Candovia, STAL, 1875: 12

CANDOVIA STÅL, 1875: 12 View in CoL , 70.

Type species: Phasma (Bacteria) coenosum Gray, 1833: 28 , pl. 2: 2 [= Candovia coenosa ], by original monotypy.

Remarks: Brock & Hasenpusch, 2007: 7, 70 (removed from synonymy with Hyrtacus Stål, 1875 , in which it had been placed by Kirby, 1904: 331). Brunner, 1907: 301 [listed the type species as a synonym of Hyrtacus eutrachelia ( Westwood,1859) ], Vickery,1983: 7 (reinstated the type species as valid, as Hyrtacus coenosa ). For other references, see Brock et al. (2021), but it is notable that Westwood (1859: 33) regarded the figure in Gray (1833) as being ‘too large and robust’ but he rightly points out that the female body has ‘shrunk in various parts’ and this is an accurate assessment. He illustrated a potential male on pl. 27: 2. To further add to confusion, several species currently in Candovia were regarded as belonging to Parasipyloidea Redtenbacher, 1908 by Vickery (1983) and Balderson et al. (1998); hence Brock & Hasenpusch, 2007 placed all Australian Parasipyloidea species and Candovia coenosa in Candovia , as a temporary step, in the knowledge that this needed splitting and that several other undescribed wingless, and even winged, species appeared to belong to this genus.

Description: Small to medium-sized (40–89 mm), plain or mottled, in nature brown or green, sometimes (as in type species and some others) with central black marks at end of most body segments, usually wingless (if winged, can be short-winged in female), elongate (one species group with plumper females), moderately long to long-legged phasmids, with the body smooth, granulated or with sparse tubercles, the latter particularly conspicuous in females. Cerci short in both sexes.

Head at least as long as, or slightly longer than, wide. Head, pronotum and mesonotum smooth, sparsely or extensively granulose with some tubercles possibly present on mesonotum and metanotum, including laterally. Antennae exceeding length of forelegs, with numerous segments (up to 132); two basal segments broadened. Pronotum slightly shorter or equal in length to head, mesonotum long, 4.9–6.4 × length of pronotum; mesonotum 1.5–2.4 × combined length of metanotum and the shorter median segment. Wingless, except wings known in two species so far, which are short in the female of one species (forewings short, hindwings tiny) and hindwings in male reach up to just beyond the end of the fifth abdominal segment. Anal segment in female rounded at tip, may be slightly incised in centre, with supra-anal plate just visible beneath. Operculum not broad, rounded at tip, almost reaching end of ninth abdominal segment to beyond it. Anal segment tip in male slightly triangular emarginated, poculum a modest size with rounded tip, reaching just over half length of ninth abdominal segment. Cerci short, slender but sometimes stout and hairy. Legs long, smooth; hindlegs reaching in excess of elongate abdomen (midlegs longer than many phasmids, only slightly shorter than hindlegs, except for some species in C. strumosa group, which have midlegs short, only just reaching beyond end of hind femora when set near body). Egg: oval or nearly so, or almost rectangular, some species with low raised, broad mound-like structure on operculum (Supporting Information, Fig. S3). Micropylar plate elliptical or spear-shaped. Capsule rugged appearance, with various sculpturing and sometimes pitted.

Distribution: Australia.