Fine-art photographic collection

Phyllocnema gueinzii (White, 1853)

A southern African longhorn whose hind legs broaden into leaf-like blades, transforming an ordinary walking limb into part camouflage, part visual display.

About this species

Phyllocnema gueinzii(White, 1853)

Information reviewed15 July 2026

Phyllocnema gueinzii is a large African longhorn beetle recognised by its metallic body, long antennae and extraordinary expansions on the hind legs. Females around 35 millimetres long have been documented from Namibia and Zambia.

Taxonomy

Animalia · Arthropoda · Insecta · Coleoptera · Cerambycidae · Phyllocnema

Accepted taxon. · checked 2026-07-15

Namibia, Zambia and adjoining southern AfricaBroad range and selected reference localities — not a complete occurrence map.

Size

Adults about 35–36 mm long, excluding antennae.

Distribution

Namibia, Zambia and adjoining southern Africa

Habitat

Warm woodland and savannah containing dead or weakened trees.

Activity

Adults are active in warm weather and may be encountered on trunks or foliage.

Diet

Larvae develop in wood; adults take sap or plant fluids when feeding.

Social structure

Solitary.

What makes this species remarkable?

The hind tibiae widen into thin leaf-like plates — the feature encoded in Phyllocnema, “leaf-shin” — so the legs carry broad visual surfaces instead of remaining simple walking rods.

The first segment of each hind foot is itself compressed and greatly elongated, extending the specialised leg beyond the leaf-shaped tibia and producing an unusually long articulated silhouette.

Museum females measure about 35–36 millimetres before the antennae are counted; with the expanded hind legs deployed, the animal occupies far more visual space than its body length suggests.

Sources and scientific references