gespenstschrecken, Wandelnde Blätter: Erfolgreiche Haltung von Phasmiden. Natur und Tier-Verlag, Münster, pp. 78–80, ISBN   978-3-86659-221-6
  5. 1 2 3 Sijbrants, R. (2011) Speciesreport 40: Mearnsiana bullosa (Rehn & Rehn, 1939), Phasma Werkgroep, Nr. 81 Juni 2011, Jahrgang 21, pp. 3–5, ISSN   1381-3420
  6. 1 2 3 Breeding instructions for Mearnsiana bullosa on phasmatodea.com by Bruno Kneubühler
  7. ↑ Rehn, J. A. G. & Rehn, J. W. H. (1939). Proceedings of The Academy of Natural Sciences (Vol. 90, 1938) , Philadelphia, pp. 458–460.
  8. ↑ Hennemann, F. H.; Conle, O. V.; Brock, P. D. & Seow-Choen, F. (2016). Revision of the Oriental subfamiliy Heteropteryginae Kirby, 1896, with a re-arrangement of the family Heteropterygidae and the descriptions of five new species of Haaniella Kirby, 1904. (Phasmatodea: Areolatae: Heteropterygidae), Zootaxa 4159 (1), Magnolia Press, Auckland, New Zealand, ISSN   1175-5326
  9. ↑ Phasmid Study Group Culture List
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