Acanthoxyla
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Acanthoxyla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A prickly green stick insect (Acanthoxyla prasina) seen in Fairfield, Otago in 2012 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Phasmatidae |
| Subfamily: | Phasmatinae |
| Genus: | Acanthoxyla Uvarov 1955 |
Acanthoxyla[1] is a genus of stick insects in the family Phasmatidae (tribe Acanthoxylini).[1] All the individuals of the genus are female and reproduce asexually by parthenogenesis.[2] However, a male Acanthoxyla inermis was recently discovered in the UK, probably the result of chromosome loss.[3] The genus is the result of interspecific hybridisation[4][5] resulting in some triploid[6] lineages and some diploid[7] lineages. The genus is endemic to New Zealand,[8] but some species have been accidentally introduced elsewhere. The genus name Acanthoxyla translates from Greek as prickly stick (acantho = thorn; xyla = wood).
The Catalogue of Life lists:[1]
- Acanthoxyla fasciata (Hutton, 1899)
- Acanthoxyla geisovii (Kaup, 1866)
- Acanthoxyla huttoni Salmon, 1955
- Acanthoxyla inermis Salmon, 1955
- Acanthoxyla intermedia Salmon, 1955
- Acanthoxyla prasina (Westwood, 1859)
- Acanthoxyla speciosa Salmon, 1955
- Acanthoxyla suteri (Hutton, 1899)
