Phobaeticus chani or
Chan's megastick is a species of stick insect. It is the longest insect in the world, with one specimen held in the
Natural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
measuring . This measurement is however with the front legs fully extended. The body still measures an impressive .
Named after amateur Malaysian naturalist, Datuk Chan Chew Lun, only six specimens are known, all originating from the State of
SabahSabah is a Malaysian state located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo . It is the second largest state in Malaysia after Sarawak, which it borders on its south-west. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
in
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided among Indonesia , Malaysia and Brunei . Indonesians refer to the island as Kalimantan...
.
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Phobaeticus chani or
Chan's megastick is a species of stick insect. It is the longest insect in the world, with one specimen held in the
Natural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
measuring . This measurement is however with the front legs fully extended. The body still measures an impressive .
Named after amateur Malaysian naturalist, Datuk Chan Chew Lun, only six specimens are known, all originating from the State of
SabahSabah is a Malaysian state located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo . It is the second largest state in Malaysia after Sarawak, which it borders on its south-west. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
in
BorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided among Indonesia , Malaysia and Brunei . Indonesians refer to the island as Kalimantan...
. Very little is known about its biology, but there is speculation that it lives in the canopy of the
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...
, making it especially hard to find.
Phobaeticus chani was selected as one of "The Top 10 New Species" described in 2008 by The International Institute for Species Exploration at
Arizona State UniversityArizona State University is the largest public research university in the United States under a single administration, with total student enrollment of 68,064 as of fall 2009...
and an international committee of taxonomists.