Chan's megastick
Chan's megastick is a stick insect, an insect that looks just like a twig. And it is a giant one! Its body alone is longer than a 30 centimetre school ruler. It lives on the island of Borneo, hiding in plain sight among the branches.
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Fun facts
One that is kept in the Natural History Museum in London measures almost 57 centimetres with its front legs stretched out.
For a while it was the longest insect known. Then, in 2014, an even longer stick insect was found.
In 2008 it was picked as one of the top 10 new species of the year.
It was named after a Malaysian nature lover called Datuk Chan Chew Lun.
Most asked questions about Chan's megastick
?How big is Chan's megastick?
Its body is about 36 centimetres long, and with its front legs stretched out it is almost 57 centimetres.
?Is Chan's megastick the longest insect in the world?
It was once thought to be. Today the record goes to another stick insect found in 2014.
?Where does Chan's megastick live?
On the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Phobaeticus chani
- Group
- Stick and leaf insects
- Family
- Phasmatidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Phasmatodea > Phasmatidae
- Lives on
- Asia
- Also known as
- Sadyattes chani
Where the facts come from
- Phobaeticus chani (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by WildManOfBorneo. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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