''Phyllium bilobatum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of leaf insect in the family Phylliidae. It is found in the Philippines and Malaysia. This species was first described in 1843 by the English zoologist George Robert Gray, who gave it the name ''Phyllium bilobatum''. It has been assigned to the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Phyllium'', which is to be distinguished from the second subgenus ''Pulchriphyllium'', within the genus '' Phyllium''. 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 ...

is a female from the Philippines, which is kept in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

where Gray worked cataloguing insects.

Distribution

''Phyllium bilobatum'' occurs in the Philippines and Malaysia. The Malaysian records, however, might represent other species.

Description

''Phyllium bilobatum'' grows to a length of about . Like other leaf insects it is well

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

d, mimicking a leaf; the general colour is mid-green, the wings being patterned by dark lines, arranged to resemble the veins of a leaf, and the limbs having large flanges or flap-like extensions. The female has a broad body while the body of the male is slender. The single pair of wings lie flat on the insect's back, and only the adult male can fly. The abdomen of the female is narrow where it joins the thorax, with the second and third segments being wider than the one in front and the fourth and fifth narrowing again. The sixth and seventh segments are lobed, and the remaining segments narrow abruptly to the tip of the abdomen. The femur of the first pair of legs has a flange on both the front and the back, the inner side being smooth while the outer side is toothed. The tibia is also flanged. The second and third pairs of legs also have flanges.

Ecology

Leaf insects are herbivorous, feeding mainly on the leaves of trees and shrubs. They are

hemimetabolous Hemimetabolism or hemimetaboly, also called incomplete metamorphosis and paurometabolism,McGavin, George C. ''Essential Entomology: An Order-by-Order Introduction''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 20. is the mode of development of certa ...

, the eggs hatching into nymphs which pass through a number of moults as they grow, but do not undergo

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

. Young nymphs tend to hide in withered leaves, which at this stage they resemble more closely in colour than they do green foliage. Both sexes of this species have glands on the prothorax, from which they spray an unpleasant-smelling defensive secretion when disturbed.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1414042 Phylliidae Insects of Malaysia Insects of the Philippines Insects described in 1843 Taxa named by George Robert Gray Phasmatodea of Malesia