Sabah Thorny Stick Insect vs Unarmed Stick Insect

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Sabah Thorny Stick Insect Unarmed Stick Insect
Scientific Name Haaniella echinata Clitarchus tepaki
Order Phasmatodea Phasmatodea
Family Heteropterygidae Phasmatidae
Size 70-100 mm 6-9 cm
Habitat Mountains Beaches & Coastal
Diet Herbivores Herbivores
Regions Sabah, Borneo New Zealand (Northland)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Sabah Thorny Stick Insect

A stocky Bornean phasmid densely covered in sharp spines. Its dark coloration and spiny texture make it resemble a piece of thorny bark.

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Did You Know?

When threatened, it curls its abdomen upward and snaps its spiny hind legs shut like a trap.

Unarmed Stick Insect

A smooth-bodied stick insect endemic to the far north of New Zealand. It is slimmer than its relative Clitarchus hookeri.

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Did You Know?

It is restricted to the northernmost tip of New Zealand's North Island around Cape Reinga.