Phyllium (Walaphyllium) monteithi Brock & Hasenpusch, 2003

Cumming, Royce T., Thurman, Jessa H., Youngdale, Sam & Tirant, Stephane Le, 2020, Walaphyllium subgen. nov., the dancing leaf insects from Australia and Papua New Guinea with description of a new species (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae), ZooKeys 939, pp. 1-28 : 1

Phyllium (Walaphyllium) monteithi Brock & Hasenpusch, 2003 Figs 1 , 3C, D , 8A-F , 9A-D , 10A-C , 11E-H , 12

Distribution.

Australia, Queensland: Mt. Lewis, near Julatten (Holotype: QMBA); Garrandunga, Polly Creek (Coll RC); Windsor Tableland, NE Mt. Carbine (Paratype: QMBA); Mt. Windsor, Tableland (Paratype: UQIC); Kuranda (Paratype: ANIC; Coll JHT); Innisfail (Paratype: QMBA); Atherton, Tableland (Paratype: QDPC); Cairns District (Paratype: UQIC); Gadgarra State Forest, nr Lake Tinaroo (Paratype: QDPC).

Records taken from specimens examined and from Brock and Hasenpusch (2003).

Discussion.

Phyllium monteithi is the most common phylliid species from Australia (the second and only other species being Nanophyllium australianum Cumming, Le Tirant, & Teemsma, 2018 which is exceedingly rare). For the Phyllium (Walaphyllium) new subgenus, this is the most commonly encountered species and has been in the phasmid breeding community for numerous years.

Female Phyllium monteithi can be differentiated from Phyllium zomproi by several morphological features. One is the number of teeth on the stridulatory file of the third antennal segment with 27 to 29 teeth on P. monteithi (Fig. 10C ) and 48 to 50 teeth noted on P. zomproi ( Hennemann et al. 2009). There is a notable difference in body size between the two species, with P. monteithi a medium sized species ranging from 75.0-76.0 mm and P. zomproi a large species ranging from 80.0-86.0 mm in length. Additionally, the tubercles on the thorax of P. zomproi are more prominent than those found on P. monteithi and the point of the subgenital plate in P. zomproi is more pronounced than in P. monteithi .

Body size: males: 61.0-64.0 mm, females: 75.0-76.0 mm.

Newly hatched nymph coloration.

General color throughout the antennae, head, and thorax is dark brown (Fig. 12 ). The abdomen is of a similar dark brown color but with pale green and brown muddled in. Margins of abdominal segments II through IV with pale mint green margins versus the other segments which have margins which are of a similar muddled brown color like the base color of the segment. Metanotum lateral margins with a distinct pale mint green patch of color. Base coloration of the legs goes from lightest on the anterior pair to darkest on the posterior pair, with the first pair having a burnt orange color, the middle pair a reddish brown color, and the final pair the darkest with a similar dark brown color found on the rest of the body. Meso- and metafemora with a small transverse white band on the proximal end and a broken white transverse line in the middle of the leg segment. Protibiae are the same burnt orange color as the profemora. Meso- and metatibiae are the same color as their adjoining femora, and both have a white patch of color on the proximal portion. Probasitarsi are a golden yellow and the other basitarsi are cream in color.

Figures

Figure 1. Live Phyllium monteithi bred by Jack Hasenpusch in Australia.

Figure 3. Dorsal view of the known species within the Phyllium (Walaphyllium), scaled to relative size to show the size differences between species A Phyllium zomproi female, Coll SLT B Phyllium zomproi male, Coll RC 17 - 336 C Phyllium monteithi female dorsal, Coll RC 16 - 067 D Phyllium monteithi male dorsal, Coll SLT E Phyllium lelantos holotype male, NHMUK. Scale bars: 10 mm.

Figure 8. Phyllium monteithi. A female, profemora and protibia, dorsal B male, profemora and protibia, dorsal C female, genitalia, ventral D male, genitalia, ventral E female, thorax, dorsal F male, thorax, dorsal. All specimens, Coll SLT.

Figure 9. Live male Phyllium monteithi, Coll JHT. A full body, dorsal B detail of profemora, head, and thorax, dorsal view C detail of antennae and head, lateral view D genitalia detail, ventral view.

Figure 10. SEM image of female Phyllium monteithi antennae, Coll JHT. A full antenna B details of the stridulatory file of the third antennomere C antennomere III in full. Abbreviations: sf = stridulatory file; sr = stridulatory ridge.

Figure 11. Known eggs for the Phyllium (Walaphyllium). A-D P. zomproi, (Coll RC 19 - 161) A lateral B dorsal C ventral D opercular (anterior) E-H P. monteithi, (Coll RC 17 - 289) E lateral F dorsal G ventral H opercular (anterior).

Figure 12. Phyllium (Walaphyllium) monteithi recently emerged first instar nymph showing the unique coloration which may be present in the other members of this new subgenus. Photographs courtesy of Bruno Kneubuehler. A dorsolateral view B dorsal view.