Mantodea

Female Nesoxypilus albomaculatus, copyright Deane Lewis.

Belongs within: Blattoidea.
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 (Grimaldi & Engel 2005). In the modern Paraoxypilinae, males are fully winged while the females are brachypterous or wingless (Rentz 1996).

<==Mantodea [Mantida]
    |  i. s.: Prohierodula WBM03
    |         Eobrunneria tesselata Z02
    |         Leptocola stanleyana GE05
    |         Regiatidae GR02
    |           |--Ptotachaeta GR02
    |           `--Regiata scutra GE05
    |         Galinthias amoena I92
    |--Baissomantis [Baissomantidae] GE05
    `--+--Jersimantis GE05
       |--Chaeteessites minutissimus GE05, Z02
       |--Burmantis GE05
       `--+--Electromantis GE05
          |--Santanmantis Grimaldi 2003 GE05, V10
          |    `--S. axelrodi GE05
          |--Cretomantis [Cretomantidae] GE05
          |    `--C. larvalis Z02
          `--+--Cretophotina tristriata GE05, Z02
             |--Ambermantis wozniaki GE05
             `--+--Chaetessidae GE05
                |    |--Chaeteessa longialata GE05, Z02
                |    |--Vitimophotina Z02
                |    |--Arverineura GE05
                |    `--Lithophotina GE05
                `--+--Mantoida [Mantoididae] GE05
                   |--Metallyticus [Metallyticidae] GE05
                   `--+--Paraoxypilinae R96 [Amorphoscelidae GE05]
                      |    |--Paraoxypilus tasmaniensis R96
                      |    |--Gyromantis kraussi R96
                      |    `--Nesoxypilus R96
                      |         |--N. albomaculatus R96
                      |         `--N. pseudomyrmex R96
                      `--+--Eremiaphilidae Z02
                         |--Helvia [Acanthopidae] Z02
                         `--Mantoidea GE05

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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

[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.

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

[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 History of Insects (A. P. Rasnitsyn & D. L. J. Quicke, eds) pp. 273-276. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.