Leaf insects Temporal range: Eocene - Recent | |
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Pulchriphyllium from the Western Ghats | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Phasmatodea |
Suborder: | Euphasmatodea |
Superfamily: | Phyllioidea Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893 |
Family: | Phylliidae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893 |
Genera | |
see text |
The family Phylliidae (often misspelled Phyllidae) contains the extant true leaf insects or walking leaves, which include some of the most remarkably camouflaged leaf mimics (mimesis) in the entire animal kingdom. They occur from South Asia through Southeast Asia to Australia. Earlier sources treat Phylliidae as a much larger taxon, containing genera in what are presently considered to be several different families. [1]
Leaf insects are well camouflaged, taking on the appearance of leaves. They do this so accurately that predators often are not able to distinguish them from real leaves. In some species, the edge of the leaf insect's body has the appearance of bite marks. To further confuse predators, when the leaf insect walks, it rocks back and forth, mimicking a real leaf being blown by the wind. [2]
The scholar Antonio Pigafetta probably was the first Western person to document the creature, though it was known to people in the tropics for a long time. Sailing with Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigational expedition, he studied and chronicled the fauna on the island of Cimbonbon as the fleet hauled ashore for repairs. During this time he documented the Phyllium species with the following passage: [3]
In this island are also found certain trees, the leaves of which, when they fall, are animated, and walk. They are like the leaves of the mulberry tree, but not so long; they have the leaf stalk short and pointed, and near the leaf stalk they have on each side two feet. If they are touched they escape, but if crushed they do not give out blood. I kept one for nine days in a box. When I opened it the leaf went round the box. I believe they live upon air. [4]
The subfamily Phylliinae has been divided into two tribes since 2003. This classification is not confirmed by more recent molecular genetics investigations. In addition to the fossil genus Eophyllium, the subfamily distinguishes thirteen recent genera, eight of which have been described since 2017. [5] Within the genus Phyllium, the subgenus Pulchriphyllium , set up by Achille Griffini in 1898, has been distinguished from Phyllium since 1898. [6] [7] With Comptaphyllium and Walaphyllium two more subgenera became in 2019 and 2020. [8] [9] As of 2021, all three subgenera are considered separate genera. [10]
Since 2021, in addition to morphological, molecular genetic studies have also increasingly been included in clarification of the phylogeny of Phylliidae. Their results show the general relationship between the genera, but when comparing female and male representatives, they do not yet provide a clear phylogenetic picture of the recent genera. [11]
Cladograms of the Phylliidae species determined on the basis of molecular genetics analysis and morphological investigations according to Cumming and Le Tirant (2022): [11]
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The Phasmida Species File (V. 5.0) lists the following genera in two tribes: [12]
Auth. Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893
Auth. Zompro & Grösser, 2003
Several species have gained in popularity as pets including Cryptophyllium celebicum , Cryptophyllium westwoodii , Phyllium jacobsoni , Phyllium ericoriai , Phyllium siccifolium , Phyllium letiranti , Phyllium monteithi , Phyllium philippinicum , Phyllium rubrum , Phyllium tobeloense , Pulchriphyllium bioculatum and Pulchriphyllium giganteum .
A 47-million-year-old fossil of Eophyllium messelensis , a prehistoric ancestor of Phylliidae, displays many of the same characteristics of modern leaf insects, indicating that this family has changed little over time. [13]
Phyllium is the largest and most widespread genus of leaf insects in the family Phylliidae (Phasmatodea). They can be found in Sundaland, Philippine Islands, Wallacea, and Australasia.
Pulchriphyllium giganteum, commonly known as the Giant Malaysian Leaf insect, is a species of leaf insects described from Malaysia by Hausleithner in 1984 and placed in the genus Pulchriphyllium since 2021. Pulchriphyllium giganteum is the largest species belonging to the genus Pulchriphyllium reaching 105 mm in size. They are found most abundantly in the west Malaysian tropics. The females typically have large elytra that lie edge to edge on the abdomen and tend to lack hind wings making them usually flightless. Males have small elytra and sometimes transparent non-leaflike functional hind wings. Pulchriphyllium giganteum found in the wild tend to be mostly females and the first male of this species was not found until 1994. In captivity, the species has primarily been observed to reproduce through parthenogenesis meaning the females are asexual. The primary reproductive pattern in the wild is unknown. Eggs tend to be brown or black and glossy and resemble seeds. They hatch around 6 months after breeding. Newly hatched young nymphs tend to be wingless and brown or reddish in color. They develop their green color after feeding on leaves. Both the adult and larval stages are phytophagous meaning they feed on plants. The main plant food sources for this species are oak and bramble tree leaves.
The Heteropterygidae is a family of stick insects belonging to the suborder Euphasmatodea. Species can be found in Australasia, East and Southeast Asia. About 150 valid species have been described.
Cryptophyllium westwoodii is a species of leaf insect in the family Phylliidae. It is distributed from southern China, the Andaman islands, Myanmar, Indo-China, Sumatra and the Riouw Archipelago.
Phyllium letiranti is a species of phasmid or walking leaf of the genus Phyllium. It is only found on the island of Peleng in Indonesia.
Cryptophyllium is a genus of leaf insects in the tribe Phylliini, described in 2021. Its distribution is probably incomplete, but includes southern China, Sri Lanka, Indo-China, Malesia and western Pacific islands.
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.
The genus Planispectrum combines very small and compact species from Southeast Asia.
The Obrimini are the most species-rich tribe of the Phasmatodea family of the Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia.
Brasidas is a genus of stick insects that is native to the Philippines and is named after the Spartan general Brasidas
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.
Pulchriphyllium is a genus of leaf insects. It was first established by Griffini in 1898 as a subgenus within the genus Phyllium and is a valid genus since 2021. The distinctive feature of Pulchriphyllium is the presence of lobes on the inside and outside of the fore tibia. In Phyllium are lobes only present on the outside. The representatives of the genus are native to both Sundaland and continental Asia.
Heterocopus is a monotypic stick insect genus, containing Heterocopus leprosus as the only valid species.
Stenobrimus is a genus of medium-sized stick insects native to the Philippines.
Pterobrimus is a monotypic genus of stick insects (Phasmatodea), containing the species Pterobrimus depressus, which is native to Fiji.
Tisamenus ranarius is a stick insect species (Phasmatodea), in the family of the Heteropterygidae native to the Philippines.
Nanophyllium australianum, also known as the Queensland leaf insect, is a species of leaf insect found in the Iron Range in Northern Queensland.
Nanophyllium is a genus of leaf insects comprising 11 species, found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Southern Indonesia, and the Indian Subcontinent. Not much is known about this genus, primarily due to their remote habitats and elusive appearance.
Walaphyllium is a genus of leaf insects comprising three species. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Walaphyllium monteithei is a popular pet, and is commonly bred throughout Europe and Australia.