Echinacantha perlae, a new genus and a new species of stick insect from Madagascar (Phasmatodea, Anisacanthinae)
Abstract
Echinacantha gen. n. is described as a new genus of stick insects belonging to the subfamily Anisacanthinae. The genus exhibits a habitus similar to that of Parectatosoma, sharing numerous spines, a strongly elevated posterior head, and a dilated mesonotum in females. However, it differs in several distinctive features: the pronotum bears eight major spines, four of which are arranged in a square anteriorly; the male vomer is bifid at the tip, while the female preopercular organ shows two submedian depressions-correlated sexual characters that are unique within the Anisacanthinae but shared with an undescribed taxon. The type species of Echinacantha is E. perlae sp. n. from the Anjozorobe region. Additional species of the genus remain to be described. The distribution of Echinacantha appears to be relatively restricted, being confined to the midmontane rainforest (800-1700 m) of the central region.
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BibTeX
@article{cliquennois2026echinacantha,
title = {{Echinacantha perlae, a new genus and a new species of stick insect from Madagascar (Phasmatodea, Anisacanthinae)}},
author = {Nicolas Cliquennois},
journal = {Cahiers scientifiques de l'océan Indien occidental},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05798437v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Echinacantha perlae, a new genus and a new species of stick insect from Madagascar (Phasmatodea, Anisacanthinae)
AU - Nicolas Cliquennois
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Cahiers scientifiques de l'océan Indien occidental
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05798437v1
AB - Echinacantha gen. n. is described as a new genus of stick insects belonging to the subfamily Anisacanthinae. The genus exhibits a habitus similar to that of Parectatosoma, sharing numerous spines, a strongly elevated posterior head, and a dilated mesonotum in females. However, it differs in several distinctive features: the pronotum bears eight major spines, four of which are arranged in a square anteriorly; the male vomer is bifid at the tip, while the female preopercular organ shows two submedian depressions-correlated sexual characters that are unique within the Anisacanthinae but shared with an undescribed taxon. The type species of Echinacantha is E. perlae sp. n. from the Anjozorobe region. Additional species of the genus remain to be described. The distribution of Echinacantha appears to be relatively restricted, being confined to the midmontane rainforest (800-1700 m) of the central region.
SN - 1775-3538
ER -