Royce Cumming

CUNY Graduate Center | CUNY · Program in Biology

A common way to avoid predators is by use of camouflage, a strategy which the stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea) have refined by appearing as leaves, sticks, lichen, and moss. Stick and leaf insects have perfected their camouflage by sequestering diet-based carotenoids within their exoskeleton. Visual and chemical details of such camouflage have...

With every molecular review involving Chitoniscus Stål, 1875 sensu lato samples from Fiji and New Caledonia revealing polyphyly, the morphology from these two distinct clades was extensively reviewed. Morphological results agree with all previously published molecular studies and therefore Trolicaphyllium gen. nov. is erected to accommodate the for...

The insect order Phasmatodea is known for large slender insects masquerading as twigs or bark. In contrast to these so-called stick insects, the subordinated clade of leaf insects (Phylliidae) are dorso-ventrally flattened and therefore resemble leaves in a unique way. Here we show that the origin of extant leaf insects lies in the Australasian/Pac...

An ecological study to evaluate necrophagous species richness, abundance, and diversity was conducted in four contrasting ecoregions of Los Angeles County, California, United States: a highly anthropized area, two moderately populated areas, and a sparsely populated area. Our hypothesis states that there will be higher abundance of exotic species i...

A new genus and species of exaggerated antennae Coreidae is described from Myanmar amber of the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian stage). Ferriantenna excalibur gen. et sp. nov. appears related to another Cre-taceous coreid with exaggerated antennae, Magnusantenna Du & Chen, 2021, but can be differentiated by the fourth antennal segment which is short an...

The extinct bark lice families †Archaeatropidae and †Empheriidae are considered closely related, yet distinct based upon an ever-dwindling set of morphological features. To help highlight the known variability in venation for described species, we present brief discussions for each Cretaceous species for these two families, illustrations of their w...

While the leaf insects (Phylliidae) are a well-supported group within Phasmatodea, the genus Phyllium Illiger, 1798 has repeatedly been recovered as paraphyletic. Here, the Phyllium (Phyllium) celebicum species group is reviewed and its distinctiveness from the remaining Phylliini genera and subgenera in a phyloge- netic context based on morphologi...

After successful laboratory rearing of both males and females from a single clutch of eggs, the genus Nanophyllium Redtenbacher, 1906 (described only from males) and the frondosum species group within Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) Griffini, 1898 (described only from females) are found to be the opposite sexes of the same genus. This rearing observatio...

A new subgenus, Walaphylliumsubgen. nov. , is described within Phyllium Illiger, 1798 to accommodate three leaf insect species. One of the species included is newly described herein as Phyllium (Walaphyllium) lelantos sp. nov. from Papua New Guinea. This new subgenus of Phyllium can be diagnosed by a following combination of features. This new spec...

Prompted by the discovery of an undescribed species of Phyllium Illiger, 1798 from within the Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom collection, the Phylliidae (Leaf Insects) of Palawan, Philippines are here reviewed. The new species Phyllium (Phyllium) saltonae Cumming, Baker, Le Tirant, & Marshall n. sp. is currently only known from femal...

Phyllium oyae, new species from Laos.

Review of leaf-insects collected in Northeastern Laos has revealed a previously unnamed species, which we here describe as Phyllium (Phyllium) oyae species nova. This new species falls within the celebicum species group as described in Hennemann et al. (2009) due to the presence of well developed alae in females and males with a wide exterior profe...

Within the last two years, the leaf insects of the genus Phyllium of both the islands of Java and Sumatra have been reviewed extensively based on morphological observations. However, cryptic species which cannot be differentiated morphologically may be present among the various populations. Since it has frequently been demonstrated that analyses ba...

A large species of leaf insect from Obi Island, Indonesia is here described as Phyllium regina n. sp. which is currently only known from a single female specimen. With the description of this new species, and review of its closest relatives, Phyllium caudatum Redtenbacher, 1906 and Phyllium riedeli Kamp & Hennemann, 2014, these species share a uniq...

