Asteliaphasma

Asteliaphasma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Phasmatodea
Family: Phasmatidae
Tribe: Pachymorphini
Genus: Asteliaphasma
Jewell & Brock, 2003
Asteliaphasma distribution

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]

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]

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 thinner 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]

References

  1. ^ "Asteliaphasma Jewell & Brock, 2003". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  2. ^ Salmon, John (1991). The stick insects of New Zealand. New Zealand: Reed Books. ISBN 978-0-7900-0211-8.
  3. ^ Jewell, Tony; Brock, Paul D. (2002). "A Review of the New Zealand Stick Insects: New Genera and Synonymy, Keys, and a Catalogue". Journal of Orthoptera Research. 11 (2): 189–197. ISSN 1082-6467.
  4. ^ a b Buckley, T. R.; Hitchmough, R.; Rolfe, J.; Stringer, I. (2016). Conservation status of New Zealand stick insects, 2014. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 15. Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. 3 pp.
  5. ^ Dennis, Alice B.; Dunning, Luke T.; Sinclair, Brent J.; Buckley, Thomas R. (2015). "Parallel molecular routes to cold adaptation in eight genera of New Zealand stick insects". Scientific Reports. 5 (1). doi:10.1038/srep13965. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 4564816. PMID 26355841.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jewell, Tony; Brock, Paul D. (2002). "A review of the New Zealand stick insects: new genera and synonymy, keys, and a catalogue". Journal of Orthoptera Research. 11 (2): 189–197. doi:10.1665/1082-6467(2002)011[0189:AROTNZ]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 1082-6467.
  7. ^ a b c Buckley, Thomas R.; Attanayake, Dilini; Nylander, Johan A. A.; Bradler, Sven (2010). "The phylogenetic placement and biogeographical origins of the New Zealand stick insects (Phasmatodea)". Systematic Entomology. 35 (2): 207–225. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2009.00505.x.
  8. ^ a b c d Trewick, S; Morgan-Richards, M (2005). New Zealand Wild: Stick Insects. Hong Kong: Reed Publishing. ISBN 1 86948 570 X.
  9. ^ "IRMNG - Asteliaphasma Jewell & Brock, 2002". www.irmng.org. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b c Trewick, Steve A.; Morgan-Richards, Mary; Collins, Lesley J. (2008). "Are you my mother? Phylogenetic analysis reveals orphan hybrid stick insect genus is part of a monophyletic New Zealand clade". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 48 (3): 799–808. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.025.
  11. ^ Yeates, Gregor W.; Buckley, Thomas R. (2009). "First records of mermithid nematodes (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasitising stick insects (Insecta: Phasmatodea)". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 36 (1): 35–39. doi:10.1080/03014220909510137. ISSN 0301-4223.
  12. ^ Forni, Giobbe; Plazzi, Federico; Cussigh, Alex; Conle, Oskar; Hennemann, Frank; Luchetti, Andrea; Mantovani, Barbara (2021-02-01). "Phylomitogenomics provides new perspectives on the Euphasmatodea radiation (Insecta: Phasmatodea)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 155 106983. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106983. hdl:11585/817784. ISSN 1055-7903.
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