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Haaniella macroptera (Hennemann, Conle, Brock & Seow-Choen, 2016)
| Family Name: | Bacillidae |
| Synonyms: | Haaniella muelleri |
| Taxonomic Group: | Invertebrates (Stick Insect) |
| Common Name: | Mueller’s Spiny Insect, Spiny Brown Insect |
Name
Ecology, Habitat & Location
| Ecological Notes | Very rare and seldom seen, requiring a humid environment near the forest floor in rain forest. Slow reproduction rates meant that these insects are very sensitive to forest disturbance and habitat destruction. |
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| Habitats | Forest, Freshwater Swamp Forest, Terrestrial |
| Distribution | Throughout South Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. A specimen was recently found in Mandai by Kelvin Lim of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. This locally endangered species is restricted to areas of forest which frequently experience flooding. |
| Nature Reserves | Central Catchment Nature Reserve |
Conservation
| Trends & Threats | Habitat and food plant destruction are the most important threats. Monkeys seldom take the larger insects as their spines are protective. Monkeys however have been observed to learn how to take them by a trial and error method. |
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| Conservation Notes | The most useful conservation measure available for these insects is to increase public awareness about them. As they are very seldom seen in the wild, this may be possible only through insect observatories and cultures. |
Status
| Species Status | Native |
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| Singapore Red Data Book Status | Critically Endangered (CR) [2008] |
Photos
References
| References | Hennermann FH, Conle OV, Brock PD & Seow-Choen F (2016) Revision of the Oriental subfamily Heteropteryginae Kirby, 1896, with a re-arrangement of the family Heteropterygidae and the descriptions of five new species of Haaniella Kirby, 1904. (Phasmatodea: Areolatae: Heteropterygidae). Zootaxa, 4159: 1–219. |
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