Micropodacanthus sztrakai Brock & Hasenpusch, 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 : 58-59

Micropodacanthus sztrakai Brock & Hasenpusch , spec. nov. [Jiva’s Stick-insect]

( Figs. 103–113 )

Description

Female (holotype) ( Figs. 103–107 ): Stunning, small leaf green species with brownish areas over part of head, pronotum and mesonotum, start of fore wings and tarsi. Hind wings tessellated deep pink and white; base of pre-anal part bright canary yellow. Body length 66 mm.

Head: Large, as broad as long, several sparse tubercles. Narrow line in between eyes and central longitudinal line; behind large brown eyes, brown area ends, then whitish line, suffused with dark brown. Three ocelli present. Antennae long, with 28 segments, but shorter than length of fore leg.

Thorax: Pronotum slightly shorter than head, mesonotum short, slightly longer than pronotum, with eight conspicuous spine-like tubercles (four in the first row, then two rows of two tubercles each); smaller tubercles present laterally. Metanotum well short of twice length of mesonotum. Underside of thorax light brown, a striking contrast to the bright upperside.

Wings: Fore wings very long and leaf-like, central vein yellowish. Hind wings long, tessellated white and pink (on veins), reaching up to end of abdomen. Pre-anal part of wings green, with a large, bright yellowish basal inner margin.

Abdomen: Abdomen broad, carina either side of median line. End of anal segment round, boldly triangular incised in centre, supraanal plate visible. Operculum large, boat-shaped, about reading end of anal segment. Cerci as long as anal segment, broad, tapering to tip.

Legs: All femora with apical spine. Mid and hind femora broadened, several well spaced serrations ventrolaterally present, hardly noticeable on the tibiae. Tarsi of modest length. All legs rather hairy.

Paratype male (1) ( Figs. 108–112 ).

As in female, except considerably smaller and slenderer, with other differences as follows: antennae longer, with 25 segments, wings rather pinker on inner margin, but plain whitish towards outer margin. Anal segment divided into two lobes with five small black teeth within; subgenital plate swollen, subtruncate at tip, not reaching end of 9 th abdominal segment. Left mid tarsus missing. Body length 43 mm.

Egg ( Fig. 113 ). Capsule greyish-brown, tall, curved. With fine net-like sculpturing, but lacking the distinctive raised sculpturing in Podacanthus . Small, oval micropylar plate situated near pole, median line beneath. Capitulum raised, operculum pitted. Capsule length 3.1 mm, width 1.3 mm, height 1.9 mm. The unusual eggs justify a new genus for this species.

Holotype ♀, Australia, north Queensland, Kuranda , 13.i.2007, J. Sztraka ( QMBA) . Paratype: ♂, same data (in copula) ( QMBA). Eggs (not paratypes), also deposited in QMBA .

Distribution So far known by only a mating pair from Kuranda (north Queensland), a productive area for phasmids.

Notes

Died a few days after being found in a dense rainforest habitat (by the Barron River). Several eggs were laid, but with uncertainty as to host food plant(s).

Derivation of name Named after the collector, Jiva Sztraka, a keen entomologist from Kuranda.

Figures

FIGURES 103–107. Micropodacanthus sztrakai holotype female. 103. holotype female (QMBA), 66 mm, 104. end of abdomen, dorsal view. 105. end of abdomen, lateral view. 106. end of abdomen, ventral view. 107. in nature.

FIGURES 108–113. Micropodacanthus sztrakai. 108. male paratype (QMBA) 43 mm. 109. end of abdomen in male paratype, dorsal view. 110. end of abdomen in male paratype, lateral view. 111. end of abdomen in male paratype, ventral view. 112. male paratype, in nature. 113. egg—dorsal and lateral views