Tisamenus

The genus Tisamenus native to the Philippines combines small to medium-sized species of stick insects. Taxonomy In 1875 Carl Stål established the genus Tisamenus in addition to the genus Hoploclonia. In this he described the type species determined by William Forsell Kirby in 1904 Tisamenus serratorius. He also transferred two species described by John Obadiah Westwood in 1848 to this genus, namely Phasma (Pachymorpha) deplanatum (today's name Tisamenus deplanatus) and Phasma (Pachymorpha) draconinum (current name Tisamenus draconina). James Abram Garfield Rehn and his son John William Holman Rehn mention in 1939 the special position of the two Hoploclonia species Hoploclonia gecko and Hoploclonia cuspidata, which are already known from Borneo, but synonymized Tisamenus with Hoploclonia. They transferred all previously known Tisamenus species to the genus Hoploclonia, in which they described a further eight species. They created an identification key for the Philippine species and divided them into four subgroups according to morphological aspects. They also described the genus Ilocano for Ilocano hebardi and transferred the species listed as Heterocopus ranarius (current name Tisamenus ranarius) to this genus. In 2004 the two genera were separated again and the Filipino species were transferred back to the genus Tisamenus. Only those occurring on Borneo were left in the genus Hoploclonia. In 2021, a study based on genetic analysis shows that Ilocano hebardi, the only remaining species of this genus at that time, belongs to Tisamenus, whereby Ilocano became a synonym for it. The division into subgroups made in 1939 could not be confirmed for four investigated species known by name. The name "Tisamenus" is the Latinisation of the Greek Tisamenos (Τισαμενός), an ancient, male given name. Valid species are: Tisamenus alviolanus Lit & Eusebio, 2010 Tisamenus armadillo Redtenbacher, 1906 Tisamenus asper Bolívar, 1890 Tisamenus atropos (Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939) Tisamenus cervicornis Bolívar, 1890 Tisamenus clotho (Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939) Tisamenus deplanatus (Westwood, 1848) Tisamenus draconina (Westwood, 1848) Tisamenus fratercula (Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939) Tisamenus hystrix (Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939) Tisamenus hebardi (Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939)(Syn. = Ilocano hebardi Rehn, J.A.G. & Rehn, J.W.H., 1939) Tisamenus kalahani Lit & Eusebio, 2005 Tisamenus lachesis (Rehn, J.A.G.