Mantidae is one of the largest families in the order of praying mantids, 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.
Mantoida is a genus of mantis in the family Mantoididae.
Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Spiders are the most common ant mimics. Additionally, some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation, while others mimic ants anatomically and behaviourally to hunt ants in aggressive mimicry. Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves, the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid Cretaceous alongside the earliest ants. Indeed one of the earliest, Burmomyra was initially classified as an ant.
Ameles spallanzania, common name European dwarf mantis, is a species of praying mantis.
Gonatista is a genus of praying mantises in the family Epaphroditidae.
Rhombodera is a genus of praying mantises native to Asia and possessing common names such as shield mantis, hood mantis, and leaf mantis because of their extended, leaf-like thoraxes.
Oxyothespis is a genus of praying mantis in the family Toxoderidae. Members of this genus have been called grass mantises.
Tarachodes afzelii, commonly known as the Tanzanian ground mantis, is a species of praying mantis in the family Eremiaphilidae. It is native to woodland in Western and Central Africa.
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 430 genera in 30 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.
Mantoididae is a family of order Mantodea which contains Neotropical species of praying mantises from tropical North and South America. The family was formerly represented by the sole genus Mantoida, however the genus Paramantoida was described in 2014 and Vespamantoida in 2019. The family differs from the closely related Chaeteessidae in having an apical claw on the fore tibiae which are also less curved. Males have ocelli and a cylindrical body shape, unlike the dorsoventrally flattened Chaeteessidae. The cerci are also shorter.
Brancsikia is a genus of praying mantises in the new (2019) family Majangidae and the monotypic subfamily Brancsikiinae; it was previously placed in the Deroplatyinae.
Charieis is a genus of mantids in the family Tarachodidae. It is a monotypic genus with a single recognised species, Charieis peeli.
Tropidomantis kawaharai is a species of praying mantis in the family Iriopterygidae. 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.
Phasmomantella is an genus of praying mantids placed in the tribe Euchomenellini and family Deroplatyidae. The two known species appear to be endemic to Vietnam.
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 in close relation to the Mantoida toulgoeti Roy species. Both species have distinct foreleg synapomorphy.
Pseudovates is a genus of praying mantis in the family Mantidae. There are more than 20 described species in Pseudovates, found in North, Central, and South America.
The Hoplocoryphidae are a new (2019), small family of praying mantids, based on the type genus Hoplocorypha. As part of a major revision of mantid taxonomy, genera have been moved here from the subfamily Hoplocoryphinae in the previously polyphyletic family Thespidae.
Chlorocalis maternaschulzei is a species of praying mantis in the family Mantidae and tribe Hierodulini. Records of this species are from the seasonal tropical forests of Thailand and Vietnam; the type specimen is from Nakhon Ratchasima Province.
