What Is the Phasmida Species File and How Do You Use It?

The Phasmida Species File is a taxonomic, nomenclatural, and bibliographic database covering the world's stick and leaf insects (order Phasmida), including both living and fossil taxa. It is the resource to use when you need to verify a valid species name, trace a synonym, find the original publication behind a name, or check where a phasmid has been recorded. It suits taxonomists, ecologists, policy makers, and educators — anyone who needs an authoritative name rather than a casual identification.

What the database contains

According to the site itself, the Phasmida Species File group works to build a comprehensive source of knowledge about the world's phasmids. The information found there includes:

• Valid names — the currently accepted name for a taxon
• Synonyms — alternative names that have been applied to the same taxon
• Bibliographic data — the literature behind names and records
• Specimen data — records tied to physical specimens
• Images and sounds — media associated with taxa
• Distributions — where phasmids of the world have been recorded

This combination is what makes it a species file rather than a simple checklist: a name is only useful if you can see what it means, where it came from, and what else has been called by that name.

How to search it

The site is built around taxon pages, so you can enter at whatever level you already know.

If you know the scientific name, search for it directly. The site gives these examples:

• Phasmatidae (a family)
• Phasma (a genus)
• Phasma gigas (a species)

If you want to browse rather than search, start from a rank and work down. The site suggests entering at:

• Order = Phasmida
• Family = Phylliidae
• Genus = Anchiale

If you only have a common name or a photo, you cannot search by "stick insect" and expect a species. You need to narrow to a group first — for example, leaf insects point toward Phylliidae — then browse the genus pages and compare the images and distribution records listed there.

The site's own examples of taxa with pages include Diapherodes gigantea, Pterinoxylus crassus, Pulchriphyllium giganteum, Agathemera maculafulgens, and Dryococelus australis.

What you get from a taxon page

A taxon page is where the database earns its keep. In practice you use it to answer four questions:

1. Is this name still valid? If it has been synonymized, the page should lead you to the accepted name.
2. What is the original reference? The bibliographic data tells you who described it and where.
3. What specimens exist? Specimen records show what the name is anchored to.
4. Where does it occur? Distribution data tells you the recorded range.

For a policy maker or ecologist, the distribution and valid-name fields are usually the deciding ones. For a taxonomist, the synonymy and bibliography are.

Contributing, getting help, and project background

The site's About page contains an overview and history of the project, its data and gaps, information about the team, and how you can contribute. There are also contact and help routes if you hit a problem or want to report something.

The current site launched in August 2023; the announcement (Paul D Brock, T H Büscher, E Baker, 2023-08-15) welcomes users to the new Phasmida Species File website and invites feedback on the new features and on how the information is used. A related 2022 publication, Brock & Büscher's Stick and leaf-insects of the world, Phasmids (NAP Editions), includes a world checklist of species, and Phasmid Studies Vol 21 was published on 31 Dec 2022 with its papers uploaded.

Practical notes

• Names change. A name you used five years ago may now be a synonym. Always check the valid name before publishing or citing.
• Gaps are acknowledged. The project describes its data and gaps openly, so absence of a record is not proof of absence in the field.
• Use the rank you have. If you only know the family, start there and browse; do not guess a species name to force a search result.
• Cite the source. Because the file is bibliographic, it gives you the reference to cite rather than requiring you to reconstruct it.