Dares verrucosus
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Dares verrucosus , |
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| Redtenbacher , 1906 |
Dares verrucosus is a member of thegenus Dares, which belongs to the ghosts . The species isnative tothe north of the island of Borneo .
features
Both sexes are wingless and have the habitus typical of the genus . For the 4.1 to 4.6 cm long females this means that they have no spines and that the body surface is occupied by many tubercles . The color is mostly a light brown, more rarely a darker shade of brown. Lighter and darker, blurred spots complement the coloring. The underside is colored light brown to beige. The sensors consist of 25 segments. Your basal phalanx (scapus) is flat and has one or two teeth on the outside. The abdomen is widest in the middle and increases in height in adult , egg-laying females, which makes the animals look very plump, especially from the side. The males remain smaller than the females at 3.2 to 3.8 cm in length. They are usually light brown, more rarely medium brown. On the upper side of the thorax , more precisely on the meso- and metanotum, there are usually two almost black longitudinal stripes interrupted by spines and segment boundaries to form spots, which also extend to the first segments of the abdomen. They are flanked by particularly light, almost beige areas on the edge of the meso- and metanotum and in their center. The light area in the middle may be missing in darker animals. The Central and Hinterfemora are colored half black. The males have four spines on their heads. At the front edge of the mesonotum and in the rear area of the mesonotum and metanotum there are three further pairs of spines. To the side of the spines on the meso- and metanotum there is a further small spine on the pleura . All the spines on the thorax are arranged in the same way as those of Dares ulula , but remain considerably shorter than this. On the entire upper side of the abdomen, from the second segment, there are paired, spike-like extensions. The antennae of the males consist of only 23 segments.
Occurrence and way of life
Dares verrucosus is native to the Malay state of Sabah in the north of the island of Borneo. Most of the secured sites are in eastern Sabah.
The nocturnal way of life and defensive behavior corresponds to that of the other Dares species. With this species, too, the defense strategy consists of an almost perfect phytomimesis , which is possible due to its color and body shape. When touched, the animals fall to the ground. There they remain in a state of fright for a while . The females lay one to three eggs per week on the ground. These are almost spherical, 3.5 to 3.8 mm in size and speckled from dark gray to dark brown. On the surface there are 0.3 mm long, creamy white, curved hairs. The lid (operculum) has a diameter of 2.3 to 2.4 mm. The micropylar plate has three legs, one of which points towards the lid. The other two run circularly around the egg (see also construction of the phasmid egg ). The nymphs hatch after three to five months . Often in older nymphs there are a few light, almost white spots at the base of the abdomen, as is typical of many other Dares nymphs. It takes a good year for them to grow into adults. Adult animals can live to be several years old. Kim D'Hulster, for example, reports on the rearing of a female that lived five years after hatching.
Taxonomy and systematics
The first scientific description of the species took place in 1906 by Josef Redtenbacher . The specific epithet chosen by him verrucosus means "warty". Klaus Günther made the species a synonym for Dares ulula in 1935 . Burghard Hausleithner identified the animals he examined in 1991 as Dares validispinus , which Günther had also synonymous with Dares ulula . It was not until Philip E. Bragg validated Dares verrucosus again in 1998 and found in the animals examined by Hausleithner that only the females belong to Dares validispinus , while the males are representatives of Dares verrucosus . Bragg also describes a great similarity, especially of the females, with the somewhat larger Dares Breitensteini, who lives in the more central part of Borneo . He does not rule out that Dares verrucosus and Dares broadsteini belong to one species.
From the four females and one subadult male deposited as paralectotypes in the Natural History Museum Vienna , Bragg selected the male as the lectotype.
Terrariums
In Dares verrucosus is the second Dares -Art that into the European Reptiles arrived. The then unidentified species was first introduced in 1984 by Jonathan Cocking. The first animals came from the Sepilok rainforest reserve west of Sandakan . Further imports from the same area followed.
Dares verrucosus is easy to keep and breed. A higher air humidity is preferred , which can be achieved by a layer of soil covered with moist moss . The leaves of blackberries and many other rose plants are eaten , as well as those of most birch plants and currants .
From the phasmid Study Group will Dares verrucosus under the PSG number 69th
photos
two differently colored males
Female from the side
Eggs in dorsal (D), lateral (L) and polar view (P)
vividly colored nymph
supporting documents
- ^ A b c Philip E. Bragg : Phasmids of Borneo , Natural History Publikations (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, 2001, pp. 158-161, ISBN 983-812-027-8
- ↑ a b c Holger Dräger: Specters of the family Heteropterygidae Kirby , 1896 (Phasmatodea) - an overview of previously kept species, part 2: The subfamily Dataminae Rehn & Rehn , 1839 , ZAG Phoenix, No. 5 June 2012 Volume 3 (1) , Pp. 22-45, ISSN 2190-3476
- ↑ a b Stabschrecken.com: Posture reports - Pole horror, ghost horror, walking leaves , iter novellum Verlag, Saarbrücken 2010, p. 71, ISBN 978-3-00-031913-6
- ^ A b Phasmatodea page by Oskar V. Conle and Frank H. Hennemann
- ↑ Josef Redtenbacher : The insect family of the phasmids. Vol. 1. Phasmidae Areolatae . Verlag Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig 1906, pp. 53–56 ( online version )
- ↑ Philip E. Bragg: A revision of the Heteropteryginae (Insecta: Phasmida: Bacillidae) of Borneo, with the description of a new genus and ten new species , Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden 316, 1998 pp. 47-69, figs 1-150 .— ISSN 0024-1652 / ISBN 90-73239-61-3 , online version
- ^ Paul D. Brock : Phasmida Species File Online . Version 2.1 / 4.1. (accessed on September 2, 2012)
- ↑ Phasmid Study Group Culture List ( Memento from December 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (English)
