The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Planispectrum'' combines very small and compact species from

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

Characteristics

''Planispectrum'' is the smallest genus of the Dataminae. The males of the previously known species reach lengths of , the females are long. In addition to the small size, the flat body and the very short antennae, which are hardly longer than the femura of the forelegs, are characteristic of the genus. In all species the antennae are shorter than the legs as a whole. The first antenna segment (scapus) is always toothed. Tubercles or teeth can be seen on the top of the head. The

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

is trapezoidally widened posteriorly. The

Metanotum The metathorax is the posterior of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the third pair of legs. Its principal sclerites ( exoskeletal plates) are the metanotum (dorsal), the metasternum ( ventral), and the metapleuron (late ...

is square. The margins of

thorax The thorax (: thoraces or thoraxes) or chest is a part of the anatomy of mammals and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main di ...

and

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

may be serrated. The meta

pleura The pleurae (: pleura) are the two flattened closed sacs filled with pleural fluid, each ensheathing each lung and lining their surrounding tissues, locally appearing as two opposing layers of serous membrane separating the lungs from the med ...

have no spines. The abdominal segments are very short and wide. The

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

ly located subgenital plate of the female is blunt and no longer than the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

y located operculum. The same is swollen and rounded. It shows a rounded lip at the end. The legs are very short and have no teeth or thorns.

Distribution area, way of life and reproduction

The distribution area of the genus extends from

South China South China ( zh, s=, p=Huá'nán, j=jyut6 naam4) is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

over

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. The representatives of the genus are extremely difficult to find and live close to the ground, where they usually hide under leaves lying on the ground. Only after heavy rain do they climb into the bushes to avoid the water.

Taxonomy

As early as 1906, Josef Redtenbacher described the first two species of the species listed today in ''Planispectrum'' in a genus specially established for this with ''Platymorpha cochinchinensis'' and ''Platymorpha bengalensis''. Since '' Platymorpha'' is a genus of the

leaf beetles The beetle family Chrysomelidae, commonly known as leaf beetles, includes over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making it one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous su ...

(Chrysomelidae) already described in 1888,

James Abram Garfield Rehn James Abram Garfield Rehn (October 26, 1881 – January 25, 1965) was an American entomologist who was a specialist on the New World Orthoptera. He worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, making several collection expeditions aro ...

and his son

John William Holman Rehn John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

described the genus in 1939 new as ''Planispectrum''. In relation to

Phasmatodea The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida or Phasmatoptera) are an Order (biology), order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick bugs, walkingsticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred ...

, ''Platymorpha'' is therefore a

senior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

to ''Planispectrum''. As

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

they set '' Planispectrum cochinchinensis''. Also the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

Boris Uvarov Sir Boris Petrovitch Uvarov (3 November 1886 – 18 March 1970) was a Russian-British entomologist best known for his work on the biology and ecology of locusts. He has been called the father of acridology. Biography Boris Petrovitch Uvarov wa ...

noticed the synonymy of ''Platymorpha''. Unaware of the renaming by Rehn and Rehn, he renamed the genus to ''Platyphasma'' in 1940. This name is therefore a junior synonym for the older name ''Planispectrum''. A species also described by Redtenbacher in 1906 as ''Datames pusillus'' was transferred to the genus ''Planispectrum'' by Oliver Zompro in 2004. Zompro also described three other species. Two of them based on relatively freshly collected material and the third ('' Planispectrum javanense'') after examining the type material of '' Planispectrum bengalensis'' based on a

paralectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

. The last species to be described was '' Planispectrum hainanensis'' in 2008, initially in the genus ''

Pylaemenes In Greek mythology, Pylaemenes (Ancient Greek: Πυλαιμένης) may refer to two distinct characters: * Pylaemenes, king of the Eneti tribe of Paphlagonia. He claimed to be related to Priam through Phineus (also a reputed king of Paphlagoni ...

