Ridley’s Stick Insect

> Ridley’s Stick Insect — Pseudobactricia ridleyi

# Description Slender, leaf-twig mimic phasmid; only a single adult male (holotype) is known - wikipedia

Status: Extinct Region & Habitat: Singapore; likely lowland evergreen forest (inferred). Era of loss: Known only from holotype (1904 description).

# Habitat & Ecology (inferred from relatives) - Nocturnal plant mimic in shrub/sapling layer. - Likely egg-dropping to leaf litter; nymphs on understory foliage.

# Diet - Leaves of common lowland forest shrubs/trees (generalist phasmid pattern).

# Predators - Birds, reptiles, mantids; high urbanization pressure historically.

# Behaviour - Swaying “wind-mimic” locomotion; stillness as primary defence.

# Threats & Drivers - Near-total loss of primary forest in historical Singapore; extreme rarity/collecting.

# Cinematic beat (≈15 s) Humid night in a strangler-fig grove; the insect merges with a twig as rain begins—camera pans to city lights cresting the canopy.

# Related - Extinct Insects – Recent Losses

# See - Wikipedia - NHM holotype - wikimedia - Phasmida Species File

- Wikimedia Commons – NHM holotype photo (check license on file page) - Phasmida Species File