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Lazarus Files · CR Critically Endangered

Lord Howe Stick Insect

Dryococelus australis

The 'tree lobster' was thought extinct after rats invaded in 1918 — until 2001, when a handful were found clinging to a single bush on a sea stack.

CR · Critically Endangered

Overview

The 'tree lobster' was thought extinct after rats invaded in 1918 — until 2001, when a handful were found clinging to a single bush on a sea stack.

insectaustraliaisland

Field data

IUCN statusCR · Critically Endangered
Population
Trendstable
Last assessed2017
Class / OrderInsecta · Phasmatodea
FamilyPhasmatidae
RangeLord Howe Island, Australia

Why it matters

Evolutionary distinction

  1. One of the heaviest stick insects on Earth, nearly as long as a hand.
  2. The entire wild population survived on one shrub on Ball's Pyramid for decades.

From the collection

Take one home

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art print

Lord Howe Stick Insect art print

Museum-grade art print from the Lord Howe Stick Insect plate.

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notebook

Lord Howe Stick Insect notebook

Museum-grade notebook from the Lord Howe Stick Insect plate.

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