Davidrentzia 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 : 51

Davidrentzia Brock & Hasenpusch , gen. n.

Type species. Davidrentzia valida Brock & Hasenpusch sp. nov., here designated.

Characteristics of the genus

Robust medium-sized phasmid, body length c. 97 mm in females, male not yet known.

Head large, rather broad (but longer than wide), with series of granules present. Eyes small. Antennae with 24 segments (type species), basal segment broadened, 2 nd segment longer also than next. Final segment 2.5 times longer than previous segment. Thorax broad, rugged appearance, heavily granulated / tuberculated, includes laterally. Pronotum significantly shorter than head, mesonotum nearly three times length of pronotum, but metanotum almost three times shorter than mesonotum. Vestigial wings only present. The abdomen is broad, with several longitudinal ridges, End of anal segment slightly emarginated in centre. Operculum large, boat-shaped, extruding by length of anal segment. Cerci broad, tapering to tip. The legs are robust, with a pair of short apical spines on femora. Otherwise the femora and tibiae have short spines, hardly noticeable on the tibiae.

Notes: From the general appearance, Davidrentzia looks closest to Graeffea (rather than the larger, winged Megacrania ), but is easily distinguished, as follows:

In Davidrentzia the operculum extends well beyond the abdomen, unlike other genera in the subfamily.

Species included Davidrentzia valida Brock & Hasenpusch sp. nov.

Derivation of name

Named after the collector and well known specialist in orthopteroid insects, David C. F. Rentz (born 1942).