# Hoploclonia gecko

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Species of stick insect

Hoploclonia gecko Hoploclonia gecko, female Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Clade: Pancrustacea Class: Insecta Order: Phasmatodea Family: Heteropterygidae Subfamily: Obriminae Tribe: Hoplocloniini Genus: Hoploclonia Species: H. gecko Binomial name Hoploclonia gecko (Westwood, 1859) Synonyms[1] Acanthoderus gecko Westwood, 1859

***Hoploclonia gecko*** is a relatively small, spiny and darkly colored [stick insect](/source/Stick_insect) species that is native to the northwest of [Borneo](/source/Borneo).[2]

## Taxonomy

[Alfred Russel Wallace](/source/Alfred_Russel_Wallace) collected in [Sarawak](/source/Sarawak) in 1858 a number ofspecimens, but did not leave any more precise information about the location. [John Obadiah Westwood](/source/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](/source/Specific_epithet) chosen by Westwood, it is also called "Gecko Stick Insect".

In 1875 [Carl Stål](/source/Carl_St%C3%A5l) established the genus *[Hoploclonia](/source/Hoploclonia)* for this species alone, which became the [type species](/source/Type_species) as *Hoploclonia gecko*. The genus remained [monotypical](/source/Monotypical) until the description of *[Hoploclonia cuspidata](/source/Hoploclonia_cuspidata)* in 1906.

In 1995 a female of [Philip Edward Bragg](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_Edward_Bragg&action=edit&redlink=1) from the specimens collected by Wallace was selected as [lectotype](/source/Lectotype). It is deposited together with two male paralectotypes in the [Natural History Museum](/source/Natural_History_Museum%2C_London). Other specimens collected by Wallace are kept as paralectotypes in the [Oxford University Museum of Natural History](/source/Oxford_University_Museum_of_Natural_History).[1][3]

## Description

The insects, wingless in both sexes, have typical spines on their bodies like all representatives of this genus. In the 30 to 35 millimetres (1.2 to 1.4 in) long males, these are located in pairs on the head and the [thorax](/source/Thorax_(arthropod_anatomy)), but not on the [abdomen](/source/Abdomen_(insect_anatomy)). The pair of spines on the [pronotum](/source/Pronotum) is forked. [Adult](/source/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 [coxae](/source/Arthropod_coxa), as well as the [distal](/source/Distal) ends of the [femurs](/source/Arthropod_leg#Femur) and the [proximal](/source/Proximal) ends of the [tibae](/source/Arthropod_leg#Tibia), i.e. the knee area, colored light yellow to orange.

The females are 40 to 50 millimetres (1.6 to 2.0 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](/source/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 [habitus](/source/Habit_(biology)). 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](/source/Ovipositor), which is used to lay the eggs in the ground.[2][4]

## Distribution

*Hoploclonia gecko* is native to the northwest of Borneo, more precisely in the far west of the [Malaysian](/source/Malaysia) state [Sarawak](/source/Sarawak). The species was found here in [Bako National Park](/source/Bako_National_Park), on [Mount Santubong](/source/Mount_Santubong), on [Mount Serapi](/source/Mount_Serapi), in [Matang](/source/Matang) and [Lingga](/source/Lingga_Regency). The main area of distribution is the area around [Kuching](/source/Kuching), the capital of Sarawak. On Mount Santubong she was found up to a height of 300 metres (980 ft).[4]

## Way of life and reproduction

Like almost all stick insects, *Hoploclonia gecko* is nocturnal. To eat, they do not climb higher than 30 centimetres (12 in) up the food plants. The females lay their eggs with the ovipositor only a few millimeters deep in the ground. The eggs are 4.1 to 4.2 millimetres (0.16 to 0.17 in) long, 2.9 to 3.0 millimetres (0.11 to 0.12 in) high and 2.6 to 2.7 millimetres (0.10 to 0.11 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.[4]

## In terraristics

*Hoploclonia gecko* was the first species of the genus that appeared in the [terrarium](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Bramble), other [Rosaceae](/source/Rosaceae), as well as [oak](/source/Oak), [ivy](/source/Ivy), *[Crataegus](/source/Crataegus)* and *[Pyracantha](/source/Pyracantha)* species are accepted as food.[2][5]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Phasmida_Species_File_Online_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Phasmida_Species_File_Online_1-1) [Brock, P. D.](/source/Paul_D._Brock); [Büscher, T. H.](/source/Thies_H._B%C3%BCscher) & Baker, E. W. *[Phasmida Species File Online](http://phasmida.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1200335)*. Version 5.0. (accessdate 16 August 2021)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-phasmatodea_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-phasmatodea_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-phasmatodea_2-2) [*Hoploclonia gecko* on phasmatodea.com](http://www.phasmatodea.com/hoploclonia-gecko-westwood-1859) by [Hennemann, F. H.](/source/Frank_H._Hennemann); [Conle, O. V.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oskar_V._Conle&action=edit&redlink=1); Kneubühler, B. & Valero, P.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Westwood_3-0)** [Westwood, J. O.](/source/John_Obadiah_Westwood) (1859) *Catalog of the orthopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part I. Phasmidae.* London 1859, p. 52 & Plate XXVI: 6-7 ([online version](http://archive.org/details/catalogueofortho00brituoft))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Phasmids_of_Borneo_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Phasmids_of_Borneo_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Phasmids_of_Borneo_4-2) [Bragg, P. E.](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Philip_Edward_Bragg&action=edit&redlink=1) (2001). *Phasmids of Borneo*, Natural History Publications (Borneo) Sdn. Bhd., Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, pp. 110-111, pp. 120-123, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [983-812-027-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/983-812-027-8)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Phasmid_Study_Group_List_5-0)** [Phasmid Study Group Culture List](http://phasmidstudygroup.org/phasmids/psg-culture-list)

## External links

- Data related to [*Hoploclonia gecko*](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hoploclonia_gecko) at Wikispecies

- Media related to [*Hoploclonia gecko*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hoploclonia_gecko) at Wikimedia Commons

Taxon identifiers Hoploclonia gecko Wikidata: Q1339372 Wikispecies: Hoploclonia gecko CoL: 6MC6S EoL: 1077470 GBIF: 1416034 iNaturalist: 535947 NCBI: 2606014 Open Tree of Life: 3507809 Phasmida Species File (old): 1200335 Phasmida Species File (new): 852650

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hoploclonia gecko](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoploclonia_gecko) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoploclonia_gecko?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.