Dryococelus Australis, commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect, is a species of stick insect which lives on the Lord Howe Island Group between Australia and New Zealand. It is a large, flightless stick insect that was, until recently, thought to be extinct by 1930 but it is found again in 2001.
It has been called "the rarest insect in the world", as the rediscovered population consisted of 24 individuals living on the small islet of Ball’s Pyramid. It has a glossy brownish-black exoskeleton with some pale yellow markings where joints and body segments meet. Adult Lord Howe Island stick insects can measure up to 15 centimeters in length and weigh 25 grams. They are oblong in shape and have sturdy legs. Unlike the insects they have no wings, but are able to run quickly. For so small population, the species remains critically endangered. So, the Melbourne Zoo of Australia has managed to breed over nine thousand individuals within their specially designated breeding program.
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