Trolicaphyllium

Trolicaphyllium is a genus of leaf insect in the order Phasmatodea native to New Caledonia and the small surrounding islands. The species listed in this genus were listed in Chitoniscus until 2021, whose representatives originate from the Fiji Islands. thumb|Wing venation of a male of Trolicaphyllium cf. brachysoma == Description == Trolicaphyllium species are relatively small and broad representatives of leaf insect, with a body length of in females and in males. Their abdomen is either pointed or strongly lobed in both sexes. Their eggs are small and lack pinnae. In these morphological characteristics, they resemble members of the genus Chitoniscus, which is why they were long classified in this genus. The similarities likely arose through convergence. Differences exist in the development of the inner lobe of the tibae of the forelegs (interior protibial lobes), which in Trolicaphyllium extends over the entire shaft of the inner foretibiae, while in Chitoniscus it is either completely absent in both sexes or present only in the proximal half. In females, there are differences in the structure of the antennae, whose segments three, eight, and nine are broadened in Trolicaphyllium females, while this is not the case in Chitoniscus females. The basic coloration of both sexes is usually green. Besides the typically green females, yellowish-green to orange females have also been described and illustrated. The coxae in females of Trolicaphyllium are a similar color to the rest of the body, while in females of Chitoniscus they are a striking sky blue. Males of Trolicaphyllium, like those of many leaf insect species, have three ocelli on the vertex between the compound eyes, which are absent in males of Chitoniscus.

The autapomorphic characteristics of the genus include the comb-like projections of the second and third Euplantulae of tarses in females, each extending over the entire tarsomere. In males, the wing venation is unique among leaf insects, as the medio-anterior and media-posterior veins merge at different points on the cubitus before running together to the wing margin.