Jurassic Bugs!

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Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Thu Mar 01, 2012 10:25 pm

A giant insect saved from extinction
by whyevolutionistrue

I'm quite familiar with Lord Howe Island, for I've published on its bird fauna (garnered from the literature; I haven't been lucky enough to visit there), and wrote a "news and views" on its flora for Current Biology, a piece that I described on this website (see the link for the geography and location of the island). It turns out that Lord Howe was once home to a bizarre variety of stick insect, the species Dryococelis australis, the heaviest flightless insect in the world. Here it is:

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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Calilasseia » Sun Mar 04, 2012 3:47 am

Oh we had a thread about these over at another place. Where I also introduced several people to three other species that are fairly substantial in size, all of which I've allowed to walk about up and down my arms, and on top of my head. The three species in question being:

[1] Eurycantha horrida (the smaller, green coloured species is Eurycantha calcarata) :

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[2] Extatosoma tiatarum :

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[3] Heteropteryx dilitata[/i] :

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Mind you, if you really want to see some Jurassic bugs, try this:

Monster Jurassic fleas

Fleas half an inch long fed on dinosaur blood

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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Svartalf » Sun Mar 04, 2012 4:20 am

Heaviest non flying insect? Because there are one even bigger and that can fly?
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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Calilasseia » Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:23 am

If memory serves, the heaviest insect capable of flight is the Atlas Moth, Attacus atlas. Which has an 11 inch wingspan, and a total mass of 60 grams in the case of an adult female. The moth with the greatest wingspan, but substantially lower mass (I think it's about half that of an Atlas Moth) is the Great Owlet Moth, Thysania agrippina, which is known to attain a wingspan of just over 12 inches (though rumours persist that the Austrian entomologist Oberthür had a 14½ inch specimen in his collection, which was since lost).

In the case of the giant stick insect Acrophylla titan from Queensland, males can fly, whilst females are too large to fly, despite possessing functional wings. Females can reach 30 cm in length. The other large Australian stick insect, Euycnema goliath, the males are also capable of flight, whilst the females are weighed down by a heavy abdomen.

However, the longest stick insect known to science is Phobaeticus chani from Borneo. This species can attain a length of over 56 cm, as this page from the Natural History Museum reveals. This species was new to science in 2008.

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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:25 am

What hath God wrought!
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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Pappa » Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:29 am

Calilasseia wrote:If memory serves, the heaviest insect capable of flight is the Atlas Moth, Attacus atlas. Which has an 11 inch wingspan, and a total mass of 60 grams in the case of an adult female. The moth with the greatest wingspan, but substantially lower mass (I think it's about half that of an Atlas Moth) is the Great Owlet Moth, Thysania agrippina, which is known to attain a wingspan of just over 12 inches (though rumours persist that the Austrian entomologist Oberthür had a 14½ inch specimen in his collection, which was since lost).

In the case of the giant stick insect Acrophylla titan from Queensland, males can fly, whilst females are too large to fly, despite possessing functional wings. Females can reach 30 cm in length. The other large Australian stick insect, Euycnema goliath, the males are also capable of flight, whilst the females are weighed down by a heavy abdomen.

However, the longest stick insect known to science is Phobaeticus chani from Borneo. This species can attain a length of over 56 cm, as this page from the Natural History Museum reveals. This species was new to science in 2008.
Don't forget goliath beetles, (Goliathus goliatus). They can weigh in at 100g. A few other beetle species are around the same maximum weight too.
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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Berthold » Mon Mar 12, 2012 7:47 pm


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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by tattuchu » Mon Mar 12, 2012 9:45 pm

More horrifying to me are that dude's eyebrows. Cheese and crackers!
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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Calilasseia » Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:32 am

I don't think Goliath Beetles are actually capable of flight ... though I'm happy to be proven wrong on this. :)

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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:38 am

This guy explains why bugs were bigger back then, and where dragons come from to boot!

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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by FBM » Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:39 am

Berthold wrote:Titanus giganteus.
That would make one helluva sammich. :food:
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Re: Jurassic Bugs!

Post by Gawdzilla Sama » Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:40 am

Chocolate coated! :food:
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