Skip to main content

Mashpi walkingstick (Trychopeplus mashpiensis) from Chocó, Ecuador, based on males, females and eggs

Dlium Mashpi walkingstick (Trychopeplus mashpiensis) from Chocó, Ecuador, based on males, females and eggs

NEWS - Researchers report Mashpi walkingstick (Trychopeplus mashpiensis Conle, Valero & Hennemann, sp. nov.) from the Chocó ecoregion of northwestern Ecuador is new to science based on its unique body ornamentation and egg structure morphology.

Trychopeplus Shelford 1909 is a genus of Neotropical stick insects (Phasmida Leach 1815) known for its remarkable morphological adaptations that allow it to blend in almost perfectly with epiphytic lichens in its habitat. These adaptations make Trychopeplus one of the most cryptic stick insect genera.

The genus was described to distinguish the Neotropical species from Pericentrus Redtenbacher 1908 based on morphological differences and distinct geographic distribution compared to the type species Pericentrus moewisi Redtenbacher 1908. Pericentrus is known to be restricted to East and South Asia, whereas Trychopeplus is endemic to the Neotropics.

Oskar Conle from the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Germany, Pablo Valero from the University of Murcia in Spain and Frank Hennemann from the Zoologische Staatssammlung München in Germany describe new species based on specimens collected from the Chocó forest in Ecuador through comprehensive morphological analysis of males, females and eggs.

The new species measures 3.6–4.2 mm in length including operculum, 2.9–3.4 in length, 2.5–2.8 in height, 2.2–2.4 in width and 1.9–2.1 in micropylar plate length. So far, the new species is only known from the type site, in the northwestern Pichincha Province of Ecuador. The epithet mashpiensis refers to the Mashpi Reserve.

The new species can be distinguished from T. laciniatus and T. thaumasius by the shape of the spiny ornamentation (vs. the irregular leaf lobes of T. laciniatus and T. thaumasius); the eggs have a tightly closed, smooth capsule (vs. a capsule with a long, hair-like yellowish margin). In addition, the distribution of T. laciniatus is restricted to Central America

Females of the new species can be distinguished from T. spinosolobatus by the pointed tips of the body spines (vs. rounded in T. spinosolobatus); the femoral ornamentation consists of two pairs of leaf-like lobes (vs. four pairs and larger); the subgenital plate is 1.2 times the combined length of the last three tergites (vs. 1.7 times the length of the last three tergites); known only from northwestern Ecuador (vs. Venezuela and Colombia).

The inclusion of Trychopeplus mashpiensis in Trychopeplus underscores the importance of taxonomic exploration and morphological revision in understanding the biodiversity of the Neotropics. This study not only increases the number to four species, but also provides new insights into the variability of egg morphology that has significant implications for identification and classification.

The close phylogenetic relationship between Trychopeplus and Phanocles highlights the need for further research to clarify the evolutionary relationships within the subfamily Diapheromerinae and to address the complexity of diversity within the genus.

Original research

Conle OV, Valero P, Hennemann FH (2024). A new Trychopeplus species (Phasmatodea, Diapheromerinae, Cladomorformia) discovered from Ecuador’s enigmatic Chocó ecoregion. ZooKeys 1217: 309-326, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1217.130397

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica)

Cogon grass ( Imperata cylindrica ) is a species of plant in the Poaceae, an annual grass, sharp leaves, long and scaly shoots, creeping underground, white or purplish flowers, very adaptive and grows in all climates. I. cylindrica has sharply pointed shoot tips that emerge from the ground, up to 3 meters high, short stems, rising above the ground surface. Leaves are long ribbon-shaped, pointed tip, narrow base, up to 100 cm long, very rough and sharply serrated edges, long hairs at the base and wide veins. Inflorescences in panicles, up to 28 cm long, spikes long-haired and white to 1 cm. The seeds spread quickly with the wind or via rhizomes that quickly penetrate the soil. This species grows in tropical to subtropical areas, elevation up to 2000 meters, temperature 20-40C, rainfall 500-3500 mm/year, pH 4-7.5, lots of sunlight to a bit of shade. This plant dominates open land, former forests, dry rice fields, roadsides and so on. This plant contains mannitol, glucose, sacharose...
Read more

Liberian coffee (Coffea liberica)

Liberian coffee ( Coffea liberica ) is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family, a tree up to 20 meters tall, with numerous, radial and irregular branches, brown bark, and linear fissures. The leaves are oval, thick, up to 35 cm long, up to 20 cm long, shiny green, and have petioles up to 1 cm long. The fruit is round to oval, irregular, and up to 2 cm wide. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Gentianales Family: Rubiaceae Subfamily: Ixoroideae Tribe: Coffeeae Genus: Coffea L. in Sp. Pl.: 172 (1753) Species: Coffea liberica W.Bull in Nursery Cat. (William Bull) 97: 4 (1874) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Coffea abeokutae Cramer in Meded. Dept. Landb. Ned.-Indië 11: 286, 396 (1913) Coffea abeokutae var. camerunensis A.Chev. in Encycl. Biol. 22: t. 44 (1942) Coffea abeokutae var. indeniensis (Siebert) A.Chev. (1942) Coffea abeokutae var. longicarpa Portères in Ann. Agric. Afrique Occ. 1(2): 224 (1937) Coffea abeokutae var. macrocarpa...
Read more

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...
Read more