Biology:Santanmantis

From HandWiki
Short description: Extinct genus of praying mantises

Santanmantis
Temporal range: Aptian
Santanmantis fossil.png
Specimen MB.I.2068
Santanmantis reconstruction.png
Life restoration (Note: the spines on the second set of legs have been considered questionable by other authors)
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Mantodea
Family: Santanmantidae
Grimaldi 2003
Genus: Santanmantis
Grimaldi, 2003
Species:
S. axelrodi
Binomial name
Santanmantis axelrodi
Grimaldi, 2003

Santanmantis is an extinct genus of mantises, the sole genus in the family Santanmantidae. The only species, Santanmantis axelrodi , is known from the Crato Formation of Brazil, dating to the late Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous.[1][2][3] It is amongst the most primitive known lineages of mantis.[4] Like other mantises, the forelegs are modified into spined raptorial appendages. When describing a new specimen in 2017, Hörnig, Haug and Haug proposed that the second set of legs also had spines similar to the forelegs, and also served a raptorial function, but that they were not visible in the fossil due to being broken off.[5] However a response to this paper criticised this assumption, finding that it had little evidence from the fossil itself or from living mantises.[6]

References

Wikidata ☰ Q20174180 entry