Scientist Discovers 19 New Speedy Praying Mantis Species
Posted on March 19, 2014
A scientist has discovered 19 new species of praying mantis in Central and South America. These new bark mantis species are known for hiding and playing dead to avoid being captured.
The discovery triples the diversity of the group that scientists thought had only a few species. Dr. Gavin Svenson, curator of invertebrate zoology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, described the new species and published a revision of the genus Liturgusa here in the ZooKeys. Svenson is pictured with the new mantis species above. One of the new species was named after Al Gore.
Svenson says the new species are very speedy. He says Neotropical bark mantises are incredibly fast runners. They live on the trunks and branches of trees. He says they often evade discovery by running to the opposite side of the tree before being noticed.
Svenson says, "This is an amazing behavior for an insect because it shows that they are not only relying on camouflage like most insects but are constantly monitoring their environment and taking action to run and hide. In addition, some species leap off the tree trunk to avoid capture and play dead after fluttering down to the forest floor since none of the species are strong fliers."
Svenson also says the bark mantises appear to be active hunters that pursue prey as opposed to ambush hunters that wait for prey to get close to them. He says the Neotropical group does not appear to exhibit cannibalism.
One of the new species, Liturgusa algorei (pictured above) is named for former vice president Al Gore to honor his efforts to raise public awareness of global climate change. The species below, Liturgusa krattorum, is named for Martin and Chris Kratt, hosts and creators of Kratts' Creatures and Wild Kratts.