''Gonatista'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

praying mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

es in the family

Epaphroditidae Epaphroditidae is a family of the Mantodea, containing species found in Africa and the Caribbean. Before 2015, it had been placed as the subfamily Epaphroditinae, in the Hymenopodidae, but is now excluded. Subfamilies and Genera The ''Mantodea ...

. The following species are recognised in the genus ''Gonatista'': *''

Gonatista grisea ''Gonatista grisea'', common name grizzled mantis or lichen mimic, is a species of praying mantis native to the southern United States, primarily Florida. See also *List of mantis genera and species The following list of mantis genera and spec ...

'' *'' Gonatista jaiba'' *'' Gonatista major'' *'' Gonatista phryganoides'' *'' Gonatista reticulata'' According to a 2004 paper by

entomologists Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

from the

University of Catania The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...

and the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

this genus:

...is widely distributed in North America and the Caribbean area. There are (five) homogeneous species...whose specific differences such as chromatic models and body size, as shown in literature (Caudell 1912), do not help us in their identification. On the basis of the material studied here we have verified that a valid diagnostic character is the
morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
of the external copulatory apparatus
Lombardo, F. and D. E. Perez-Gelabert. 2004. The mantids of Hispaniola, with the description of two new species (Mantodea). Boletin de la SEA 34: 35-48.

References

Mantodea genera Epaphroditidae Mantodea of North America {{Mantodea-stub