Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis Hasenpusch & Brock, 2007

Brock, Paul D. & Hasenpusch, Jack, 2007, Studies on the Australian stick insects (Phasmida), including a checklist of species and bibliography, Zootaxa 1570 (1), pp. 1-81 : 14-17

Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis Hasenpusch & Brock , spec. nov. [ Paluma Winged Beak-abdomen Stickinsect]

( Figs. 13–17 )

Description

Female (holotype) ( Figs. 13–16 ): Slender brown short-winged species, mottled with darker flecks and lines; femora and tibiae faintly banded. Body length 76 mm.

Head: Longer (4 mm) than wide (3 mm), eyes small. Black central longitudinal line, also two fainter lines running either side of eyes to back of head, the inner line dark brown, outer line black, also running through the eyes. Antennae with 44 indistinct segments, exceeding length of fore legs.

Thorax: Elongate, with few sparse, short, tubercles. Pronotum slightly shorter than head, with bold central indentation and lines beneath. Mesonotum less than five times length of pronotum, sparsely granulated, dorsally, laterally and on the paler ventral surface. Also with 5 almost paired, but well spaced tubercles, dorsally. Laterally with thicker, but partly obscured black line, with some darker mottled areas dorsally. Metanotum almost four times shorter.

Wings: Rather abbreviated, fore wings short, subtruncate. Hind wings whitish brown, reaching just over end of 3 rd abdominal segment; pre-anal part mottled brown.

Abdomen: Elongate, smooth, with mottled darker spots and blotches, with an irregular black line laterally on raised segments 8–10. Anal segment typical beak-shaped in this genus, operculum tapered to rounded tip, 2 mm short of end of beak.

Legs: Long and elongate, hind legs easily exceeding body length. Left mid-leg broken off and missing.

Paratype females (2).

Same as holotype except for minor size differences (body length 71–80 mm), rather plainer, with less conspicuous dark lines and bands in 71mm specimen (ANIC), which has left mid-leg broken off and missing. In 80mm AMSA specimen fore legs and left mid leg missing.

Male not yet known.

Egg ( Fig. 17 ). Capsule long and thin, heavily sculptured, with bold, darker, micropylar plate on lower half, with a marked central ridge. Operculum flat, sculpturing present. Capsule length 2.7 mm, width 1.1 mm, height 1.1 mm. The eggs in Rhamphosipyloidea more closely resemble the type species of Sipyloidea ( S. sipylus ) than many species attributed to that genus.

Holotype ♀, Australia: Queensland, Paluma , 914 m., 19° 0´S; 146° 12´E ( GPS), 18.ii.2006, Stop 5. D.C.F. Rentz, P.D. Brock & J. Hasenpusch ( QMBA) . Paratype: ♀, same data, reared from a large nymph ( ANIC) , ♀, Queensland, Birthday Cr [ee]k, near Paluma , 18.i.1967, K195628 ( AMSA). Eggs (not paratypes) have also been deposited in QMBA and ANIC .

Distribution So far found in only in rainforest in Paluma , north Queensland, but likely to be reasonably widespread.

Notes

This species is closely related to, but easily distinguished from the gaudier R. queenslandica ( Sjöstedt, 1918) by its lack of large conical thoracic spine-like tubercles in the female. Readily accepted raspberry leaves Rubus sp. in captivity.

Derivation of name Named after the type locality, Paluma , with its wonderfully varied habitats and fauna.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis holotype female (QMBA), 76 mm.

FIGURE 14. Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis end of abdomen in holotype female, dorsal view.

FIGURE 15. Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis end of abdomen in holotype female, lateral view.

FIGURE 16. Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis female, colour in nature

FIGURE 17. Rhamphosipyloidea palumensis egg a) dorsal, b) lateral (scale bar, 1 mm).