Metallyticidae
''Metallyticus'' is a genus of praying mantis. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Metallyticidae. They are mostly found in South-East Asia. The species of the genus are dark, somewhat flattened and cockroach-like, and often with a cuticle that is reflective and metallic in appearance. The phylogenetic position of Metallyticidae relative to other mantis families has been studied using both morphological and molecular characters, but consensus on its placement has not been achieved. Along with the genera '' Chaeteessa'' and '' Mantoida'', ''Metallyticus'' is considered a member of the basal Mantodea, though some scientists consider the application of this term to extant species to be misleading.Krell, Frank T.; Cranston, Peter S. (2004). "Which side of the tree is more basal?". ''Systematic Entomology''. 29 (3): 279–281. doi:10.1111/j.0307-6970.2004.00262.x Metallyticidae species have several autapomorphic traits, including their metallic coloration and the enlarged ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mantodea
Mantises are an Order (biology), order (Mantodea) of insects that contains List of mantis genera and species, 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 mantodeans have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, resembling a praying posture, has led to the common name praying mantis. The closest relatives of mantises are termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other more distantly related insects with raptorial ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metallyticus Splendidus
'' Metallyticus splendidus'' (informally known as the iridescent bark mantis) is a rare species of praying mantis found in Southeast Asia. It has an iridescent appearance. Description ''M. splendidus'' was originally described by J. O. Westwood in 1835 as having a short, oval-shaped body, a blunt head, thick anterior femora, round eyes, and simple antennae. In the same work, Westwood described the genus ''Metallyticus'' as distinct from other mantis genera by the iridescent color, short pronotum, and the exposed tip of the abdomen when wings are closed. Ermanno Giglio-Tos added additional descriptions of ''M. splendidus'' in 1927, noting the presence of yellow marks on the legs and vertex, and providing a description of the smoky, blackish wings. Males and females of ''M. splendidus'' differ in coloration (males are blue-violet and females are golden-green) and size (females are around long whiles males measure ). ''M. splendidus'' has been described as a basal mantis, th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Praying Mantis
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 mantodeans have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, resembling a praying posture, has led to the common name praying mantis. The closest relatives of mantises are termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects ( Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers ( Orthoptera), or other more distantly related insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies ( Mantispidae) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phylogenetics
In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data and observed heritable traits of DNA sequences, protein amino acid sequences, and morphology. The results are a phylogenetic tree—a diagram depicting the hypothetical relationships among the organisms, reflecting their inferred evolutionary history. The tips of a phylogenetic tree represent the observed entities, which can be living taxa or fossils. A phylogenetic diagram can be rooted or unrooted. A rooted tree diagram indicates the hypothetical common ancestor of the taxa represented on the tree. An unrooted tree diagram (a network) makes no assumption about directionality of character state transformation, and does not show the origin or "root" of the taxa in question. In addition to their use for inferring phylogenetic pa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pronotum
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on each side. The prothorax never bears wings in extant insects (except in some cases of atavism), though some fossil groups possessed wing-like projections. All adult insects possess legs on the prothorax, though in a few groups (e.g., the butterfly family Nymphalidae) the forelegs are greatly reduced. In many groups of insects, the pronotum is reduced in size, but in a few it is hypertrophied, such as in all beetles (Coleoptera). In most treehoppers (family Membracidae, order Hemiptera), the pronotum is expanded into often fantastic shapes that enhance their camouflage or mimicry. Similarly, in the Tetrigidae, the pronotum is extended backward to cover the flight wings, supplanting the function of the tegmina. See also * Glossary of entom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. Theoretical implications Monotypic taxa present several important theoretical challenges in biological classification. One key issue is known as "Gregg's Paradox": if a single species is the only member of multiple hierarchical levels (for example, being the only species in its genus, which is the only genus in its family), then each level needs a distinct definition to maintain logical structure. Otherwise, the different taxonomic ranks become effectively identical, which creates problems for organizing biological diversity in a hierarchical syste ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Metallyticus Fallax
''Metallyticus fallax'' is a species of praying mantis found in Southeast Asia. It has an iridescent appearance. Texas A&M University It is very similar to ''''. Biology and Ecology ''Metallyticus fallax'' has several plesiomorphic morphological traits, such as its short and lack of discoidal spines. It has more cervical[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Thailand, and the southernmost tip of Myanmar (Kawthaung District, Kawthaung). The island country of Singapore also has historical and cultural ties with the region. The Titiwangsa Mountains are part of the Tenasserim Hills system and form the backbone of the peninsula and the southernmost section of the central cordillera, which runs from Tibet through the Kra Isthmus, the peninsula's narrowest point, into the Malay Peninsula. The Strait of Malacca separates the Malay Peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and the south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor. Etymology The Malay term ''Tanah Melayu'' is derived from the word ''Tanah'' (land) and ''Melayu'' (Malays (ethnic group), Malays), thus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |