{{Short description|Species of stick insect}} {{Speciesbox | image = Hoploclonia gecko-pair.JPG | image_caption = ''Hoploclonia gecko'', female | genus = Hoploclonia | species = gecko | authority = ([[John Obadiah Westwood|Westwood]], 1859) | display_parents = 4 | synonyms = ''Acanthoderus gecko'' <small>Westwood, 1859</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref name = "Phasmida Species File Online" /> }}
'''''Hoploclonia gecko''''' is a relatively small, spiny and darkly colored [[stick insect]] species that is native to the northwest of [[Borneo]].<ref name = "phasmatodea" />
== Taxonomy == [[Alfred Russel Wallace]] collected in [[Sarawak]] in 1858 a number ofspecimens, but did not leave any more precise information about the location. [[John Obadiah Westwood]] described these the following year as ''Acanthoderus gecko''. When describing it, both males and females were available to him. Because of the [[specific epithet]] chosen by Westwood, it is also called "Gecko Stick Insect".
In 1875 [[Carl Stål]] established the genus ''[[Hoploclonia]]'' for this species alone, which became the [[type species]] as ''Hoploclonia gecko''. The genus remained [[monotypical]] until the description of ''[[Hoploclonia cuspidata]]'' in 1906.
In 1995 a female of [[Philip Edward Bragg]] from the specimens collected by Wallace was selected as [[lectotype]]. It is deposited together with two male paralectotypes in the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]]. Other specimens collected by Wallace are kept as paralectotypes in the [[Oxford University Museum of Natural History]].<ref name = "Phasmida Species File Online" /><ref name = "Westwood" />
== Description == The insects, wingless in both sexes, have typical spines on their bodies like all representatives of this genus. In the {{convert|30|to|35|mm|in}} long males, these are located in pairs on the head and the [[Thorax (arthropod anatomy)|thorax]], but not on the [[Abdomen (insect anatomy)|abdomen]]. The pair of spines on the [[pronotum]] is forked. [[Adult]] males are dominated by a dark, mostly black-brown basic color with a bright yellow-orange to red longitudinal line, which extends from the rear edge of the pronotum to the middle of the abdomen. As with the other representatives of the genus, the areas around the [[Arthropod coxa|coxae]], as well as the [[distal]] ends of the [[Arthropod leg#Femur|femurs]] and the [[proximal]] ends of the [[Arthropod leg#Tibia|tibae]], i.e. the knee area, colored light yellow to orange.
The females are {{convert|40|to|50|mm|in}} long. They can be colored more or less high-contrast light, dark or red-brown. They have clear spines on the thorax. On the [[mesothorax]] the first pair of spines forms a flat triangle, very broad at the base, which is much more pronounced than in other ''Hoploclonia'' species. Overall, they are very robust from the [[Habit (biology)|habitus]]. The relatively short abdomen is plump in egg-laying females and approximately cylindrical in cross-section. The end of the abdomen is formed by a short [[ovipositor]], which is used to lay the eggs in the ground.<ref name = "phasmatodea" /><ref name = "Phasmids of Borneo" />
== Distribution == ''Hoploclonia gecko'' is native to the northwest of Borneo, more precisely in the far west of the [[Malaysia]]n state [[Sarawak]]. The species was found here in [[Bako National Park]], on [[Mount Santubong]], on [[Mount Serapi]], in [[Matang]] and [[Lingga Regency|Lingga]]. The main area of distribution is the area around [[Kuching]], the capital of Sarawak. On Mount Santubong she was found up to a height of {{convert|300|m|ft}}.<ref name = "Phasmids of Borneo" />
== Way of life and reproduction == Like almost all stick insects, ''Hoploclonia gecko'' is nocturnal. To eat, they do not climb higher than {{convert|30|cm|in}} up the food plants. The females lay their eggs with the ovipositor only a few millimeters deep in the ground. The eggs are {{convert|4.1|to|4.2|mm|in}} long, {{convert|2.9|to|3.0|mm|in}} high and {{convert|2.6|to|2.7|mm|in}} wide. Like all ''Hoploclonia'' species, they are more arched on the dorsal side and have a lid (operculum) sloping towards the ventral side, which forms an opercular angle of less than 10 degrees. Of the three arms of the micropylar plate, one faces the lid, while the other two run laterally in the direction of the lower pole and enclose about 2/3 of the egg.<ref name = "Phasmids of Borneo" />
== In terraristics == ''Hoploclonia gecko'' was the first species of the genus that appeared in the [[terrarium]] at the end of the 1980s. Philip Bragg collected some specimens in December 1987 in the Bako National Park, which he was able to successfully reproduce and spread. He brought further representatives of this species with him from Mount Serapi in 1990. The species was given PSG number 110 by the [[Phasmid Study Group]].
As with all ''Hoploclonia'' species, keeping and breeding is considered difficult. Small terrariums with higher humidity and a substrate for laying eggs are required. Leaves of [[bramble]], other [[Rosaceae]], as well as [[oak]], [[ivy]], ''[[Crataegus]]'' and ''[[Pyracantha]]'' species are accepted as food.<ref name = "phasmatodea" /><ref name = "Phasmid Study Group List" />
== References == <references> <ref name = "Westwood">[[John Obadiah Westwood|Westwood, J. O.]] (1859) '' Catalog of the orthopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Phasmidae. '' London 1859, p. 52 & Plate XXVI: 6-7 ([http://archive.org/details/catalogueofortho00brituoft online version])</ref>
<ref name = "Phasmids of Borneo">[[Philip Edward Bragg|Bragg, P. E.]] (2001). ''Phasmids of Borneo'', Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, pp. 110-111, pp. 120-123, {{ISBN|983-812-027-8}}</ref>
<ref name = "phasmatodea">[http://www.phasmatodea.com/hoploclonia-gecko-westwood-1859 '' Hoploclonia gecko '' on phasmatodea.com] by [[Frank H. Hennemann|Hennemann, F. H.]]; [[Oskar V. Conle|Conle, O. V.]]; Kneubühler, B. & Valero, P.</ref>
<ref name="Phasmida Species File Online">[[Paul D. Brock|Brock, P. D.]]; [[Thies H. Büscher|Büscher, T. H.]] & Baker, E. W. ''[http://phasmida.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1200335 Phasmida Species File Online]''. Version 5.0. (accessdate 16 August 2021)</ref>
<ref name="Phasmid Study Group List">[http://phasmidstudygroup.org/phasmids/psg-culture-list Phasmid Study Group Culture List]</ref> </references>
==External links== *{{wikispecies inline|Hoploclonia gecko|''Hoploclonia gecko''}} *{{commons category-inline|Hoploclonia gecko|''Hoploclonia gecko''}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1339372}}
[[Category:Phasmatodea]] [[Category:Phasmatodea of Asia]] [[Category:Insects described in 1859]] [[Category:Taxa named by John O. Westwood]]