Mantidae is one of the largest families in the order of praying mantises, based on the type species Mantis religiosa; however, most genera are tropical or subtropical. Historically, this was the only family in the order, and many references still use the term "mantid" to refer to any mantis. Technically, however, "mantid" refers only to members of the family Mantidae, and not the 14 remaining families of mantises. Some of the most recent classifications have promoted a number of the mantid subfamilies to the rank of family, e.g. Iridopterygidae, Sibyllidae, Tarachodidae, Thespidae, and Toxoderidae, while other classifications have reduced the number of subfamilies without elevating to higher rank.
Chaeteessidae is a family of praying mantises. It contains a single extant genus, Chaeteessa, native to South America which is thought to be the most primitive and earliest diverging lineage of living mantises. Fossil genera are known from the Paleogene of Eurasia and North America.
Mantoida brunneriana is a species of praying mantis in the family Mantoididae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Paraguay, and Venezuela.
Acanthopidae is a family of mantises consisting of 16 genera in the order Mantodea. The group was first formally split off as a separate family by the German entomologist Reinhard Ehrmann in 2002. In 2016, five genera were moved from Acanthopidae to the newly created family Acontistidae, but this has not been accepted in most recent classifications.
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.
Callimantis is a genus of mantis of the family Epaphroditidae consisting of only one species, Callimantis antillarum.
Aethiocarenus is an extinct genus of insects which has a single species Aethiocarenus burmanicus described from a 98.79 ±0.62 million year old fossil found in Burmese amber from the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar. The insect is unusual due to the vertex of the triangular head being attached to the pronotum as opposed to the hypotenuse. When first described Aethiocarenus was placed as the sole member of the family Aethiocarenidae and order Aethiocarenodea. However, Aethiocarenus was later considered to be a nymph of Alienopterus. Vršanský et al. (2018) considered Aethiocarenus to be an alienopterid nymph, but considered it distinct from other members of this group and deserving a separate genus rank.
Harpagomantis is a genus of praying mantises in the family Galinthiadidae found in Africa. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Harpagomantis tricolor.
Nochnitsa is a genus of gorgonopsian therapsid from the Kotelnich red beds of Permian Russia. It contains one species, Nochnitsa geminidens. It the most basal known gorgonopsian and among the smallest members of the clade known to date.
Angelidae is a family of mantises found in tropical Central and South Americas.
Tropidomantis kawaharai is a species of praying mantis in the family Nanomantidae. It is endemic to the remote Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It was described from two specimens collected from the island of Hiva Oa. It is notable for being the first praying mantis species known from the archipelago.
Thespinae is a subfamily of mantids in the family Thespidae. There are 16 genera and at least 40 described species: found in Australasia, Central and South America.
The Naobaogou Formation is a geological formation in the Daqing Mountains of China. It is likely of Lopingian age. It consists of three rhythms of sediment, labelled members I-III primarily of purple siltstone, but each with a thick basal conglomerate bed. It is notable for its fossil content, producing one of the most diverse Late Permian vertebrate faunas outside Russia and South Africa.
Vespamantoida is a genus of praying mantises in the family Mantoididae. The genus was erected in 2019 and the name was derived from the Latin word vespa which means wasp and Mantoida referring to the mantis. These mantis resemble and mimic the behavior of a wasp.
Vespamantoida wherleyi is a species of praying mantis that mimics a wasp. It was discovered in 2013 at a research station near the Amazon River in northern Peru. The discovery resulted in erecting a new genus, Vespamantoida. This mantis has a red/orange colored body and black pattern. Besides the coloration, it has the body shape of and displayed walking and antenna movements similar to a wasp. This mantis is closely related to Mantoida toulgoeti as both species have a distinct foreleg synapomorphy.
Liturgusa is the type genus of praying mantises of the family Liturgusidae. The genus consists of more than twenty species with a Neotropical distribution.
Titanodula is a genus of mantids in the subfamily Hierodulinae. There are currently five species placed in Titanodula. The genus is endemic to Asia and is distinguished from the similar genus Hierodula by the large size and unique male genitalia of its member species.
Jiufengia is an extinct genus of therocephalian in the family Akidnognathidae. It is known from a single species, Jiufengia jiai, from the Late Permian Naobaogou Formation in China.
