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Unusual E. javanica


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I have been watching this unusual little Elliptorhina javanica grow for several months :) I first noticed him as quite a small nymph and called him "Little Twist" for obvious reasons!

The strange twist in his exoskeleton became obvious from about his second instar (though I suspect it was there from birth) and grew with him and became more obvious with every moult. Now he is an adult and it has never seemed to bother him at all and he is perfectly healthy.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

I don't know if he has mated with any females (he is a male despite not having particularly prominent horns) but it would be interesting to see if it's a genetic trait that gets inherited or whether it's just a one-off aberration.

All the same I think he is beautiful and he is definitely one of my favourites in my javanica colony :)

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It's a fairly comment segment deformity that occurs in some roaches, isopods, millipedes, Jerusalem crickets, (and other segmented invertebrates I'm sure). Doesn't seem to affect the health of the animals at all. :)

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