Leaf Insect

Leaf insects are well camouflaged, taking on the appearance of leaves. They do this so accurately that predators often are not able to distinguish them from real leaves. In some species, the edge of the leaf insect's body has the appearance of bite marks. To further confuse predators, when the leaf insect walks, it rocks back and forth, mimicking a real leaf being blown by the wind. In the female this deceptive resemblance is enhanced by the large size and foliaceous form of the front wings which, when at rest edge to edge on the abdomen, forcibly suggest in their neuration the midrib and costae of an ordinary leaf.

The subfamily Phylliinae has been divided into two tribes since 2003. This classification is not confirmed by more recent molecular genetics investigations. In addition to the fossil genus Eophyllium, the subfamily distinguishes thirteen recent genera, eight of which have been described since 2017. Within the Phyllium, previously there were several subgenera recognized, Pulchriphyllium Griffini, 1898 Comptaphyllium and Walaphyllium. As of a 2021 phylogeny, all three subgenera are now considered separate genera . Since 2021, in addition to morphological, molecular genetic studies have also increasingly been included in clarification of the phylogeny of Phylliidae. Their results show the general relationship between the genera, but when comparing female and male representatives, they do not yet provide a clear phylogenetic picture of the recent genera. Cladograms of the Phylliidae species determined on the basis of molecular genetics analysis and morphological investigations according to Cumming and Le Tirant (2022): {| class="toptextcells" |- | |2=Pulchriphyllium }} }} |2= |2=Trolicaphyllium }} }} |2=Walaphyllium }} |2= |2= }} }} }} }} }} | |2=Chitoniscus }} |2=Pulchriphyllium }} |2= }} |2=Trolicaphyllium }} |2=Walaphyllium }} |2= }} }} }} }} }} }} |} The Phasmida Species File lists the following genera in two tribes:

Auth. * Chitoniscus (Pacific) ** Chitoniscus feejeeanus ** Chitoniscus lobipes ** Chitoniscus lobiventris - type species (as Phyllium lobiventre ) * Comptaphyllium (Australasia) , male from the collection of D. Größer]] ** Comptaphyllium caudatum - type species (as Phyllium caudatum ) ** Comptaphyllium regina ** Comptaphyllium riedeli * Cryptophyllium (SE Asia).Selected species: ** Cryptophyllium athanysus ** Cryptophyllium celebicum - type species (as Phyllium celebicum ) ** Cryptophyllium westwoodii * Microphyllium (Northern Philippine Islands) ** Microphyllium haskelli ** Microphyllium spinithorax - type species in the permanent collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis]] * Phyllium (Sundaland, Philippine Islands, Wallacea, Australasia).Selected species: ** Phyllium bilobatum ** Phyllium hausleithneri ** Phyllium jacobsoni ** Phyllium letiranti ** Phyllium siccifolium - type species (as Gryllus siccifolius ) * Pseudomicrophyllium (Northern Philippine Islands) ** Pseudomicrophyllium geryon ** Pseudomicrophyllium pusillulum - type species (as Pseudomicrophyllium faulkneri ) * Pulchriphyllium (Seychelles, India, Western Indonesia, continental Asia)Selected species: ** Pulchriphyllium bioculatum ( ** Pulchriphyllium giganteum ( ** Pulchriphyllium pulchrifolium - type species (as Phyllium pulchrifolium ) * Rakaphyllium (New Guinea and Ayu Islands) ** Rakaphyllium exsectum ** Rakaphyllium schultzei – type species (as Pulchriphyllium schultzei ) * Trolicaphyllium (Pacific), female from the collection of D. Größer]] ** Trolicaphyllium brachysoma - type species (as Phyllium brachysoma ) ** Trolicaphyllium erosus ** Trolicaphyllium sarrameaense * Vaabonbonphyllium (New Guinea and Solomon Islands) ** Vaabonbonphyllium groesseri ( – type species (as Phyllium groesseri ) ** Vaabonbonphyllium rafidahae * Walaphyllium (Australasia) ** Walaphyllium lelantos ** Walaphyllium monteithi ** Walaphyllium zomproi - type species (as Phyllium zomproi )

, female from the collection of D. Größer]] Auth. * Acentetaphyllium (New Guinea) ** Acentetaphyllium brevipenne – type species (as Phyllium brevipennis ) ** Acentetaphyllium larssoni ** Acentetaphyllium miyashitai ** Acentetaphyllium stellae * Nanophyllium (Southern Indonesia, New Guinea, NE Australia) ** Nanophyllium adisi ** Nanophyllium asekiense ** Nanophyllium australianum ** Nanophyllium chitoniscoides ** Nanophyllium daphne ** Nanophyllium frondosum ** Nanophyllium hasenpuschi ** Nanophyllium keyicum ** Nanophyllium pygmaeum – type species ** Nanophyllium rentzi ** Nanophyllium suzukii

Several species have gained in popularity as pets including Cryptophyllium celebicum, Cryptophyllium westwoodii, Phyllium jacobsoni, Phyllium ericoriai, Phyllium siccifolium, Phyllium letiranti, Phyllium monteithi, Phyllium philippinicum , Phyllium rubrum, Phyllium tobeloense, Pulchriphyllium bioculatum and Pulchriphyllium giganteum .

A 47-million-year-old fossil of Eophyllium messelensis, a prehistoric ancestor of Phylliidae, displays many of the same characteristics of modern leaf insects, indicating that this family has changed little over time.