There are over 2,400 different mantis specie spanning 430 genera in the orderMantodea , which are wide distributed and can be found on six continents . A small-scale subset of these insect , commonly bed as bark mantid , are part of the familyLiturgusidaewhich includes 11 species . The size of this family has tripled since Gavin Svenson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History has published an update definition , including the discovery ofnineteen new speciesof barque mantis sweep three genera : Liturgusa , Fuga , andVelox . The new species were describe in the open access code journalZooKeys .
The species originate in eight unlike countries throughout Central and South America . Svenson studied mantis that had been taken from the wild as well as some that have been in around 25 other museums , some specimens have been in assemblage for well over over 70 years . Some of these specie have n’t been study since they were partly described over 100 years ago .
As their name would imply , these bark mantis dwell among tree and their dead body are camouflaged to intermix in with leaf , sprig , and ( of course ) bark . While most people think of mantises as being dull and steadfast predators , these mantises are incredibly quick and chase down their prey . They are short and flatter when equate to many other mantis mintage and they are not thought to take part in sexual cannibalism , where the female person eats the male person after sexual congress to arrive at nutrients for the offspring .
These breakthrough are redefining the range that scientist believed the mantis had . While it was believe that these field had been populate by few species with large grasp , the inverse now is likely true .
Of of course , the unspoilt part about making a new breakthrough in science is the ability to name it . Svenson pay protection to penis of his family , mass he admires , and placement of the species ’ discovery . Some of the highlights include :
— L. tessae- Named after his daughter Tessa
— L. zoae- Named after his daughter Zoey
— L. algorei- Named after former U.S. Vice President Al Gore
— L. fossetti- Named after explorer James Stephen Fossett
— L. kirtlandi- Named in accolade of naturalist Jared Potter Kirtland
— L. krattorum- identify in honor of Chris and Martin Kratt , hosts of tiddler ’s biology television demonstrate
