Fri, Dec 20, 8:29 AM CST

The Tree Lobster

DAZ|Studio Insects posted on Nov 23, 2024
Open full image in new tab Zoom on image
Close

Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.


Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.

Description


This species of Phasmid is considered one of the rarest insects in the world and is only found on Lord Lowe Island (Australia). It has quite a backstory... The Lord Howe Island stick insects (aka Tree Lobsters) were once very common on the Island, where they were used as bait in fishing. They were believed to have become extinct soon after the supply ship S.S. Makambo ran aground on the island in 1918, allowing black rats to become established. After 1920, no stick insects could be found. Also, the birds in the background, the Robust Silver-Eye (featured in my Songbird ReMix Threatened-Endangered-Extinct v2), also went extinct due to the rats. That was until, in 1964, a team of climbers visiting Ball's Pyramid, a rocky sea stack 23km (14 mi) south-east of Lord Howe Island, discovered a dead Lord Howe Island stick insect. During subsequent years, climbers found a few more fresh carcasses, but expeditions to find live specimens were unsuccessful. In 2001, Australian scientists David Priddel and Nicholas Carlile hypothesized that there was sufficient vegetation on the islet to support a population of the insects, and, with two assistants, travelled there to investigate further. They scaled 120 m of grassy, low-angled slope, but found only crickets. On their descent, the team discovered large insect droppings under a single Melaleuca shrub growing in a crevice approximately 100 m above the shoreline. They deduced that they would need to return after dark, when the insects are active, to have the best chance of finding living specimens. Carlile returned with local ranger Dean Hiscox and, with a camera and flashlights, scrambled back up the slopes. They discovered a small population of 24 insects living beneath the Melaleuca shrub amongst a substantial build-up of plant debris. In 2003, a research team from New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service returned to Ball's Pyramid and collected two breeding pairs, one destined for a private breeder in Sydney and the other sent to the Melbourne Zoo. After initial difficulties, the insects were successfully bred in captivity in Melbourne. The ultimate goal was to produce a large population for reintroduction to Lord Howe Island, providing that a project to eradicate the invasive rats was successful. In 2006, the captive population of insects numbered about 50 individuals, with thousands of eggs still to hatch. In 2008, when Jane Goodall visited the zoo, the population had grown to 11,376 eggs and 700 individuals, 20 of which were soon after returned to a special habitat on Lord Howe Island. As of April 2012, the Melbourne Zoo had reportedly bred over 9,000 of the insects, including 1,000 adult insects, plus 20,000 eggs. In 2012, the Budapest Zoo was the first zoo in the world to reproduce it. In 2014, an unauthorized climbing team sighted live stick insects near the summit of Ball's Pyramid, in a thicket of sedge plants rooted in very thin soils at an altitude of 500m, suggesting that the insect's range on the island is more widespread than previously thought, and that its food preferences are not limited to Melaleuca howeana. By the beginning of 2016, Melbourne Zoo had hatched 13,000 eggs, and had also sent eggs to the Bristol Zoo in England, the San Diego Zoo in the United States, and the Toronto Zoo in Canada, to establish distinct insurance populations. A 2017 study comparing DNA sequences of phasmids originating from Ball's Pyramid with those from museum specimens from Lord Howe Island showed that the Ball's Pyramid sequences differ from those of Lord Howe Island by a degree comparable to variation within the museum specimens, despite some morphological differences between the two groups. This confirms that the two populations represent the same species. The genome was found to be very large in size (over 4 Gb) and is probably hexaploid. In 2018 it was announced that the CEO of the Lord Howe Island Board had approved a plan to exterminate the black rat population on Lord Howe Island to protect the island ecology and potentially reintroduce D. australis. As of 2023 plans are being made to reintroduce the insects to Blackburn Island, a smaller island offshore of Lord Howe Island, to test the potential for reintroduction to the larger island.

Comments (4)


)

starship64

11:20PM | Sat, 23 November 2024

Fantastic work!

)

3DClassics

7:43AM | Sun, 24 November 2024

A fascinating "story"! Thank you.

)

Flint_Hawk

11:34AM | Sun, 24 November 2024

They have an amazing history!

This is an exceptional presentation!

LadyLight

5:25PM | Sun, 24 November 2024

Incredible and very interesting backstory. I'm glad they don't live in MY back yard!!


2 25 4

00
Days
:
15
Hrs
:
29
Mins
:
52
Secs
Premier Release Product
dForce Cuddle Bug PJ Set G8G8.1F
3D Models
Top-Selling Vendor Sale Item
$12.95 USD 50% Off
$6.48 USD

Privacy Notice

This site uses cookies to deliver the best experience. Our own cookies make user accounts and other features possible. Third-party cookies are used to display relevant ads and to analyze how Renderosity is used. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Terms of Service, including our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy.