FaunaHub
CRCritically EndangeredPartial review

Lord Howe Island Stick Insect

Dryococelus australis

At a glance

IUCN category
CR · Critically Endangered
Animal group
Invertebrates
Population trend
Stable
Last verified

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

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.

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