''Clitarchus tepaki'' is a stick insect that belongs to the common

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

genus '' Clitarchus''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the North Cape area of New Zealand, in particular Te Paki and the Karikari Peninsula.

Description

''Clitarchus tepaki'' is a medium-sized, moderately robust and wingless stick insect with a green to mottled brown and grey body, sometimes with

tubercles In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection, b ...

on its dorsal side. It prefers to live in forest remnants, and has been seen feeding on '' Metrosideros perforata'', '' Metrosideros bartlettii'', mānuka (''

Leptospermum scoparium ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of '' Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the gre ...

''), kānuka (''

Kunzea ''Kunzea'' is a genus of plants in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to Australasia. They are shrubs, sometimes small trees and usually have small, crowded, rather Aroma compound, aromatic leaves. The flowers are similar to those of p ...

'' spp.), and pohuehue ('' Muehlenbeckia australis''). This stick insect has been found in just two localities: the Te Paki or North Cape area, and the volcanic uplands of Paraawanui in the

Karikari Peninsula The Karikari Peninsula on the east coast of the far north of Northland, New Zealand, is between Rangaunu Harbour to the west, and Doubtless Bay to the southeast. It is a right-angled land mass of two relatively distinct parts. The rocky north ...

. Within Te Paki it has been collected in many spots, including Spirits Bay, Tom Bowling Bay, and Unuwhao. Both these areas were isolated from the rest of New Zealand during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

species. Outside these areas ''C. tepaki'' is replaced by the species ''

Clitarchus hookeri ''Clitarchus hookeri'', commonly known as the smooth stick insect or the common stick insect, is a stick insect of the family (biology), family Phasmatidae, endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It is possibly New Zealand's most common stick insect. ...

''. ''C. tepaki'' was described and formally named by Buckley, Myers, and Bradler in 2014. Its species name, "''tepaki''", refers to its type locality, which is known to be a centre of endemism for many species of plants and invertebrates, such as ''Leucopogon xerampelinus'', ''

Placostylus ambagiosus ''Placostylus ambagiosus'' is a species of flax snail ( Māori: pūpū whakarongotaua), a large air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc in the family Bothriembryontidae. Description This snail has a large ( long) s ...

,'' and the stick insect '' Tepakiphasma ngatikuri''. Its name in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

is ''whē o Ngāti Kurī'', chosen by the

Ngāti Kurī Ngāti Kurī is a Māori people, Māori iwi from Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the ca ...

people of Northland, whose area of interest includes North Cape.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21249114 tepaki Phasmatidae of New Zealand Phasmatidae Endemic insects of New Zealand

Description

See also

References