Phasmid Names Where they come from,

who was first,

and how to tell who came next.

by Phil Bragg.

Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)

Carl Linnaeus founded the systems of scientific names that are used for naming plants and animals.

The rules are similar, although the two systems are separate.

The beginning – 1758.The system for naming animals dates from 1758. This is the publication date of Linnaeus’ tenth edition of Systema Naturae.

The plant system uses 1753 as the starting date.

The phasmids• Systema Naturae included

three phasmids.

• All were placed in the genus Gryllus.

They are now called

• Phasma gigas

• Pseudophasma phthisicum

• Phyllium siccifolium

Knowing what they look like is a problem.

• The descriptions are very brief.

• They are in Latin.

• There are no illustrations.

Phasma gigas

The description translates as:

Thorax cylindrical, rough, fore wings short, legs spiny.Hind wings large.

So… what does it look like

?

Phasma gigas

Left = MaleRight = Female

Phyllium siccifolium (Linnaeus, 1758)

How the names work• The system is binomial. • In other words, there are two names.

• Think of it in terms of a phone book entry.

• Surname first, then personal name.

• The generic name comes first, then the specific name.

You need both.There are lots of people called Phil.

There are quite a few called Bragg.

There is only one Phil Bragg.

I see him in the mirror every morning - and he’s so good looking!

Some quick rules

• The binomial name is also called the scientific name.

• The name should be in italics.

• The first letter of the Generic name is a capital.

• The specific name is all lower case letters.

E.g. Heteropteryx dilatata.

Diesbachia sophiae

Genus species Author(s), Date

Diesbachia sophiae Redtenbacher, 1908

Asceles margaritatus Redtenbacher, 1908

More quick rules

• The person who first describes and names a species is the Author of that name.

• The author’s name is put after the scientific name – not in italics.

• The year it was first described goes after the author’s name – with a comma in between.

E.g. Heteropteryx dilatata Parkinson, 1798.

Lonchodes thami Bragg, 2001

Phenacephorus sepilokensis Bragg, 1994

When the name changes – use brackets

Aretaon asperrimus (Redtenbacher, 1906)

Haaniella echinata (Redtenbacher, 1906)

sp., spp., ssp., and sspp.• sp. = Species (singular). Used when you know

the genus but the species is not known.• spp. = Species (plural). Used when you have

more than one species.

•ssp. = Subspecies. Sometimes a species occurs in two (or more) different forms; they are not quite different enough to be considered a different species, but heading that way. They are given a trinomial name (genus, species, subspecies).•sspp. = You are talking about a mixture of more than one subspecies.

Phenocephorus spp.

There are three different species here.

Pylaemenes borneensis sepilokensis (Bragg, 1998)

Pylaemenes borneensis ssp.There are three subspecies of Pylaemenes borneensis shown here

• Pylaemenes borneensis sepilokensis (Bragg, 1998)

• Pylaemenes borneensis borneensis (Bragg, 1998)

• Pylaemenes borneensis waterstradti (Bragg, 1998)

Female abdomens from left to right:

Rhamphosipyloidea sp.

I know this belongs in the genus Rhamphosipyloidea but I do not know which species it is.

Yet more rules

• Use brackets around the author and date if the species is moved to another genus.

• Use sp. if the species is unknown.• Use spp. if there is more than one species.• Use ssp. for an unknown subspecies.

What can you tell about these names?

Haaniella echinata

(Redtenbacher, 1908)Orthonecroscia pulcherrima

Kirby, 1904

If you still don’t know why the brackets are there, or how to tell who the author is, check out the

new PSG website at:http://phasmid-study-group.org/

Phasmid IdentificationAn introduction to getting started, and a discussion of some of the difficulties.

by Phil Bragg.

Identification - getting started

Be clear about your aims.

Do you want to identify the species?

Or just the genus?

Or only the family or subfamily?

Family and subfamily

• These are relatively easy to do.

• There are keys easily available.

• There are some complications: – Some names have changed recently so most keys will

probably have some out-dated names (e.g. the old Heteronemiidae are now called Diapheromeridae).

– There may be different views about which are families and which are subfamilies.

What you need

• Time

• Patience

•Microscope

•Keys

Some keys will become available on the new PSG website in the

near future.

http://phasmid-study-group.org/