Walaphyllium subgen. nov., the dancing leaf insects from Australia and Papua New Guinea with description of a new species (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae)

Cumming, Royce T.; Thurman, Jessa H.; Youngdale, Sam; Tirant, Stéphane Le

doi:10.3897/zookeys.939.52071

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…While Bradler and Buckley 10 noted that Phylliidae only account for <2% of the phasmatodean diversity with about 50 known species, the number of described species has now doubled within just a few years. Misidentification, overestimation of species' distributions and the unreliability of the highly variable morphological traits 35 had resulted in a chaotic taxonomy that only recently started to be overcome by extensive morphological examinations (e.g., Cumming et al 36,37 ). Captive breeding and molecular analysis have further helped to shed light on the phylogenetic relationships and to match up males and females of leaf insects [38][39][40] .…”

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confidence: 99%

A tree of leaves: Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the leaf insects (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae)

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Cumming

et al. 2021

Commun Biol

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The insect order Phasmatodea is known for large slender insects masquerading as twigs or bark. In contrast to these so-called stick insects, the subordinated clade of leaf insects (Phylliidae) are dorso-ventrally flattened and therefore resemble leaves in a unique way. Here we show that the origin of extant leaf insects lies in the Australasian/Pacific region with subsequent dispersal westwards to mainland Asia and colonisation of most Southeast Asian landmasses. We further hypothesise that the clade originated in the Early Eocene after the emergence of angiosperm-dominated rainforests. The genus Phyllium to which most of the ~100 described species pertain is recovered as paraphyletic and its three non-nominate subgenera are recovered as distinct, monophyletic groups and are consequently elevated to genus rank. This first phylogeny covering all major phylliid groups provides the basis for future studies on their taxonomy and a framework to unveil more of their cryptic and underestimated diversity.

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confidence: 99%

A tree of leaves: Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the leaf insects (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae)

Bank

Cumming

et al. 2021

Commun Biol

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“…This leads us to predict a similar net cost of flight for thin or wide males. Therefore, flight performance may not constrain male body shape the way that it does body size, and may have provided male leaf insects the freedom to evolve a variety of body shapes [ 62 – 66 ]. However, given that body shape still significantly affected the aerodynamic forces applying on the insect body, it is possible that it affects other relevant components of aerial performance beyond the scope of this study such as maneuverability and stability, or the net cost of flight in other contexts like ascending flight.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-modal locomotor costs favor smaller males in a sexually dimorphic leaf-mimicking insect

et al. 2022

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Background In most arthropods, adult females are larger than males, and male competition is a race to quickly locate and mate with scattered females (scramble competition polygyny). Variation in body size among males may confer advantages that depend on context. Smaller males may be favored due to more efficient locomotion leading to higher mobility during mate searching. Alternatively, larger males may benefit from increased speed and higher survivorship. While the relationship between male body size and mobility has been investigated in several systems, how different aspects of male body morphology specifically affect their locomotor performance in different contexts is often unclear. Results Using a combination of empirical measures of flight performance and modelling of body aerodynamics, we show that large body size impairs flight performance in male leaf insects (Phyllium philippinicum), a species where relatively small and skinny males fly through the canopy in search of large sedentary females. Smaller males were more agile in the air and ascended more rapidly during flight. Our models further predicted that variation in body shape would affect body lift and drag but suggested that flight costs may not explain the evolution of strong sexual dimorphism in body shape in this species. Finally, empirical measurements of substrate adhesion and subsequent modelling of landing impact forces suggested that smaller males had a lower risk of detaching from the substrates on which they walk and land. Conclusions By showing that male body size impairs their flight and substrate adhesion performance, we provide support to the hypothesis that smaller scrambling males benefit from an increased locomotor performance and shed light on the evolution of sexual dimorphism in scramble competition mating systems.

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“…Wider abdomens are comparatively heavier and generate more drag, but they also generate relatively more lift resulting in a similar net cost of flight for thin or wide males. Therefore, flight performance does not seem to constrain male body shape the way that it does body size, and may have provided male leaf insects the freedom to evolve a variety of body shapes (Brock et al, 2020;Conle et al, 2008;Cumming et al, 2020aCumming et al, , 2020bCumming et al, , 2018.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-modal locomotor costs explain sexual size but not shape dimorphism in a leaf-mimicking insect

Boisseau

Büscher

Klawitter

et al. 2021

Preprint

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In most arthropods, adult females are larger than males, and male competition is a race to quickly locate and mate with scattered females (scramble competition polygyny). In this context, smaller males may be favored due to more efficient locomotion leading to higher mobility during mate searching while larger males may benefit from increased speed and higher survivorship. Understanding how body size affects different aspects of the locomotor performance of males is therefore essential to shed light on the evolution of this widespread mating system. Using a combination of empirical measures of flight performance and substrate adhesion, and modelling of body aerodynamics, we show that large body size impairs both flight and landing (attachment) performance in male leaf insects (Phyllium philippinicum), a species where relatively small and skinny males fly through the canopy in search of large sedentary females. Smaller males were more agile in the air, ascended more rapidly during flight, and had a lower risk of detaching from the substrates on which they walk and land. Our models revealed variation in body shape affected body lift and drag, but tradeoffs with weight meant that effects were negligible, suggesting that flight costs do not explain the evolution of strong sexual dimorphism in body shape in this species.

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Walaphyllium subgen. nov., the dancing leaf insects from Australia and Papua New Guinea with description of a new species (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae)

Cited by 7 publications

References 20 publications

A tree of leaves: Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the leaf insects (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae)

A tree of leaves: Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the leaf insects (Phasmatodea: Phylliidae)

Multi-modal locomotor costs favor smaller males in a sexually dimorphic leaf-mimicking insect

Multi-modal locomotor costs explain sexual size but not shape dimorphism in a leaf-mimicking insect

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