Australian scientists uncover two new stick-insect species and correct long-standing misidentification
Researchers in Queensland have described two previously unknown large stick insects and shown that a well-known species was misidentified for decades.
A team led by Dr Braxton Jones of the University of Sydney has identified two new large stick-insect species in far-north Queensland, detailed in a paper in Austral Entomology. The first, Anchiale robusta, was long recognized by hobbyists but only now has been shown through DNA work and museum records to be a distinct species that had been misidentified for decades. The second, Anchiale mabiensis, lives in the critically endangered Mabi rainforest of the Atherton tablelands and features uniquely structured egg lids.
Measurements indicate females reach 12-16 cm while males are smaller, and wing coloration varies slightly. The research also indicates that five species, not two, exist across habitats from northern New South Wales to tropical north Queensland, narrowing their known ranges and raising conservation concerns. An additional possible species from Cape York awaits confirmation pending more specimens.
Why it matters
The discovery reshapes understanding of insect biodiversity and highlights urgent conservation needs for narrowly distributed species.
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