Eurycanthinae Brunner

Hennemann, Frank H. & Conle, Oskar V., 2008, Revision of Oriental Phasmatodea: The tribe Pharnaciini Günther, 1953, including the description of the world's longest insect, and a survey of the family Phasmatidae Gray, 1835 with keys to the subfamilies and tribes (Phasmatodea: " Anareolatae ": Phasmatidae), Zootaxa 1906, pp. 1-316 : 21

Eurycanthinae Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1893

Relation between Eurycanthinae and Phasmatidae s. str. certainly deserves further evaluation, and as presently treated the subfamily appears to be paraphyletic ( Hennemann & Conle, 2006c: 43 ff.). A review of Eurycanthinae Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1893 with a key to the genera was provided by Zompro (2001b). The subfamily has its centre of distribution in New Guinea and surrounding islands, but eastward and southward extends as far as the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands or Ball’s Pyramid (near Lord Howe Island). Members are typical for a beak-like ovipositor in ♀♀, which is formed by elongation of the anal segment and subgenital plate (Bradler, 2003; Hennemann & Conle, 2006c), but may be secondarly reduced in certain genera (e.g. Papuacocelus Hennemann & Conle, 2006 or Thaumatobactron Günther, 1929 ; Zompro, 2001b: 20). The eggs are characteristic for their bullet-shaped capsule, rather small and cordiform micropylar plate which is open internally, and the flat operculum which lacks a capitulum ( Zompro, 2001b: 19). ♂♂ of certain more specialised members have the metafemora increasingly broadened and often heavily armed ventrally (e.g. Eurycantha Boisduval, 1835 ; Dryococelus Gurney, 1947 or Papuacocelus Hennemann & Conle, 2006 ). Although ♂♂ lack an external vomer and have the anal segment tectiform and specialized to form a clasping apparatus, neither genus has the typically structured anal segment found throughout Phasmatidae s. str. (= Lanceocercata). It usually has the posterior margin incised medially and on both sides of the incision elongated to form a short and slender ± conspicuous finger-like process which has the internal surfaces dentate. A feature analogous to Phasmatidae s. str. is the lack of a praeopercular organ on abdominal sternum VII of ♀♀, which is not neccessary since ♂♂ lack an external vomer. However, although ♂♂ don’t have an external vomer and ♀♀ lack a praeopercular organ as an anchorage for the ♂♂ during copulation, these grasp the ♀♀ along the posterior margin of sternum VII, and not along the longitudinal keel of sternum VIII (= subgenital plate) as do Lanceocercata. Due to this copulation position the claspers of the ♂♂ anal segment usually leave a wide space inbetween them, to allow grasping the posterior margin of sternum VII of ♀♀ on the lateral surfaces. Although the cerci may be laterally flattened in certain genera of Eurycanthinae (e.g. Eurycantha ), none of them has them conspicuously foliaceous with the dorsal and ventral carinae lamellate as in members of Phasmatidae s. str. (= Lanceocercata). Hennemann & Conle (2006c: 44 ff.) have shown external features of the ♀♀ genitalia and egg-morphology to indicate close relation to Old World genera currently contained in the subfamilies Lonchodinae ( Phasmatidae s. l. → 5.4) and Necrosciinae (family Diapheromeridae ). This also concerns to the genitalia of ♂♂, which are rather similar in structure to those of certain Lonchodinae , and indeed some of the more basal genera of Eurycanthinae (e.g. Brachyrtacus Sharp, 1898 or Neopromachus Giglio-Tos, 1912 ) strikingly resemble members of Lonchodinae with a beak-like ovipositor in ♀♀ (e.g. Manduria Stål, 1877 ). Provisionally, as Eurycanthinae obviously does not belong in Phasmatidae s. str. (= Lanceocercata), it may be regarded a subfamily of Phasmatidae sensu lato.