On seven undescribed leaf insect species revealed within the recent "Tree of Leaves" (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae).
Royce T CummingStéphane Le TirantJackson B LindeMegan E SolanEvelyn Marie FoleyNorman Enrico C EulinRamon LavadoMichael F WhitingSven BradlerSarah BankPublished in: ZooKeys (2023)
With the recent advance in molecular phylogenetics focused on the leaf insects (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae), gaps in knowledge are beginning to be filled. Yet, shortcomings are also being highlighted, for instance, the unveiling of numerous undescribed phylliid species. Here, some of these taxa are described, including Phylliumiyadaon sp. nov. from Mindoro Island, Philippines; Phylliumsamarense sp. nov. from Samar Island, Philippines; Phylliumortizi sp. nov. from Mindanao Island, Philippines; Pulchriphylliumheracles sp. nov. from Vietnam; Pulchriphylliumdelislei sp. nov. from South Kalimantan, Indonesia; and Pulchriphylliumbhaskarai sp. nov. from Java, Indonesia. Several additional specimens of these species together with a seventh species described herein, Pulchriphylliumanangu sp. nov. from southwestern India, were incorporated into a newly constructed phylogenetic tree. Additionally, two taxa that were originally described as species, but in recent decades have been treated as subspecies, are elevated back to species status to reflect their unique morphology and geographic isolation, creating the following new combinations: Pulchriphylliumscythe (Gray, 1843) stat. rev., comb. nov. from Bangladesh and northeastern India, and Pulchriphylliumcrurifolium (Audinet-Serville, 1838) stat. rev., comb. nov. from the Seychelles islands. Lectotype specimens are also designated for Pulchriphylliumscythe (Gray, 1843) stat. rev., comb. nov. and Pulchriphylliumcrurifolium (Audinet-Serville, 1838) stat. rev., comb. nov. from original type material.
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