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Asteliaphasma
Genus of insects From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Asteliaphasma is a genus of stick insects (order Phasmatodea) belonging to the family Phasmatidae.[1] The genus is endemic to New Zealand and the species were first described by Salmon in 1991[2] and later moved to the genus Asteliaphasma.[3][4] Members of this genus are found in the forests of the North Island, where they have been collected at elevations up to 900 meters above sea level.[5][6] Asteliaphasma are nocturnal, apterous (wingless), arboreal stick insects that feeds on Astelia and rātā species.[7][6][8]
Species:[9]
- Asteliaphasma jucundus (Salmon, 1991)
- Asteliaphasma naomi (Salmon, 1991)
As of 2014, both species are considered not threatened by the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC).[4]
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Taxonomy and phylogeny
The genus is named from the plant genus Astelia (family Liliaceae), combined with the suffix "phasma" meaning "phantom" or "insect" (reference to stick insects).[6] The species is so far only known from Astelia species and the Astelia-like Freycinetia banksii (Pandanaceae) and climbing rātā.[6][8]
One species, Asteliaphasma naomi, for a long time was known from a single specimen, but has now been collected a number of times.[10][11]
Early classifications suggested that Asteliaphasma was a sister group to Spinotectarchus; however, recent molecular data indicate that they are not sister taxa.[10][6] Instead, phylogenetic analysis indicates that A. jucundus is more closely related to Niveaphasma and Micrarchus species.[10][7][12]
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Morphology
Asteliaphasma are small, slender and completely wingless stick insects.[6] Until 2005 only female A. jocunda had been recorded[8] so reproduction of some populations might be parthenogenetic, a pattern consistent with that observed in other New Zealand stick insects.[6][7] Adult female A. jucundus range from 64 to 88 mm in body length and males are thiner and shorter (5mm).[6][8]
The following key features are used to identify this genus:[6]
- Entire body lightly granulated, sometimes with small tubercles
- A pair of short spines between the eyes
- Antennae slightly shorter than the fore femora (the femur of the foreleg)
- Small lateral lobes may be present on the fifth abdominal segment
- Operculum boat-shaped, reaching the tip of the anal segment
Asteliaphasma eggs are elongated, cylindrical, finely pitted and lightly rugose with minute spine-like setae restricted to the anterior and dorsal regions.[6]
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References
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