''Phobaeticus kirbyi'' is a very long
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 ...
native to
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
. The
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
deposited at the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
measures excluding legs and including legs. This makes it the second-longest known insect in terms of body length, behind ''
Phobaeticus chani
''Phobaeticus chani'' or Chan's megastick, also known by its synonym ''Sadyattes chani'', is a species of stick insect in the tribe Pharnaciini. It is one of the longest insects in the world and was once considered the record-holder (it is cur ...
'' with . Both ''P. chani'' and ''
Phobaeticus serratipes
''Phobaeticus serratipes'' (formerly known as ''Pharnacia serratipes'') is a species of stick insect that at one time was the longest known insect, with one female specimen recorded as being 555 mm long. This measurement includes the legs ...
'' exceed it in total length with legs extended.
[Brock, P.D. 1999. ''The amazing world of stick and leaf-insects''. Cravitz Printing Co., Essex, England.] However, recent specimens of ''P. kirbyi'' have only reached in body length.
See also
*
List of largest insects
Insects, which are a type of arthropod, are the most numerous group of multicellular organisms on the planet, with over a million species identified so far. The title of heaviest insect in the world has many contenders, the most frequently crowne ...
References
External links
Phasmid Study Group: ''Phobaeticus kirbyi''Phasmida Species File: ''Phobaeticus kirbyi''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1938385
Phasmatidae
Endemic fauna of Borneo
Taxa named by Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl
Insects described in 1907
Phasmatodea of Malesia