Mantodea

Female Nesoxypilus albomaculatus, copyright Deane Lewis.

Belongs within: Dictyoptera.
Contains: Mantoidea.

The Mantodea, mantids, are a lineage of Dictyoptera (cockroaches and relatives) that have become adapted for a predatory lifestyle. They are distinguished from other dictyopterans by the absence of a shield-like pronotum. Except for the basal Cretaceous Baissomantis, mantids possess raptorial forelegs with a large apical spine on the tibia, and an oblique veinlike 'pseudovein' near the basal forks of the M and CuA veins. The genera Jersimantis, Chaeteessites and Burmantis lack the thick, stiff spines found on the fore femora in more derived taxa (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). Among modern mantids, members of the Amorphoscelidae differ from other families in lacking spines on the ventral external margin of the fore tibia. Within the subfamily Paraoxypilinae, males are fully winged whereas the females are brachypterous or wingless (Rentz 1996).

<==Mantodea [Manteodea, Mantida]
    |--Baissomantis Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 GE05, G03 [Baissomantidae]
    |    |--*B. picta Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
    |    `--B. maculata Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
    `--+--Jersimantis Grimaldi 1997 GE05, G03
       |    |--*J. luzzii Grimaldi 1997 G03
       |    `--J. burmiticus Grimaldi 2003 G03
       `--+--Chaeteessites Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
          |    |--*C. minutissimus Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
          |    `--C. minimus Gratchev & Zherikhin 1993 V02
          |--Burmantis Grimaldi 2003 G03
          |    |--*B. asiatica Grimaldi 2003 G03
          |    `--B. lebanensis Grimaldi 2003 G03
          `--+--Electromantis Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 GE05, G03
             |    `--*E. sukatshevae Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
             |--+--Santanmantis Grimaldi 2003 GE05, V10 [Santanmantidae]
             |  |    `--*S. axelrodi Grimaldi 2003 G03
             |  `--Cretomantis Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 [Cretomantidae] G03
             |       `--*C. larvalis Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
             `--Neomantodea G03
                  |--Ambermantis Grimaldi 2003 GE05, G03 [Ambermantidae] G03
                  |    `--*A. wozniaki Grimaldi 2003 G03
                  `--Eumantodea G03
                       |--+--Chaeteessidae [Chaeteessiidae] V02
                       |  |    |--Chaeteessa longialata GE05, Z02
                       |  |    |--Vitimiphotina Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 Z02, G03
                       |  |    |    `--*V. corrupta Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
                       |  |    |--Arverineura insignis GE05, G03
                       |  |    |--Lithophotina floccosa GE05, G03
                       |  |    `--Cretophotina Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 V02, G03
                       |  |         |--*C. tristriata Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
                       |  |         |--C. mongolica Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
                       |  |         |--C. selenginesis Vršanský 2002 V02
                       |  |         `--C. serotina Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
                       |  `--Juramantis Vršanský 2002 [Juramantidae] V02
                       |       `--*J. initialis Vršanský 2002 V02
                       `--+--Metallyticus [Metallyticidae] GE05
                          |    `--M. splendens BB16
                          |--Mantoida [Mantoididae] GE05
                          |    |--M. burmeisteri R15
                          |    `--M. tenuis R15
                          `--+--+--Eremiaphilidae Z02
                             |  |    |--Eremiaphila G03
                             |  |    `--Heteronutarsus G03
                             |  |--Helvia [Acanthopidae] Z02
                             |  `--Mantoidea GE05
                             `--Amorphoscelidae G03
                                  |--Amorphoscelis Stal 1877 V02 [Amorphoscelinae B91]
                                  `--Paraoxypilinae B91
                                       |--Gyromantis kraussii B91
                                       |--Phthersigena minor MC13
                                       |--Cliomantis cornuta B91
                                       |--Paraoxypilus B91
                                       |    |--P. kimberleyensis MC13
                                       |    `--P. tasmaniensis B91
                                       `--Nesoxypilus B91
                                            |--N. albomaculatus R96
                                            `--N. pseudomyrmex R96

Mantodea incertae sedis:
  Prohierodula WBM03
  Eobrunneria tesselata Z02
  Leptocola stanleyana GE05
  Regiatidae GR02
    |--Ptotachaeta GR02
    `--Regiata scutra GE05
  Galinthias amoena I92
  Sphodromantis lineola K91
    |--S. l. lineola K91
    `--S. l. pinguis K91
  Amorphoscelites Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
    `--*A. sharovi Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
  Kazakhophotina Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
    `--*K. corrupta Gratshev & Zherikhin 1993 G03
  Archaeophlebia enigmatica G03
  Megaphotina sichotensis G03

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[BB16] Bai, M., R. G. Beutel, K.-D. Klass, W. Zhang, X. Yang & B. Wipfler. 2016. Alienoptera—a new insect order in the roach-mantodean twilight zone. Gondwana Research 39: 317–326.

[B91] Balderson, J. 1991. Mantodea (praying mantids). In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers vol. 1 pp. 348–356. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[GR02] Gorochov, A. V., & A. P. Rasnitsyn. 2002. Superorder Gryllidea Laicharting, 1781 (=Orthopteroidea Handlirsch, 1903). In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 293–303. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

[G03] Grimaldi, D. 2003. A revision of Cretaceous mantises and their relationships, including new taxa (Insecta: Dictyoptera: Mantodea). American Museum Novitates 3412: 1–47.

[GE05] Grimaldi, D., & M. S. Engel. 2005. Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press: New York.

[I92] Imes, R. 1992. The Practical Entomologist. Aurum Press: London.

[K91] Kathirithamby, J. 1991. Strepsiptera. In: CSIRO. The Insects of Australia: A textbook for students and research workers 2^nd ed. vol. 2 pp. 684–695. Melbourne University Press: Carlton (Victoria).

[MC13] Majer, J. D., S. K. Callan, K. Edwards, N. R. Gunawardene & C. K. Taylor. 2013. Baseline survey of the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of Barrow Island. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 83: 13–112.

[R15] Rehn, J. A. G. 1915. A further contribution to the knowledge of the Orthoptera of Argentina. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 67 (2): 270–292.

[R96] Rentz, D. 1996. Grasshopper Country: The abundant orthopteroid insects of Australia. University of New South Wales Press: Sydney.

[V02] Vršanský, P. 2002. Origin and the early evolution of mantises. AMBA Projekty 6 (1): 1–16.

[V10] Vršanský, P. 2010. Cockroach as the earliest eusocial animal. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 84 (4): 793–808.

[WBM03] Whiting, M. F., S. Bradler & T. Maxwell. 2003. Loss and recovery of wings in stick insects. Nature 421: 264–267.

[Z02] Zherikhin, V. V. 2002. Order Mantida Latreille, 1802. The mantises (=Mantodea Burmeister, 1838). In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 273–276. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.

Last updated: 22 May 2022.