''. It was transferred to ''Planispectrum'' by George Ho Wai-Chun in 2013. Valid species are: * '' Planispectrum bakiensis'' Zompro, 1998 * '' Planispectrum bengalense'' ( Redtenbacher, 1906) * '' Planispectrum cochinchinensis'' (Redtenbacher, 1906) * '' Planispectrum hainanensis'' ( Chen & He, 2008) * '' Planispectrum hongkongense'' Zompro, 2004 * '' Planispectrum javanense'' Zompro, 2004 * '' Planispectrum pusillus'' (Redtenbacher, 1906) In their work on the radiation and relationships within the Heteropterygidae, which was mainly based on

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts ...

and was published in 2021, Sarah Bank

et al References Notes References Further reading * * External links * {{Latin phrases E ...

also examined a species of this genus with ''Planispectrum bengalensis''. In the subfamily Dataminae, the genus forms a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

with a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

formed by the genera ''Pylaemenes'' and ''

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

''.

In captivity

Since 2020, a

parthenogenetic Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...

stock of ''Planispectrum hongkongense'' has been in culture as the first representative of the genus in the

terrariums A terrarium ( terraria or terrariums) is a glass container containing soil and plants in an environment different from the surroundings. It is usually a sealable container that can be opened for maintenance or to access the plants inside; howeve ...

of European enthusiasts. This traces back to a female collected in the Southern District of

on November 20, 2019. The stock is referred to as ''Planispectrum hongkongense'' '

Tai Tam Tai Tam or ''Tytam'' is an area in Southern District, Hong Kong, Southern District on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Tai Tam means a ''big pool'' in the Chinese language which illustrates a triangular bay, namely Tai Tam Bay between Stanley ...

' after its exact location and is considered easy to keep and breed.

References

Brock, P. D.; Büscher, T. H. & Baker, E. W.br>Phasmida Species File Online
Version 5.0/5.0 (accessdate 16 June 2021) Zompro, O. (2004). Revision of the genera of the Areolatae, including the status of Timema and Agathemera (Insecta, Phasmatodea), Goecke & Evers, Keltern-Weiler, pp. 218–219 & 227–240, Seow-Choen, F. (2018). A Taxonomic Guide to the Stick Insects of Sumatra Vol. 1, Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, p. 591, Seow-Choen, F. (2017). A Taxonomic Guide to the Stick Insects of Singapore, Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, p. 39, Bragg, P. E. (2001). Phasmids of Borneo, Natural History Publikations (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, pp. 124 & 180–183, Rehn, J. A. G. & Rehn, J. W. H. (1939)
Proceedings of The Academy of Natural Sciences (Vol. 90, 1938)
Philadelphia, p. 484. Seow-Choen, F. (2005). Phasmids of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, Natural History Publikations (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, p. 104, Redtenbacher, J. (1906)
Die Insektenfamilie der Phasmiden. Vol. 1. Phasmidae Areolatae
Verlag Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig, pp. 46–47 & 52–53 Seow-Choen, F. (2016). ''A Taxonomic Guide to the Stick Insects of Borneo'', Natural History Publikations (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, pp. 392–396, Ho Wai-Chun, G. (2013). Zootaxa 3669 (3
Contribution to the knowledge of Chinese Phasmatodea II: Review of the Dataminae Rehn & Rehn, 1939 (Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae) of China, with descriptions of one new genus and four new species
Magnolia Press, p. 211, Bank, S.; Buckley, T. R.; Büscher, T. H.; Bresseel, J.; Constant, J.; de Haan, M.; Dittmar, D.; Dräger, H.; Kahar, R. S.; Kang, A.; Kneubühler, B.; Langton-Myers, S. & Bradler, S. (2021)
Reconstructing the nonadaptive radiation of an ancient lineage of ground-dwelling stick insects (Phasmatodea: Heteropterygidae)
''Systematic Entomology'', DOI: 10.1111/syen.12472

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1237065 Phasmatodea genera Phasmatodea of Asia