Mantophasmatodea

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Mantophasma

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Raptophasma

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Mantophasmatodea is an order of carnivorous insects discovered in 2002, the first new insect order to be described since 1914. The common name for this order is Gladiators, although they are also called Mantophasmids, Mantos and Heelwalkers.

Related Topics:
Carnivorous - Insect - 2002 - 1914

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Members of the order are wingless even as adults, making them relatively difficult to identify. They resemble praying mantises and other phasmids. The order was initially described from live specimens found in Namibia (Mantophasma zephyra and M. subsolana) and from a 45-million-year-old specimen of Baltic amber (Raptophasma kerneggeri).

Related Topics:
Adult - Praying mantis - Phasmid - Namibia - Baltic - Amber

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The authors of the paper describing the new order note that "it cannot at present be categorically excluded" that the two Mantophasma specimens are of the same species, with the size difference reflecting sexual dimorphism, but they consider this unlikely, because of the wide geographical separation of the specimens.

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