African Mantis
Encyclopedia
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s for many species of praying mantis from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, especially Sphodromantis viridis
Sphodromantis viridis
Sphodromantis viridis is a species of praying mantis that is kept worldwide as a pet. Its common names include African mantis, giant African mantis, and bush mantis.-Name:...
(giant African mantis) and other species in genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sphodromantis
Sphodromantis
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....
(i.e. S. belachowski
Sphodromantis belachowski
Sphodromantis belachowski, common name African mantis or African praying mantis, is a species of praying mantis from Africa....
, S. centralis
Sphodromantis centralis
Sphodromantis centralis, common name African mantis or Central African mantis, is a species of praying mantis from Africa....
, S. gastrica
Sphodromantis gastrica
Sphodromantis gastrica, common name African mantis or common green mantis, is a species of praying mantis from Africa. Previously classified as Hierodula bicarinata and as Sphodromantis guttata , this species has been found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Democratic...
, S. lineola
Sphodromantis lineola
Sphodromantis lineola, common name African mantis or African praying mantis, is a species of praying mantis from Africa sometimes raised in captivity. It may be distinguished from Sphodromantis baccettii by the absence of blue-black spots on its forearms....
, etc.), and also
Miomantis caffra
Miomantis caffra
Miomantis caffra is a species of praying mantis native to Southern Africa. It was discovered in Auckland, New Zealand in 1978.-Ootheca:...
and others as well.
Variants of this common name are used by species such as Popa spurca
Popa spurca
Popa spurca, also known as the African twig mantis, is a species of praying mantis native to Africa. It takes its common name from its resemblance to twig from a woody plant and grows up to long if female or long if male. P. spurca is the only species in the genus Popa....
(African twig mantis), Oxyothespis dumonti
Oxyothespis dumonti
Oxyothespis dumonti, common name North African grass mantis, is a species of praying mantis from Africa....
(African grass mantis), Tarachodes species (African bark mantis), etc.