Australia is famous To host the The strangest creatures We have never seen. Sometimes these strange creatures are also extra-laid-like the newly discovered stick insect that researchers may believe the heaviest of all Australian insects.
The insect, named High acrohyllameasures approximately 15 inches (40 centimeters) long – on the height of a bowling– and weighs approximately 0.1 pounds (44 grams), slightly lighter than the Heaviest golf ball. In a recent Zootaxa Document, the researchers of the Angus Emmott and Ross Coupland fauna describe in an astonishing detail the new insect, which they found deep in the tropical forests of the Atherton plateaus, a high plateau in the south-east of Australia which measures approximately 3,000 feet (900 meters) high.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80vospvlz_Y
A strange photograph of an unknown species sent to the pair prompted the journey of researchers to the atherton sets. Their outings generally took place at night, when stick insects tend to be more active compared to the day, when they are at risk of predation of birds. After having traveled the forests for hours without luck, they finally managed to spot a tagged creature which corresponded to the image on the mysterious photograph.
Often the researchers looked at the insect – who turned out to be a woman – eggs that were not like what they had ever seen before. It is at this stage that they became some that they looked at an entirely new kind of stick insect, recalled Emmott Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
So far, scientists have only observed two women High acrohylla Specimens, one of the researchers’ exit and another found in a garden belonging to the friend of Emmott. On the basis of these two discoveries, the researchers assume that these oversized insects are exceptionally elusive, living in the highest awnings of high altitude forests. “Unless a bird eliminates one or you get a cyclone or a storm that eliminates one, we just can’t find them up there in the canopy,” said Emmott.
As for the way they have become so large, Emmott thinks it can be because of them living in a cool and humid environment. A larger body mass may have helped them survive more cold temperatures, he explained in a university statement.
The new discovery illustrates how we still do not know about these ancient tropical forests, Peter Valentine, environment scientist at James Cook University who was not involved in the new work, told ABC. This is always an exciting new when we discover new species, but at the same time, it raises concerns about how we preserve tropical forests, added Valentine.
Emmott shares this feeling.
“What is frightening is that we may lose species before we even know that they exist,” he said. “In the world of invertebrates, there are so many things that we do not know yet and so many people who are not yet described.”
In the meantime, Emmott says that he would like to find a male individual of the species, which would surely reveal even more about these extra-light critters.
