Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (Dryococelus australis) — Critically Endangered

At a glance

IUCN category: CR · Critically Endangered
Animal group: Invertebrates
Population trend: Stable
FaunaHub record reviewed: 2026-06-16
Checked against IUCN: Matches source — IUCN's 2017 global assessment of Dryococelus australis says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment

Conservation overview

The Lord Howe stick insect, or 'tree lobster', is a large, heavy-bodied stick insect once thought extinct for decades. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.

It was rediscovered surviving on a single sea stack, Ball's Pyramid, and is now bred in captivity.

Range & habitat

Lord Howe Island group in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand.

Major threats

Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.

Introduced rats (which wiped it out on the main island)
A tiny natural range
Vulnerability of a small population

Why it matters

Famously rediscovered after being declared extinct, the Lord Howe stick insect is an icon of invertebrate conservation and of the damage introduced rats can do to island life.

Rediscovered on Ball's Pyramid after being thought extinct; subject of a captive-breeding programme.

Sources

Sources for Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

IUCN Red List — look up Lord Howe Island Stick Insect (authoritative status)
Zoos Victoria

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was the Lord Howe stick insect thought extinct?

Introduced rats wiped it out on Lord Howe Island, and for decades it was presumed extinct — until a tiny population was found surviving on the nearby sea stack Ball's Pyramid.

Why is it Critically Endangered?

Published assessments cite its tiny natural range and the small size of the surviving population, with introduced rats the original cause of its collapse. Captive breeding now supports it. See the IUCN Red List.