Micropodacanthus mouldsi Brock & Hasenpusch, 2007

Brock, Paul D. & Hasenpusch, Jack, 2007, Studies on the Australian stick insects (Phasmida), including a checklist of species and bibliography, Zootaxa 1570 (1), pp. 1-81 : 55-57

Micropodacanthus mouldsi Brock & Hasenpusch , spec. nov. [Mould’s Stick-insect]

( Figs. 98–102 )

Description

Female (holotype) ( Figs. 98–102 ): Small, brown (probably greenish-brown in life), large whitish winged species, with conspicuous black stripe on mesonotum. Fore and pre-anal part of hind-wings are green. Body length 53 mm.

Head: Large, as broad as long. Eyes large. Three ocelli present. Antennae long, with 25 segments, but shorter than length of fore leg.

Thorax: Pronotum same length as head, with central indentation; mesonotum short, slightly longer than pronotum, with several conspicuous low tubercles. Mesonotum with thick black central longitudinal stripe. Metanotum not quite one and a half times length of mesonotum.

Wings: Fore wings large, leaf-like, hind wings also long, whitish with faint brown on veins, reaching end of abdomen.

Abdomen: Abdomen broad, slightly tapered to end of anal segment, which is boldly triangular incised. Operculum large, boat-shaped, reaching end of anal segment. The cerci appear to have been broken off.

Legs: Moderately long, not reaching end of abdomen. Mid and hind femora with several well spaced serrations ventrolaterally, hardly noticeable on the tibiae. Left hind leg broken off and missing.

Male not known.

Holotype ♀, Australia, n[orth] Q[ueensland], Windsor Tableland, NW. of Mossman , 27.xii.1976, M.S. & B.J. Moulds, K195665 ( AMSA).

Distribution

So far known by only a single specimen from rainforest near Mossman, a rather understudied area for phasmids.

Notes Nothing is known about this rainforest species.

Derivation of name

Named after the collector, Max Moulds (ex. AMSA), who has collected widely throughout Australia and greatly advanced entomological knowledge.

Figures

FIGURE 98. Micropodacanthus mouldsi holotype female (AMSA), 53 mm.