The order Mantophasmatodea is the newest insect order, described just a few years ago in 2002. These rare insects are said to look like a cross between a mantid and a walking stick, as reflected in the lengthy name given the order. Insects in this order are called gladiators, because they are said to resemble the armored combatants in the movie Gladiator.
Description:
Gladiators measure between 2 and 3 cm in length. In the Mantophasmatodea, the head faces downward, an orientation known as a hypognathous. These insects have chewing mouthparts and slender, filiform antennae. The cylindrical abdomen ends in short cerci consisting of a single segment. Their tarsi have five segments.
Mantophasmatodea lack wings in either sex. They undergo simple metamorphosis, and live only a few weeks as adults. Gladiators are active at night, when they prey on insects and spiders.
Not all entomologists agree that the gladiators warrant their own order. It remains to be seen whether the order Mantophasmatodea survives, or is subsumed by another closely related group. Some believe these rare insects belong in the order Grylloblattodea.
Habitat and Distribution:
Gladiators are decidedly rare, known only from Tanzania, Namibia, and part of South Africa. Of just 8 species that have been described, two are represented only by fossil specimens preserved in amber.
Major Families in the Order:
All known gladiators belong to a single family, the Mantophasmatidae.
Sources:
- Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, 7th Edition, by Charles A. Triplehorn and Norman F. Johnson
- Mantophasmatodea, John R. Meyer, North Carolina State University, accessed December 19, 2011
- New Insect Order Discovered, BBC News, April 18, 2002 - accessed December 19, 2011
