''Obrimus'' is a

stick insect The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as ...

genus native to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...

for the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

and the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

in which it is listed.

Characteristics

The species of this genus correspond in the habitus to the other representatives of the

Obrimini The Obrimini are the most species-rich tribe of the Phasmatodea family of the Heteropterygidae native to Southeast Asia. Description The Obrimini differ from their sister tribe the Hoplocloniini by the structure of the secondary ovipositor ...

, appear somewhat longer-legged compared to these and also have longer antennae than these. Like almost all other Obrimini, they are wingless in either sex. They are similar in size and appearance to the species of the genera ''

Brasidas Brasidas ( el, Βρασίδας, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War who fought in battle of Amphipolis and Pylos. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning o ...

''. As with these, the females have a relatively long and straight

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

that surrounds the actual ovipositor. Most Obrimus species have more and more pointed spines, which, however, are often thinner than those of most other Obrimini species. Compared to the representatives of ''Brasidas'' and ''

Euobrimus Brasidas ( el, Βρασίδας, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning one of his most spectacular victories. Biogr ...

'' there are only poorly or partially barely recognizable, flat slits or pits and none holes at the outer edge of the

metasternum 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 (lateral) ...

. The shape of the eggs also differs significantly from that of other genera. The eggs are long and wide. The micropylar plate has three arms and is located on 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 * Dorsal co ...

area, which is bulging. The egg shape is reminiscent of that of '' Sungaya'' eggs. However, behind the tip at the lower pole there is another blunt pole, so that the eggs below, more or less clearly recognizable, have two blunt ends. The lid (operculum) sits diagonally on the egg and falls off sharply to the ventral side.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Obrimus'' was established in 1875 by

Carl Stål Carl Stål (21 March 1833 – 13 June 1878) was a Swedish entomologist specialising in Hemiptera. He was born at Karlberg Castle, Stockholm on 21 March 1833 and died at Frösundavik near Stockholm on 13 June 1878. He was the son of architect, a ...

. The generic name is borrowed from

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

. As the only species, and thus

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, Stål named '' Obrimus bufo'', which until then was listed in the genus ''

Acanthoderus ''Acanthoderus''Gray GR (1835) ''Synopsis of the species of insects belonging to the family of Phasmidae'' 14. is a monotypic genus of Phasmatodea, stick insects in the tribe Pachymorphini. The single species ''Acanthoderus spinosus'' has a kn ...

''. Other species were later transferred to the genus or described in it. In the meantime most of them have been transferred to the younger genera ''

Aretaon In Greek mythology, the name Aretaon (Ancient Greek: Ἀρετάων ''Aretāōn'') refers to the following figures associated with the Trojan War, who may or may not be one and the same character: *Aretaon, father of the Phrygian leaders Asca ...

'', ''

Trachyaretaon ''Trachyaretaon'' is a genus of Phasmatodea, stick insects native to the Philippines. Description The representatives of this genus correspond in the Habitus (biology), habitus typical representatives of the Obrimini and are very similar in ...

'', ''Brasidas'' and ''Euobrimus''. Remaining in the genus are: * ''

Obrimus bicolanus Obrimus or Obrimos may refer to: * Obrimus, possible name for Bromius (son of Aegyptus) * Obrimos, a faction from the role-playing game Mage: The Awakening * ''Obrimus'' (phasmid), a genus of phasmids in the family Heteropterygidae {{Disambi ...

'' Rehn, J. A. G. & Rehn, J. W. H., 1939 * '' Obrimus bufo'' ( Westwood, 1848) * '' Obrimus mesoplatus'' (Westwood, 1848) * '' Obrimus uichancoi'' Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939

Distribution

Of the representatives known so far, only the occurrence of the two species described by Rehn and Rehn is known in more detail. Both appear on

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. While ''Obrimus bicolanus'' comes from the southeast of the island, more precisely from the

Bicol region Bicol, known formally as the Bicol Region or colloquially as Bicolandia ( bcl, Rehiyon kan Bikol; Rinconada Bikol: ''Rehiyon ka Bikol''; Waray Sorsogon, Masbateño: ''Rehiyon san Bikol''; tl, Rehiyon ng Bikol), is an administrative region of ...

, ''Obrimus uichancoi'' was collected in the north in the province

Apayao Apayao, officially the Province of Apayao ( ilo, Probinsia ti Apayao; fil, Lalawigan ng Apayao), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Kabugao, Apayao, Kabuga ...

. Only the Philippines are given as location of the two other species.

Terraristic

A single representative of the genus is currently in the

terrariums A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...

of lovers. The stock goes back to specimens that Thierry Heitzmann collected in 2010 on Luzon and bred for the first time. The species was brought to Europe in 2011 by

Bruno Kneubühler Bruno Kneubühler (born 3 December 1946) is a Swiss former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1972 to 1989. During his career, he competed in every Grand Prix cl ...

, also distributed as ''Obrimus'' sp. ' Pulog'. The Phasmid Study Group lists the species under the name ''Obrimus bicolanus'' (?) and PSG number 324.

References

Information about '' Obrimus'' sp. 'Pocdol' at phasmatodea.com
by Kneubühler, B. Rehn, J. A. G. & Rehn, J. W. H. (1939).
Proceedings of The Academy of Natural Sciences (Vol. 90, 1938)
', Philadelphia, pp. 435 ff. Brock, P. D.; Büscher, T. H. & Baker, E. W.br>Phasmida Species File Online
Version 5.0/5.0 (accessdate 26 June 2021) Phasmid Study Group Culture List
/ref>

External links

* * {{taxonbar, from=Q1223055 Phasmatodea Phasmatodea genera Phasmatodea of Asia