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

Banded dragonfish (Akarotaxis gouldae) diverged from Akarotaxis nudiceps 780,000 years ago

NEWS - A new species of dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or banded dragonfish, off the western Antarctic Peninsula by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point, the University of Oregon at Eugene, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, highlights the unknown biodiversity and fragile ecosystems of the Antarctic. A. gouldae was named in honor of the Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel (ARSV) Laurence M. Gould and crew. The larval specimen was collected while trawling for zooplankton and was initially thought to be the closely related Akarotaxis nudiceps hundreds of thousands of years ago. DNA comparisons with A. nudiceps specimens held in collections at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Yale University, and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris showed significant variation in mitochondrial genes that suggested the larval sample was a distinct species. Andrew Corso of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and colle...
Read more

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...
Read more

Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis)

Bush sorrel ( Hibiscus surattensis ) is a plant species in Malvaceae, annual shrub, crawling on the surface or climbing, up to 3 meters long, thorny stems, green leaves, yellow trumpet flowers, grows wild in forests and canal edges, widely used for vegetables and treatment. H. surattensis has stems with spines and hairs, branching and reddish green. Petiole emerges from the stem with a straight edge to the side, up to 11 cm long, sturdy, thorny, hairy and reddish green. The leaves have a length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm, 3-5 lobed, each has a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, sharp tip, sharp and jagged edges, wavy, stiff, green surface. Flowers up to 10 cm long, trumpet-shaped, yellow with a purple or brown or red center, solitary, axillary. Epicalyx has forked bracts, linear inner branches, spathulate outer branches. Stalks up to 6-7 cm. The seeds have a length of 3-3.5 mm and a width of 2.5 mm. Bush sorrels grow in pastures, marshes, abandoned fields and plantations, ...
Read more