phylliidae

Leaf insects are generally the family Phylliidae.

Eophyllium is an extinct monotypic genus of Phasmatodea, a type of insect that is ancestral to the modern Phylliidae.

The family Phylliidae (often misspelled Phyllidae) contains the extant true leaf insects or walking leaves, which include some of the most remarkable leaf mimics in the entire animal kingdom.

At present, there is no consensus as to the preferred classification of this group; some sources treat Phylliidae as a much larger taxon, containing the members of what are presently considered to be several different families.

A 47 million year old fossil of Eophyllium messelensis, a prehistoric ancestor of Phylliidae, displays many of the same characteristics of modern leaf insects, indicating that this family has changed little over time.