28 May 2024

This is a "tree lobster"


Dryococelus australis is a stick insect that grows up to 8" in length and was thought to be extinct until a group of them were found here -


- on the uninhabited islet of Ball's Pyramid, which is the world's tallest volcanic stack.  An interesting story about attempts to protect and conserve this invertebrate is in The New York Times.

First image cropped for size from the original (credit John Francis Peters).  Credit for the second to John White Photos, via Alamy.

4 comments:

  1. archived full article:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20240528041656/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/science/stick-insect-extinction-tree-lobster.html

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    Replies
    1. Thank you anon. I'm sure many readers will appreciate your inserting the archived version.

      Delete
  2. The tippi-top of Ball's Pyramid should be visible from 53 miles away, at sea level.

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    Replies
    1. A useful navigational tool for the earliest seafaring aboriginals

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