Dryococelus
| Dryococelus | |
|---|---|
| Live specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Phasmatodea |
| Family: | Phasmatidae |
| Subfamily: | Phasmatinae |
| Tribe: | Phasmatini |
| Genus: | Dryococelus Gurney, 1947 |
| Species: | D. australis |
| Binomial name | |
| Dryococelus australis (Montrouzier, 1855) | |
Dryococelus australis, also known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect, Lord Howe Island phasmid or, locally, as the tree lobster, is a species of stick insect that lives in the Lord Howe Island Group. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Dryococelus. Thought to be extinct by 1920, it was rediscovered in 2001. Although it had been extirpated from Lord Howe itself, a remnant population of 24 individuals was rediscovered on the sea stack of Ball's Pyramid, and the species has been called "the rarest insect in the world".