From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gladiators Fossil range: Jurassic - Recent
Mantophasma zephyrum Zompro et al., 2002
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Subclass:	Pterygota
Infraclass:	Neoptera
Superorder:	Exopterygota
Order:	Notoptera
Suborder:	Mantophasmatodea
Family:	Mantophasmatidae
Subfamilies, tribes
see text

Mantophasmatodea is a suborder of carnivorous African insects discovered in 2002, originally considered to be a new order, but since relegated to subordinal status, and comprising the single family Mantophasmatidae. The most common vernacular name for this order is gladiators, although they also are called rock crawlers, heelwalkers, mantophasmids, and coloquially, mantos. Their modern centre of endemism is western South Africa and Namibia (Brandberg Massif^[2]), although a relict population, and Eocene fossils suggest a wider ancient distribution.

Members of the order are wingless even as adults, making them relatively difficult to identify. They resemble a mix between praying mantids and phasmids, and molecular evidence indicates that they are most closely related to the equally enigmatic group, Grylloblattodea^[1], with which they have now been grouped together in the order Notoptera. The gladiators initially were described from old museum specimens that originally were found in Namibia (Mantophasma zephyrum) and Tanzania (M. subsolanum), and from a 45-million-year-old specimen of Baltic amber (Raptophasma kerneggeri).

Live specimens were found in Namibia by an international expedition in early 2002; Tyrannophasma gladiator was found on the Brandberg Massif, and Mantophasma zephyrum was found on the Erongoberg Massif.^[2]

Classification

The most recent classification^[3] recognizes numerous genera, including fossils:

• Basal and incertae sedis
  • Genus †Raptophasma Zompro, 2001
  • Genus †Adicophasma Engel & Grimaldi, 2004
  • Genus †Ensiferophasma Zompro, 2005 (may not belong to Mantophasmatodea)
• Subfamily Tanzaniophasmatinae
  • Genus Tanzaniophasma Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003
• Subfamily Mantophasmatinae
  • Tribe Tyrannophasmatini
    • Genus Praedatophasma Zompro & Adis, 2002
    • Genus Tyrannophasma Zompro, 2003
  • Tribe Mantophasmatini Zompro, Klass, Kristensen, Adis, 2002 (paraphyletic?)
    • Genus Mantophasma Zompro, Klass, Kristensen, Adis, 2002
    • Genus Sclerophasma Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003
  • Tribe Austrophasmatini Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003
    • Genus Austrophasma Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003
    • Genus Hemilobophasma Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003
    • Genus Karoophasma Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003
    • Genus Lobatophasma Klass, Picker, Damgaard, van Noort, Tojo, 2003 (formerly Lobophasma)
    • At least 3 species of one or more new genera

Sometimes the subfamilies and tribes are all raised to full family status.

References

External links

• Mantophasmatodea - A new order of insects
• New insect order found in Southern Africa
• New order of insects identified: Mantophasmatodea find their place in Class Insecta

From Wikispecies

Taxonavigation

Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Cladus: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Cladus: Neoptera
Supercohort: Polyneoptera
Cohort: Anartioptera
Magnordo: Polyorthoptera
Superordo: Orthopterida
Grandordo: Notopterodea
Ordo: Notoptera
Subordo: Mantophasmatodea
Familiae: Mantophasmatidae
[list of familiae after Arillo & Engel (2006: 3, table 1)]

Name

Mantophasmatodea

Reference

• Adis, J.; Zompro, O.; Moombolah-Goagoses, E.; Marais, E. 2002: Gladiators: a new order of insect. Scientific American, 287: 60–65.
• Arillo, A.; Engel, M.S. 2006: Rock crawlers in Baltic amber (Notoptera: Mantophasmatodea). American Museum Novitates, (3539): 1-10. PDF PDF
• Damgaard, J.; Klass, K.-D.; Picker, M.D.; Buder, G. 2008: Phylogeny of the heelwalkers (Insecta: Mantophasmatodea) based on mtDNA sequences, with evidence for additional taxa in South Africa. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 47: 443-462.
• Huang, D.-y.; Nel, A.; Zompro, O.; Waller, A. 2008: Mantophasmatodea now in the Jurassic. Naturwissenschaften, 95: 947-952.
• Klass, K.-D. 2002: Mantophasmatodea: a new insect order? [Response to technical comment by Erich Tilgner]. Science, 297: 731.
• Klass, K.-D.; Zompro, O.; Kristensen, N.P.; Adis, J. 2002: Mantophasmatodea: a new insect order with extant members in the afrotropics. Science, 296: 1456-1459.
• Zompro, O. 2005: Inter- and intra-ordinal relationships of the Mantophasmatodea, with comments on the phylogeny of polyneopteran orders (Insecta: Polyneoptera). Mitteilungen aus dem Geologisch-Palaeontologischen Institut der Universitaet Hamburg, 89: 85-116.
• Zompro, O.; Adis, J.; Weitschat, W. 2002: A review of the order Mantophasmatodea (Insecta). Zoologischer Anzeiger, 241: 269–279.

links

• Tree of Life Web Project. 2003. Mantophasmatodea. Gladiators. Version 01 January 2003 (temporary) in The Tree of Life Web Project
• Iziko Museums of Cape Town

Vernacular names

For more multimedia, look at Category:Mantophasmatodea on Wikimedia Commons.