Sphodromantis

Sphodromantis
Adult female Sphodromantis viridis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Mantodea
Family:	Mantidae
Subfamily:	Mantinae
Tribe:	Paramantini
Genus:	Sphodromantis Stål, 1871
Species
see text

Sphodromantis is a large genus of praying mantises concentrated in Africa, sometimes considered a synonym of the genus Hierodula. Outside their range especially, many share the common name African Mantis.^[1][2][3][4]

Captivity

Sphodromantis species are very common in the mantis pet trade.^[5] List of Sphodromantis species that have been bred and raised in captivity.

Brown sub-adult female Sphodromantis sp. "Blue Flash" on a hand. These mantids are often green.

• Sphodromantis lineola (African Praying Mantis, African Mantis, Giant African Mantis, African Lined Mantis)
• Sphodromantis viridis (Giant African Mantis)
• Sphodromantis baccettii (Giant African Praying Mantis)
• Sphodromantis aurea (Congo Green Mantis)
• Sphodromantis gastrica (Common Green Mantis, African Mantis)
• Sphodromantis sp. "Blue Flash" (An unknown species of Sphodromantis that comes from the Congo and are popular in the pet trade. They are also called Sphodromantis sp. "Congo Blue Flash", Congo Blue Flash or just Blue Flash.)

Species

Species include:^[6]

Sphodromantis abessinica Sjöstedt, 1930 Sphodromantis aethiopica La Greca & Lombardo, 1987 Sphodromantis annobonensis Llorente, 1968 Sphodromantis aurea Giglio-Tos, 1917 (Congo Green Mantis)[7] Sphodromantis baccettii La Greca & Lombardo, 1987 (Giant African Praying Mantis)[8] Sphodromantis balachowskyi La Greca, 1967 (African Mantis, African Praying Mantis) Sphodromantis biocellata Werner, 1906 Sphodromantis centralis Rehn, 1914 (African Mantis, Central African Mantis) Sphodromantis citernii Giglio-Tos, 1917 Sphodromantis congica Beier, 1931 (Congo Mantis) Sphodromantis conspicua La Greca, 1967 Sphodromantis elegans Sjöstedt, 1930 Sphodromantis elongata La Greca, 1969 Sphodromantis fenestrata Giglio-Tos, 1912 Sphodromantis gastrica Stal, 1858 (Common Green Mantis, African Mantis) [9] Sphodromantis gestri Giglio-Tos, 1912 Sphodromantis giubana La Greca & Lombardo, 1987 Sphodromantis gracilicollis Beier, 1930 Sphodromantis gracilis Lombardo, 1992

Sphodromantis hyalina La Greca, 1955 Sphodromantis kersteni Gerstaecker, 1869 Sphodromantis lagrecai Lombardo, 1990 Sphodromantis lineola Burmeister, 1838 (African Praying Mantis, African Mantis, Giant African Mantis, African Lined Mantis)[10] Sphodromantis obscura Beier & Hocking, 1965 Sphodromantis pachinota La Greca & Lombardo, 1987 Sphodromantis pardii La Greca & Lombardo, 1987 Sphodromantis pavonina La Greca, 1956 Sphodromantis pupillata Bolivar, 1912 Sphodromantis quinquecallosa Werner, 1916 Sphodromantis royi La Greca, 1967 Sphodromantis rubrostigma Werner, 1916 Sphodromantis rudolfae Rehn, 1901 Sphodromantis socotrana (Roy, 2010) Sphodromantis splendida Hebard, 1920 Sphodromantis stigmosa (Roy, 2010) Sphodromantis tenuidentata Lombardo, 1992 Sphodromantis transcaucasica Kirby, 1904 Sphodromantis viridis Forskål, 1775 (Giant African Mantis) Sphodromantis werneri (Roy, 2010) [11]

See also

• List of mantis genera and species
• Review of Sphodromantis

References

1. African Mantis
2. Trek Nature New Zealand
3. African Praying Mantis
4. African Praying Mantis Sphodromantis gastrica, lineola, viridis and centralis
5. Keeping and Breeding the African Mantis Sphodromantis centralis
6. http://mantodea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=424
7. http://www.ukmantisforums.co.uk/mantis-care-sheets/3964-sphodromantis-aurea-congo-green-mantis-care-sheet.html
8. http://www.ship-expert.com/index.php?categoryID=122950&itemID=170741054354
9. Working with Biodiversity - A Natural History of Tioxide
10. http://www.ukmantisforums.co.uk/mantis-care-sheets/3918-sphodromantis-lineola-african-lined.html
11. http://mantodea.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=424