Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) giganteum Hausleithner, 1984

Cumming, Royce T., Bank, Sarah, Le Tirant, Stephane & Bradler, Sven, 2020, Notes on the leaf insects of the genus Phyllium of Sumatra and Java, Indonesia, including the description of two new species with purple coxae (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae), ZooKeys 913, pp. 89-126 : 89

Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) giganteum Hausleithner, 1984 Figure 3A-E

Distribution.

Malaysia: (Peninsular) Perak, Pahang, and Selangor States; (Bornean) Sarawak (Bintulu Division) and Sabah (Pensiangan) States. Indonesia: Sumatra, Bengkulu Province; (Borneo) West Kalimantan Province (Mount Bawang).

Range expansion.

Indonesia: West Java Province (Mount Halimun and Mount Gede) (Figure 3 A-C ).

Discussion.

Phyllium giganteum is a widely distributed species ranging from Peninsular Malaysia (the type locality), to Borneo, Sumatra, and most recently Java, Indonesia, the furthest south this species is currently known to occur ( Cumming et al. 2018) (Figure 4 ).

As a morphologically variable species with regards to abdominal shape and coloration ( Cumming et al. 2018), numerous morphological aspects have been reviewed across all known populations (including the several recently examined Javan specimens) with no consistent feature allowing morphological separation of any one population from the others. Future molecular studies based on a comprehensive taxon sampling throughout the Phyllium giganteum range might provide evidence of genetic differences between populations of this widely distributed lineage. Unfortunately, given that our current review is solely based on adult morphology we have no basis to separate the widely distributed Phyllium giganteum into subspecies, assuming such a distinction is warranted.

Figures

Figure 3. Phyllium giganteum. A, B Dorsal view of male Phyllium giganteum from Java, Indonesia C-E live Phyllium giganteum A male from Mount Halimun, West Java, Coll SLT B antique male from the MZSF collection from Mount Gede, West Java, collected by Fruhstorfer in 1898 C wild male photographed by Maman Cahyana (Indonesia) while out collecting at night on Mount Halimun, West Java D captive bred female and E captive bred male bred by Bruno Kneubuehler, stock origin Perak, Malaysia.

Figure 4. Distribution map for Phyllium giganteum (Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Java), Phyllium hausleithneri (Peninsular Malaysia), Phyllium nisus sp. nov. (Sumatra), and Phyllium gardabagusi sp. nov. (Java) and Phyllium jacobsoni (Java).