The Phylliidae of Wallacea are here reviewed, with notes on species distributions. Phyllium (Phyllium) tobeloense Größer, 2007 is also here recorded as having a new subspecies from Morotai Island, Phyllium (Phyllium) tobeloense bhaskarai Cumming, Le Tirant, and Hennemann ssp. nov. based largely upon the distinct egg morphology. To conclude a key to...

The Phylliidae (Phasmatodea) diversity of the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia is preliminarily examined, and revealed to be notably lacking in completeness with only two species currently recorded. Of the nine islands/ island groups within the Lesser Sunda Islands, only the westerly islands (Bali and Lombok) have single species recorded: Phyllium (...

A new species of leaf insect from the celebicum species group, Phyllium (Phyllium) yapicum Cumming and Teemsma, new species (Phasmida: Phylliidae), is described from a female specimen from the California Academy of Sciences collection, United States. This new species is the first recorded species of Phylliidae from the country of Micronesia and rep...

Abstract. – A new species of nano-leaf insect, Nanophyllium australianum Cumming, Le Tirant, and Teemsma, n. sp. (Phasmida, Phylliidae), is described from a single male specimen from Queensland, Australia. This single Australian record was originally considered as a range expansion for Nanophyllium pygmaeum Redtenbacher, 1906 (Rentz, 1988). Reexami...

At the time Cumming et al. (2017) was published, the GenBank accession numbers for partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA barcode sequences from Microphyllium specimens sampled in the phylogenetic analysis were not yet available. This information is provided in Table 1.

A new species of leaf insect, Phyllium (Phyllium) letiranti Cumming and Teemsma, new species (Phasmida: Phylliidae), is described from a series of males, females, and eggs from Peleng Island, Indonesia. This new species is the first record of the family Phylliidae on the island and is here differentiated from congeners. Keys to males, females, and...

Abstract. – The Phyllium diversity of Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, Indonesia is discussed with records of recent collection and from past literature. The previously unknown female Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) abdulfatahi Seow-Choen, 2017a. is described along with a discussion of the range in which the species can be found and figures of the femal...

A new species, Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) shurei n. sp. is described and illustrated from Java, Indonesia. Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) shurei n. sp. is currently only known from a male specimen, therefore only a key to known Phyllium males from Java is included. Nomenclature note are added about the name Phyllium (Pulchriphyllium) lambirense Seow-Ch...

Examination of unidentified Phylliidae specimens revealed a number of undescribed species from the island of Luzon, Philippines. Morphological and molecular study of specimens from the obscure phasmid genus Microphyllium Zompro, 2001, revealed a new species, which we describe as Microphyllium haskelli Cumming sp. nov.. It is here described and diff...

A new species of leaf insect, Phyllium (Phyllium) brossardi Cumming, Le Tirant, and Teemsma, new species (Phasmida, Phylliidae), is described from a series of three males. A key to males of the currently known species from the siccifolium species group from Borneo is provided.

A new species of leaf insect, Phyllium (Phyllium) brossardi Cumming, Le Tirant, and Teemsma, new species (Phasmida, Phylliidae), is described from a series of three males. A key to males of the currently known species from the siccifolium species group from Borneo is provided.

A new species of leaf insect, Phyllium (Phyllium) fallorum n. sp. is described and illustrated. In addition a key to the current known species of Phyllium Illiger, 1798 from the Philippines is provided. This species is currently only known from the single unique holotype, which will be deposited in the San Diego Natural History Museum. Measurements...

A new species of leaf insect, Nanophyllium larssoni n. sp. is described and illustrated bringing the known species in the genus to a total of six. Like all species of Nanophyllium Redtenbacher, 1906, the new species is named from a single male specimen, which is deposited in the San Diego Natural History Museum. With this newly identified species,...

A new species of leaf insect, Nanophyllium stellae n. sp. is described and illustrated. As for the majority of the current taxa of Nanophyllium Redtenbacher, 1906, the new species is named from a single male specimen, as no other specimens are currently known to exist. A key to the current species of Nanophyllium Redtenbacher, 1906 is provided. The...