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| Pulchriphyllium anangu Cumming, Le Tirant, Linde, Solan, Foley, Eulin, Lavado, Whiting, Bradler & Bank, 2023 |
Abstract
With the recent advance in molecular phylogenetics focused on the leaf insects (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae), gaps in knowledge are beginning to be filled. Yet, shortcomings are also being highlighted, for instance, the unveiling of numerous undescribed phylliid species. Here, some of these taxa are described, including Phyllium iyadaon sp. nov. from Mindoro Island, Philippines; Phyllium samarense sp. nov. from Samar Island, Philippines; Phyllium ortizi sp. nov. from Mindanao Island, Philippines; Pulchriphyllium heracles sp. nov. from Vietnam; Pulchriphyllium delislei sp. nov. from South Kalimantan, Indonesia; and Pulchriphyllium bhaskarai sp. nov. from Java, Indonesia. Several additional specimens of these species together with a seventh species described herein, Pulchriphyllium anangu sp. nov. from southwestern India, were incorporated into a newly constructed phylogenetic tree. Additionally, two taxa that were originally described as species, but in recent decades have been treated as subspecies, are elevated back to species status to reflect their unique morphology and geographic isolation, creating the following new combinations: Pulchriphyllium scythe (Gray, 1843) stat. rev., comb. nov. from Bangladesh and northeastern India, and Pulchriphyllium crurifolium (Audinet-Serville, 1838) stat. rev., comb. nov. from the Seychelles islands. Lectotype specimens are also designated for Pulchriphyllium scythe (Gray, 1843) stat. rev., comb. nov. and Pulchriphyllium crurifolium (Audinet-Serville, 1838) stat. rev., comb. nov. from original type material.
Key words: India, Indonesia, Kalimantan, Phasmida, Philippines, Seychelles, Vietnam, walking leaf
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| Pulchriphyllium ortizi sp. nov. live individuals from captive culture highlighting aspects of their coloration. A adult male and female pair, dorsal habitus B adult female, postero-ventral view, showing the bright orange coxae coloration C adult male, habitus, dorsal D adult male, habitus, ventral E brown form nymph, same individual as in Fig. 1B before the final molt. Photographs by Maxime Ortiz (France) |
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| Live males and nymphs of Pulchriphyllium scythe (Gray, 1843) stat. rev., comb. nov. A male habitus, dorsal, found in Vaisam, Damchhara R. F., Tripura, India, 30 June 2019 and photographed by Michael Lalruatfela (India) B male habitus, dorsal, found in Badshahi Forest, Assam, India, 18 September 2020 and photographed by Rejoice Gassah (India) (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/64092851) C nymph, dorso lateral view, found in Lawachara National Park, 31 July 2019, photographed by Hassan-al Razi Chayan (Bangladesh) (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/103359437) D nymph, dorso-anterior view, found in Dosdewa Khasi Village, Katamoni, Assam, India, 24 April 2021 and photographed by Rejoice Gassah (India) (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/79254856). Photographs used were uploaded to iNaturalist and here used under license (CC BY-NC 4.0) or with explicit permission by the photographer. |
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| Pulchriphyllium bhaskarai sp. nov. live holotype female. A coloration shortly after being found in the wild, dorsal habitus B altered coloration after several months in captivity, dorsal habitus C habitus, dorsolateral view. Photographs by Edy Bhaskara (Indonesia) |
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| Live Pulchriphyllium anangu sp. nov. A adult female, dorsal habitus, observed July 2016 at Kadumane Estate, India by iNaturalist user @ashwinv (Ashwin Viswanathan) inaturalist.org) B freshly hatched nymph, observed October 2021 at Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, India by iNaturalist user @prashanthakrishnamc (Prashantha Krishna M C) inaturalist.org) C freshly hatched nymph, observed January 2021 in Ponmudi, India by iNaturalist user @hari_krishnan_ (Harikrishnan S) inaturalist.org). Uploaded to iNaturalist and used under license CC BY-NC 4.0. |
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| Live Pulchriphyllium anangu sp. nov. A adult male, dorsal habitus observed October 2006 in B.R. Hills, Karnataka, India by iNaturalist user @prashanthns (Prashanth N S) (inaturalist.org) B adult male, dorsal habitus observed November 2019 in Pakkalakunja, Karnataka, India by iNaturalist user @sanath_ramesh_manimoole (Sanath R M) (inaturalist.org) C male nymph, dorsal habitus observed February 2020 in Shimoga, Karnataka, India by iNaturalist user @girishgowda (Girish Gowda) (inaturalist.org) D nymph, dorsal habitus, hiding under a leaf in the daylight observed August 2020 near Agali, India by iNaturalist user @manavsajan (inaturalist.org). Uploaded to iNaturalist and used under license CC BY-NC 4.0. |
Royce T. Cumming, Stéphane Le Tirant, Jackson B. Linde, Megan E. Solan, Evelyn Marie Foley, Norman Enrico C. Eulin, Ramon Lavado, Michael F. Whiting, Sven Bradler and Sarah Bank. 2023. On Seven undescribed Leaf Insect Species revealed within the Recent “Tree of Leaves” (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae). ZooKeys. 1173: 145-229. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1173.104413
