| Pterobrimus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pterobrimus depressus, female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Heteropterygidae |
| Tribe: | Obrimini |
| Genus: | Pterobrimus Redtenbacher, 1906 |
| Species: | P. depressus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pterobrimus depressus Redtenbacher, 1906 | |
Pterobrimus is a monotypic genus of stick insects (Phasmatodea), containing the species Pterobrimus depressus, which is native to Fiji. [1]
The females reach a length of 35 millimetres (1.4 in). The males are 25 millimetres (0.98 in) long. This makes the species one of the smallest Obrimini along with Tisamenus hebardi . Morphologically, the animals resemble the representatives of the genus Tisamenus , but differ among other things by the small, scaly, rudimentary elytra in both sexes. Pterobrimus depressus is the only Obriminae species described with wings or wing remains, along with the fully winged Miroceramia westwoodii . In common with Tisamenus, Pterobrimus has large, laterally flattened spines on the front edge of the pronotum and indicated triangle on the top of the mesonotum. In addition to the pronatal spines, there are only a few spines on the head especially in males. The body shape is somewhat reminiscent of that of flat Tisamenus representatives such as Tisamenus deplanatus , whose species name, like that of Pterobrimus depressus, already indicates the compressed body shape. The abdomen of the females ends in the secondary ovipositor typical of Obrimini. This ovipositor is formed dorsally from the supraanal plate (also called epiproct) and is serrated at the tip, atypical for Obrimini in Pterobrimus depressus. [2] [3] The first segment of the antennae, the scapus, has an apical outer spine, which is otherwise only found in the representatives of the subfamily Dataminae. [3] [4]
Fiji was already mentioned as a type locality by Redtenbacher in the species description. [2] Since this locality is far to the east of the range of the other Heteropterygidae, the occurrence there and thus the type locality was occasionally questioned. [3] A specimen collected by Daniel Otte in Naitasiri Province on Viti Levu finally confirmed Fiji as distribution of this species. [5]
Pterobrimus depressus was described in 1906 by Redtenbacher in the genus Pterobrimus, which was specially established for this species. While the species name refers to the flat, compressed body shape of the species, the genus name is a combination of "ptero" for Ancient Greek πτερόν pterón "wing" and "Obrimus". Redtenbacher chooses this name because of the rudimentary wings and the proximity of the genus to Obrimus , or more precisely to the tribe Obrimini, in which he places the species. He calls the genus a transition between Heterocopus and Tisamenus and described both sexes using specimens from the Zoological Museum in Hamburg. [2] Of the specimens mentioned, a damaged male classified as syntype can be found there. A severely damaged female syntype is deposited in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. [1]
The affiliation of the genus to the Obrimini was doubted very early on. James Abram Garfield Rehn and his son John William Holman Rehn suspect that the genus belongs to a different tribe. [4] The tribes in question were raised in 2004 by Oliver Zompro to the status of separate subfamilies. He places the genus Pterobrimus in the tribe Eubulidini set up by him within the Obriminae. [6] Frank H. Hennemann et al. synonymized this tribe and placed the genus in the tribe Tisamenini set up by them. [3] Sarah Bank et al. were able to clarify the relationships within the family in a study on the spread of the Heteropterygidae based on genetic analysis. They synonymized the Tisamenini and confirmed the assignment of Redtenbacher to the Obrimini as well as the type locality he specified on the basis of more recent finds. The full-winged Miroceramia was identified as the sister genus. Both genera together form a sister clade to all other Obrimini. The genus Tisamenus mentioned by Redtenbacher is also closely related. The monotypic genus Heterocopus was not part of this study. [5]
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.
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. 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.
Hoploclonia is the only genus of the tribe Hoplocloniini and brings together relatively small and darkly coloured Phasmatodea species.
The Obrimini are the most species-rich tribe of the Phasmatodea family of the Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia.
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.
Brasidas is a genus of stick insects that is native to the Philippines and is named after the Spartan general Brasidas
Eubulides is a stick insect genus native to the Philippines.
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.
Brasidas foveolatus is a species of stick insects from the family Heteropterygidae native to the Philippine archipelago Mindanao.
Heterocopus is a monotypic stick insect genus, containing Heterocopus leprosus as the only valid species.
Trachyaretaon echinatus is the type species of the genus Trachyaretaon in the order of the stick insects.
Stenobrimus is a genus of medium-sized stick insects native to the Philippines.
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.
Tisamenus ranarius is a stick insect species (Phasmatodea), in the family of the Heteropterygidae native to the Philippines.
Tisamenus armadillo is a stick insect species (Phasmatodea) in the family Heteropterygidae, endemic to the Philippines.
Tisamenus cervicornis is a stick insect species (Phasmatodea), in the family of the Heteropterygidae endemic to the Philippine island Luzon in the province of Camarines Sur.
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.
Tisamenus asper is a stick insect species (Phasmatodea), in the family of the Heteropterygidae endemic to the Philippine island Luzon.
Data related to Pterobrimus depressus at Wikispecies