''Tepakiphasma ngatikuri'' 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 ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Phasmatidae The Phasmatidae are a family of the stick insects ( order Phasmatodea). They belong to the superfamily Anareolatae of suborder Verophasmatodea. Like many of their relatives, the Phasmatidae are capable of regenerating limbs and commonly repr ...

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 a single patch of forest near the northernmost tip of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was not discovered until 2008, and is the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Tepakiphasma''. Nymphs of ''T. ngatikuri'' were first collected in Radar Bush, Te Paki Recreation Reserve, in December 2008. Radar Bush, a 65 ha forest remnant 9.5 km south-east of

Cape Reinga , type =Cape , photo = Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand, October 2007.jpg , photo_width = 270px , photo_alt = , photo_caption = , map = New Zealand , map_width = 270px ...

, is home to several very localised Northland species such as the slight skink (''Oligosoma levidensum'') and Bartlett's rātā (''Metrosideros bartlettii).'' The two nymphs were reared to adulthood, and the new species was described and named in 2010. Its genus name is taken from the type locality of Te Paki (or North Cape), and its species name is from the

Ngāti Kurī Ngāti Kurī is a Māori iwi from Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the captain of the waka (canoe) Kurahau ...

people of Northland, whose area of interest includes Te Paki. ''Tepakiphasma ngatikuri'' is a moderately large (10 cm) stick insect, slender and wingless. Its body is mottled grey and brown, with no spines and sparsely-scattered

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s. Its most distinctive feature is its egg, which has a conical perforated cap, a structure seen on no other New Zealand stick insects but found in some overseas groups. The only known specimens were collected from white rātā ('' Metrosideros perforata''). Although the surrounding area has been searched, no specimens of ''T. ngatikuri'' have been found anywhere but Radar Bush. Because the species occurs in just one small location, making it extremely vulnerable to extinction from accidental fire or introduced predators, it has been classed as Nationally Critical under the Department of Conservation's Threat Classification System.

References

External links

* ''Tepakiphasma ngatikuri'' discussed on Radio NZ ''Critter of the Week''
19 August 2016
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14751945 Phasmatodea genera Phasmatidae of New Zealand Endemic fauna of New Zealand Insects described in 2010 Monotypic insect genera Phasmatidae

See also

References

External links