Arabic version: العثور على نوعين جديدين من الحشرات العصوية في أقصى شمال كوينزلاند
According to ABC News, University of Sydney researcher and entomologist Braxton Jones has identified two new stick insect species in Far North Queensland. The findings, published in the scientific journal Austral Entomology, concern Anchiale robusta and Anchiale mabiensis.
Anchiale robusta has large, mottled wings and grows to about 160 millimetres. It was found in coastal rainforest stretching from Tully to north of Cooktown. The second species, Anchiale mabiensis, is more slender, reaches about 115mm and has so far only been observed in the Mabi Forest on the Atherton Tablelands.
Dr Jones said differences in wing colour, shape and length can provide an early sign that an insect may represent a new species. He also collected living females so their eggs could be examined, saying that stick insect species can be identified from an egg alone. The eggs of Anchiale mabiensis feature a series of rings and a lid, a characteristic he said had not been found in other stick insect eggs.
The discoveries could assist conservation efforts, particularly because Anchiale mabiensis is known from a small rainforest area. Wet Tropics Management Authority representative Terry Carmichael said knowledge of invertebrates lagged behind understanding of other animal groups. He noted that large parts of the original Mabi Forest had been cleared for agriculture, while the rainforest is a threatened ecological community under Commonwealth environmental legislation.
Mr Carmichael said the presence of a rare stick insect made Mabi Forest “more and more special.” Dr Jones encouraged people with an interest in insects to pursue it, describing the outside world as remarkable to explore.
