''Titanodula grandis'', also known as the giant Asian mantis, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

native to the region around the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

in southern Asia. It is found in north-eastern India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. It is a large mantis which grows up to 4 inches long.

Taxonomy

''T. grandis'' was originally placed in ''

Hierodula ''Hierodula'' is a genus of praying mantids in the tribe Hierodulini, found throughout Asia. Many species are referred to by the common name giant Asian mantis because of their large size compared to other mantids. Their large size and vibrant co ...

'', but a 2020 study moved the species to a new genus, ''

Titanodula ''Titanodula'' is a genus of mantids in the subfamily Hierodulinae. There are currently five species placed in ''Titanodula''. The genus is endemic to Asia and is distinguished from the similar genus ''Hierodula'' by the large size and unique mal ...

'', based on its large size and the unique shape of the male genitalia.Xavier H.C. Vermeersch. 2020. ''Titanodula'' gen. nov., A New Genus of Giant Oriental Praying Mantises (Mantodea: Mantidae: Hierodulinae). ''Belgian Journal of Entomology.'' ''100'': 1–18.

References

G Mantodea of Asia Insects of India Insects of Bangladesh Insects of Myanmar Insects described in 1870 {{Hierodula-stub