Liturgusidae
Genus Guides
2Liturgusidae is a of praying mantises in the Neotropical superfamily Acanthopoidea, established in the 2019 revision of mantodean higher-level classification. The family has undergone substantial taxonomic revision, with many former reassigned to other families including Dactylopterygidae, Gonypetidae, Epaphroditidae, Majangidae, Mantidae, and Nanomantidae. As currently circumscribed, Liturgusidae contains two tribes (Hagiomantini and Liturgusini) with six genera including Liturgusa (lichen mantises), Corticomantis, Fuga, Velox, and Hagiomantis. Members occur in tropical Asia, Australia, and the Neotropics, with some showing bark-dwelling habits and cryptic coloration.
Pronunciation
How to pronounce Liturgusidae: //lɪˌtɜːrˈɡuːsɪˌdaɪ//
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Distribution
Tropical Asia, Australia, and the Neotropics (South America and Caribbean). Specific records include: Australia (Wet Tropics World Heritage Region for Ciulfina rentzi); Peru (Tumbes region, cocoa crops for Liturgusa maya); Ecuador; Brazil (Manaus region); Galápagos Islands (Santa Cruz Island, introduced of Liturgusa maya since at least 2017); and Guadeloupe (Marie-Galante, Liturgusa dominica).
Human Relevance
Liturgusa maya has been introduced to the Galápagos Islands, where it represents a potential threat to native ; detected through citizen science observations on iNaturalist and confirmed through field collections. In Peru, Liturgusa maya occurs in cocoa agroecosystems where its ecological role in organic crop management is under study.
Similar Taxa
- DactylopterygidaeFormerly contained now placed in this separate following 2019 revision
- GonypetidaeFormerly contained now placed in this separate following 2019 revision
- Epaphroditidae (subfamily Gonatistinae)Formerly contained now placed in this following 2019 revision
- Majangidae (subfamily Majanginae)Formerly contained now placed in this following 2019 revision; note that Majangella was moved from Liturgusidae to
- Mantidae (subfamily Mellierinae)Formerly contained now placed in this following 2019 revision
- Nanomantidae (subfamily Fulciniinae)Formerly contained now placed in this following 2019 revision
Sources and further reading
- BugGuide
- Wikipedia
- GBIF taxonomy match
- iNaturalist taxon
- NCBI Taxonomy
- Catalogue of Life
- Spermatophore feeding and mating behaviour in praying mantids (Mantodea: Liturgusidae)
- Microsatellite markers for the praying mantid Ciulfina rentzi (Liturgusidae)
- Liturgusa maya (Mantodea, Liturgusidae), the first record of an alien praying mantis in the Galápagos Islands
- Intraspecific interactions and their effect on habitat utilisation by the praying mantid Ciulfina biseriata (Mantodea: Liturgusidae)
- Liturgusa maya, Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 (Mantodea-Liturgusidae), a species of mantis frequent in cocoa crops in the Tumbes region, Peru
- The island within the island: characterization of the habitat and ecology of the neotropical tree-bark mantis Liturgusa dominica from Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe (Mantodea: Liturgusidae)
- A case of the higher-level classification of praying mantises (Mantodea) obscuring the synonymy of Majangella Giglio-Tos, 1915 (Liturgusidae, Liturgusinae) and Ephippiomantis Werner, 1922 (Hymenopodidae, Acromantinae)
- Distributional range expansion and first record of the parasitic wasp Horismenus liturgusae Hansson & Schoeninger, 2014 (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) on Liturgusa maya Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 (Mantodea, Liturgusidae) from Ecuador