Ctenomorpha Gray

Hasenpusch, Jack & Brock, Paul D., 2006, Studies on the Australian stick insect genus Ctenomorpha Gray (Phasmida: Phasmatidae: Phasmatinae), with the description of a new large species, Zootaxa 1282, pp. 1-15 : 3-4

Ctenomorpha Gray

Ctenomorpha Gray, 1833: 16 , 27. Type species. Ctenomorpha marginipennis Gray, 1833 , by subsequent designation of Kirby 1904: 388.

Ctenomorpha ; Stål, 1875: 35, Kirby, 1904: 388, Karny, 1923: 240, Vickery, 1983: 9, Balderson et al 1998: 364, Otte & Brock 2005: 111.

Characteristics of the genus

Remarkably elongate phasmids, body length 134 mm to 300 mm in females, 91 mm to 198 mm in males. Rather variable in length, tuberculation and spination, within species. Head longer than wide, ocelli conspicuous in male. Pronotum similar in length to head. Mesonotum very elongate, 5 to 7 times length of pronotum, sparsely to heavily tuberculated. Metanotum short. Antennae long, exceeding length of fore femora. Legs very long and spiny, all femora with pair of short apical spines. Fore femora particularly serrate in female. Forewings elongate, leaf­like. Hindwings full­sized (male), shorter than mid femora in females; pre­anal part of hindwings in female with conspicuous tessellated base, hindwings black and slightly tessellated to a varying degree; in male, wings uniform brown. Operculum elongate, reaching end of abdomen (male subgenital plate reaching about end of ninth abdominal segment). Cerci huge, several times longer than anal segment in female, shorter, but still leaf­like in male [no other known Australian genera have such long, leaf­like cerci in females].

Species included

C. gargantua spec. nov., C. marginipennis Gray, 1833 (= Phasma (Diura) chronus Gray, 1833 , Acrophylla oxyacantha Redtenbacher, 1908 , Acrophylla phyllocerca Redtenbacher, 1908 , Acrophylla scutigera Redtenbacher, 1908 and Ctenomorpha tasmanensis Redtenbacher, 1908 ), Phibalosoma caprella Westwood, 1859 , which is left as a doubtful Australian species (the holotype ♂ in OXUM is from Australia (?)), and requires placing in another genus. It has conspicuous lobed tarsi and may originate from New Guinea.

Species removed from Ctenomorpha

1) Acrophylla aliena Redtenbacher, 1908: 456 , pl. 22: 3, 3a. This species was transferred to Ctenomorpha by Karny, 1923: 240, incorrectly attributed to Ctenomorphodes by Vickery, 1983: 5, hence returned to Ctenomorpha ( Brock, 1998: 13, Otte & Brock, 2005: 111). This species is here returned to its original genus i.e. Acrophylla aliena Redtenbacher, 1908 stat. rev. after lectotype designation: Lectotype ♂, Australia ‘New Holland’, Mus. Stuttgart (76 mm) (NHMW, No. 869), here designated. Paralectotype series: Ψ, Australia ‘New Holland’, Mus. Stuttgart (misidentified Ψ of Ctenomorpha marginipennis Gray , with larger wings than normal (200 mm) [cerci are broken off, but figured by Redtenbacher on plate 22: 3a, showing end of abdomen only]) (NHMW, No. 869), 3♂, Australia ‘New Holland’ (SMNS) [This lectotype designation shall guarantee the stability of the name. It is the specimen figured by Redtenbacher on plate 22: 3]. Redtenbacher was, perhaps, influenced by the larger than normal hindwings of the female (otherwise almost identical to species in NHMW he identified as chronus ) and the fact that it was with males from the Stuttgart collection, with the same data. The size difference alone makes a match extremely unlikely and when females of this species are traced, I would expect them to be in the region of 110 mm.

2) Based on careful checking of Gray’s brief descriptions (type (s) have not been traced) against nymphs and adults in collections (BMNH and P. Brock Coll. in particular), Ctenomorpha acheron Gray, 1834 is synonymised with Eurycnema goliath Gray, 1834 syn. nov., and Ctenomorpha macleayi Gray, 1835 is synonymised with Ctenomorphodes briareus Gray, 1834 syn. nov. (although specimens are on the small side at 80 mm (male) and 97 mm (female), briareus is very variable in size). After re­checking the faded holotype ♂ of Acrophylla salmacis Westwood, 1859 (BMNH), it is synonymised with Eurycnema osiris ( Gray, 1834) syn. nov.

3) Anchiale marmorata ( Redtenbacher, 1908) comb. nov. is transferred from Ctenomorpha (originally described in Acrophylla ). Redtenbacher described the holotype Ψ from New Guinea in the genus Acrophylla (MCSN) [the only non­Australian species]; this and other species described as Acrophylla in Redtenbacher, were transferred to Ctenomorpha ( Karny, 1923) , but this species from New Guinea lacks large cerci amongst other differences and, in our view, belongs to Anchiale Stål, 1875 .