Mantichora
Encyclopedia
Manticora is a well-known genus of tiger beetle
that is endemic to Africa
. Its members are the largest of the subfamily. All species are darkly colored, nocturnal, and flightless. Males usually have exaggerated mandibles
compared to the females, used for clasping during copulation.
In African folklore manticoras are evil creatures, often accused of being responsible for many bad things. According to legend they are doombringers. Some tribes even personify Death
as a manticora whose mandibles are an equivalent to the Europe
an scythe
of Death (Mareš, Lapáček, 1980).
In Jules Verne
´s novel
Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen
, it is a Manticora beetle which helps Cousin Bénédict to escape from imprisonment, when the aforementioned, unguarded in a garden, follows the beetle. Since the beetle escapes from him by flying, it is possible that it is one of Verne's "scholar's jokes" (that is, a joke which only a scientist may recognize; see the entry Jules Verne) (Neff, 1978).
Tiger beetle
The tiger beetles are a large group of beetles known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest species of tiger beetle can run at a speed of 9 km/h , which, relative to its body length, is about 22 times the speed of former Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, the...
that is endemic to 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...
. Its members are the largest of the subfamily. All species are darkly colored, nocturnal, and flightless. Males usually have exaggerated mandibles
Mandible (arthropod)
thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...
compared to the females, used for clasping during copulation.
Manticoras in folklore and popular culture
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
as a manticora whose mandibles are an equivalent to the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
of Death (Mareš, Lapáček, 1980).
In Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
´s novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen
Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen
Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen is a Jules Verne novel published in 1878. It deals primarily with the issue of slavery, and the African slave trade by other Africans in particular.- Themes :Themes explored in the novel include:...
, it is a Manticora beetle which helps Cousin Bénédict to escape from imprisonment, when the aforementioned, unguarded in a garden, follows the beetle. Since the beetle escapes from him by flying, it is possible that it is one of Verne's "scholar's jokes" (that is, a joke which only a scientist may recognize; see the entry Jules Verne) (Neff, 1978).
Species
Manticora contains the following species:- Manticora congoensis Peringuey, 1888
- Manticora gruti Bouchard, 1892
- Manticora holubi MarešJaroslav MarešIng Jaroslav Mareš is a Czech biologist, traveller and writer.He graduated from The University of Economics in Prague, getting a degree of Ing . He worked for ČSA in Iran and later in Canada...
, 2002 - Manticora imperator Mareš, 1976
- Manticora latipennisManticora latipennisManticora latipennis is a species of ground beetle native to Transvaal, Bechuanaland, Ngami and Damaraland in Africa.-External links:* in Annales de la Société entomologique de France...
WaterhouseGeorge Robert WaterhouseGeorge Robert Waterhouse was an English naturalist.In 1833, Waterhouse was elected as the Royal Entomological Society of London's librarian and curator of insects and records....
, 1837 - Manticora livingstoni Laporte de Castelnau, 1863
- Manticora mygaloides Thomson, 1859
- Manticora scabraManticora scabraManticora scabra is a species of ground beetle native to Mozambique, Transvaal and Zimbabwe.-External links:*...
KlugJohann Christoph Friedrich KlugJohann Christoph Friedrich Klug was a German entomologist born 5 May 1775 in Berlin and died 3 February 1856 in the same city.He described the butterflies and some other insects of Upper Egypt and Arabia in Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg and Wilhelm Friedrich Hemprich's Symbolæ Physicæ...
, 1849 - Manticora sicheli Thomson, 1859
- Manticora skrabali Mareš, 2000
- Manticora tibialis Boheman, 1848
- Manticora tuberculataManticora tuberculataManticora tuberculata is a species of ground beetle native to Angola , Namibia, South Africa .-External links:*...
Geer, 1778 - Manticora werneri Mareš, 2000