''Phobaeticus serratipes'' (formerly known as ''Pharnacia serratipes'') is a species of
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 ...
that at one time was the
longest known insect, with one female specimen recorded as being 555 mm long. This measurement includes the legs fully extended front and rear, and the actual length of the body alone is considerably shorter. This insect is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found elsew ...
to
Peninsular Malaysia
Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and
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 sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
.
It is a popular species among those who raise
stick insects
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 ...
.
The record for longest known insect is now held by an unnamed species of ''
Phryganistria
''Phryganistria'' is a genus of stick insects belonging to the subfamily Clitumninae. It was described by the Swedish entomologist Carl Stål in 1875. Members of the genus are found only in Southeast Asia. Of the new species described in 2014, '' ...
'' measuring 624 mm, held in the
Insect Museum of West China in
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
.
''Phobaeticus serratipes'' is also slightly shorter in body length than one specimen of ''
Phobaeticus kirbyi
''Phobaeticus kirbyi'' is a very long stick insect native to Borneo. The holotype deposited at the Natural History Museum in London measures excluding legs and including legs. This makes it the second-longest known insect in terms of body lengt ...
''.
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 serratipesPhasmida Species File: ''Phobaeticus serratipes''*
Phasmatodea
Insects described in 1835
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Phasmatodea of Malesia
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