World's Longest Insect Named After Malaysian Naturalist -

dexa

World’s longest insect named after Malaysian naturalist


Undated picture made available yesterday by Britain’s
Natural History Museum of the giant stick insect named
Phobaeticus chani, meaning ‘Chan’s megastick’

LONDON, Oct 17 — A stick bug from the island of Borneo measuring well over a foot in length has been identified by researchers as the world's longest insect, British scientists said yesterday.

The specimen was found by a local villager and handed to Malaysian amateur naturalist Datuk Chan Chew Lun in 1989, according to Philip Bragg, who formally identified the insect in this month’s issue of peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. The insect was named Phobaeticus chani, or "Chan's megastick," in Chan's honour.

Paul Brock, a scientific associate of the Natural History Museum in London unconnected to the insect's discovery, said there was no doubt it was the longest still in existence. That assessment was also confirmed by Marco Gottardo, an entomologist at Italy's Natural History Museum of Ferrara and Aaron T. Dossey, a researcher at the University of Florida in Gainesville who studies the insects.

Looking like a pencil-thin shoot of bamboo, the dull-green insect measures about 22 inches, if its twig-like legs are counted. Its body length is 14 inches, beating the previous record held by Phobaeticus kirbyi, also from Borneo, by about an inch.

Stick bugs have some of the animal kingdom's cleverest camouflage. Although some use noxious sprays or prickly spines to deter their predators, generally the bugs assume the shape of sticks and leaves to avoid drawing attention.

"Their main defence is basically hanging around, looking like a twig," Brock said. "It will even sway in the wind." — AP


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wow wow and wow.... ikut macam azlan omar of klfm pula -
tapi - what an interesting name -- chan's megastick -

malaysian kena proud ni -- sebab ni kira world longest insect -
lebih panjang dari praying mantis la nampaknya ni --

ninja9

masa kecik 2 dulu ada sekali aku p hutan..masa tu rehat duduk sambil patah-patahkan ranting..tiba 2 aku rasa ranting tu mcm bergerak..bila tengo balik rupanya ranting tu insect ni la..aku hampir kena sakit jantung sebab aku ingat ranting tu hidup..

dexa

Originally posted by ninja9 at 17-10-2008 11:09 PM
masa kecik 2 dulu ada sekali aku p hutan..masa tu rehat duduk sambil patah-patahkan ranting..tiba 2 aku rasa ranting tu mcm bergerak..bila tengo balik rupanya ranting tu insect ni la..aku hampir  ...

lol.. kelakar aje...awak ni - tu mesti walking stick -
depa memang pandai chameleon kan diri depa
dengan keadaan sekitar --

nasib baik tak pengsan ye -- tengok  ranting bergerak -

jangan ular dah la -

lipsofanangel

tinggi lampai ek insect ni....


isk...kalau ular............

APOLLYON

Pernah jumpa katak sebesar pemeluk lelaki dewasa masa berkelah di Ulu Bendul,Negeri Sembilan.Bukan skali,tapi 3 kali(dalam air,lepak kat batu2 besar)Tapi sekor je..Masa tu ramai yang nampak termasuk pelancong mat2/minah saleh yang tengok skali.Diorang minta kitaorang tangkap,tapi tak berani ler aii.Buatnya katak tu ada racun ke,gigi tajam ke tak ke naya.Tengok dari saiznya senang2 jer kepala kita boleh masuk dalam mulut dia.Tak silap katak terbesar yang pernah direkodkan hanya besar pinggan jer (rujuk Ripleys Belive It Or Not).Maknanya yang kitaorang nampak kat ulu bendul tu jauh lagi besar ler.Kalau la saya tangkap katak tu masa dulu mesti katak tu dinamakan sempena nama saya ek?

slier81

x nampak mcm serangga pun...nampak mcm lalang jer

anyway nice info..

alphawolf

'Chan's Megastick'...hehehehehe