| Miroceramia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Miroceramia westwoodii, preserved male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Heteropterygidae |
| Tribe: | Obrimini |
| Genus: | Miroceramia Günther, 1934 |
| Species: | M. westwoodii |
| Binomial name | |
| Miroceramia westwoodii (Bates, 1865) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Miroceramia is a monotypic genus of stick insects, containing Miroceramia westwoodii as the only described species. It is the only fully winged one of the subfamily Obriminae. [1]
The species and thus also the genus differ from all other Obriminae by the presence of fully developed wings, the very short and medial extended mesothorax, which is hardly longer than the prothorax, as well as the very long tarsi, which are more than half as long as the corresponding tibia. In the females, the downward directed secondary ovipositor is unique. The eggs can be distinguished from those of related species by their strong longitudinal curvature, whereby the capsule dorsal convex and ventrally concave.
With about 4.6 centimetres (1.8 in) in the male, and 7 to 7.3 centimetres (2.8 to 2.9 in) in length in the female, Miroceramia westwoodii is a medium-sized Obriminae species. Their most noticeable feature is the presence of wings in both sexes. The thorax is prickly on the surface of the pro- and mesonotum as well as the pleura. The pronotum is trapezoidal and much narrower at the front edge than at the back. The mesothorax is noticeably shortened and only about 1.2 times longer than the prothorax. The antennae are long and slender. They consist of 26 segments. Both fore and hind wings are present, with the hind wings protruding beyond the anterior ones. The forewings are designed as tegmina and reach about two thirds of the length of the hind wings (alae). The hind wings extend to the sixth or seventh segment of the abdomen. The tegmina are elongated and narrow towards the end. At the base they are strongly convex and equipped with two spines. The hind wings are ocher and translucent in the anal field. According to a note from M. J. D. Brendell on the label of a male he collected in the Manusela National Park on Seram Island, which is deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, these animals are capable of stridulation using their wings. In females, segments two to four of the abdomen are roughly the same width and about twice as wide as they are long. The segments behind it gradually taper towards the tip. The secondary ovipositor is long and strongly curved downwards. Its upper part, the epiproct, is blunt and shorter than the lower part. The longer, ventral part of the ovipositor, called subgenital plate, ends with a point. The abdomen of the males is approximately parallel. Their second to seventh segments are almost equally wide and slightly wider than they are long. The segments are pointed at the rear, outer corners and there is a slender spine on the second to fifth segment. [2]
The few representatives of the species found so far come from the area of the Wallace line, more precisely from the Moluccas island Seram and from the north of Sulawesi. [1] [2]
The species was described in 1865 by Henry Walter Bates as Heteropteryx westwoodii. The specific epithet is dedicated to John Obadiah Westwood. An adult female is deposited as a holotype in the zoological collection of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. William Forsell Kirby transferred the species to the genus Haaniella established by him in 1904. [1] [3]
Klaus Günther described a species called Miroceramia pterobrimus using a male holotype. The species name pterobrimus means winged Obrimus and indicates both the proximity to the already known representatives of the Obriminae, as well as the peculiarity of this species, namely the presence of wings. The holotype is deposited at the State Museum of Zoology, Dresden.
In 1998 Philip Edward Bragg introduced Miroceramia pterobrimus as synonym to Haaniella westwoodii. Since he synonymized the species, but the genus remained valid, the newly combined name Miroceramia westwoodii resulted. Type species for the genus Miroceramia is the synonymized Miroceramia pterobrimus. [4]
Due to the clear differences between Miroceramia westwoodii and almost all other Obriminae, Oliver Zompro established the tribe Miroceramiini for this species in 2004. He also included the monotypical genus Mearnsiana , which up to now was only known from the juvenile female holotype of Mearnsiana bullosa. [5] After their adult wingless Imago became known and after a closer comparison of their morphology, Mearnsiana bullosa was included in the Tribus Obrimini convicted. As a result, the tribe Miroceramiini initially became monotypical, before it was made a synonym for the Obrimini in 2021 after the publication of genetic studies. The monotypical genus Pterobrimus was identified by this investigation as the sister genus of Miroceramia. [2] [6]
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.
The Euphasmatodea, also known by its junior synonym Verophasmatodea is a suborder of the Phasmatodea, which contains the vast majority of the extant species of stick and leaf insects.
Megacrania batesii, commonly known as the peppermint stick insect, is an unusual species of stick insect found in northeastern Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and possibly as far north as the Philippines. It is notable for its aposematic coloration, as well as its robust chemical defense mechanism. Its common name refers to the irritating fluid — with an odor resembling peppermint — that it sprays as a defensive action from a pair of glands located at its prothorax when threatened, as well as the cylindrical, twig-like shape of its body. A member of the subfamily Megacraniinae, it was first described by English naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates in 1865.
Pseudophasmatidae is a family of stick insect, in the suborder Verophasmatodea, commonly called the "striped walkingsticks". An important identifying characteristic is its mesothorax, which is never more than three times as long as the prothorax.
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".
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.
The Obriminae are the most species-rich subfamily of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia. It is divided into two tribe.
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.
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.
The genus Hoploclonia is the only one of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly colored Phasmatodea species.
The Obrimini are the most species-rich tribe of the Phasmatodea family of the Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia.
Haaniella is a genus of the Phasmatodea family Heteropterygidae from Southeast Asia.
Mearnsiana is a monotypic genus of stick insects, containing Mearnsiana bullosa as the so far only described representative.
Aretaon is a genus of stick insects native to Borneo and the Philippine island Palawan.
Trachyaretaon is a genus of stick insects native to the Philippines.
Brasidas is a genus that is native to the Philippines and is named after the Spartan general Brasidas
Data related to Miroceramia westwoodii at Wikispecies
Media related to Miroceramia westwoodii at Wikimedia Commons