''Tarachodes maurus'' 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 ...
of
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 ...
in the family
Eremiaphilidae
Eremiaphilidae is a small Old World family of praying mantids, based on the type genus '' Eremiaphila''. As part of a major revision of mantid taxonomy, this family now contains the subfamily Tarachodinae, which includes tribes and genera pre ...
. It was
first described by the Swiss entomologist
Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure
Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure (; ; 27 November 1829 – 20 February 1905) was a Swiss mineralogist and entomologist specialising in studies of Hymenoptera and Orthopteroid insects. He also was a prolific taxonomist.
Biography
Sauss ...
in 1871. It has been placed in either subgenus ''Chiropacha'' or subgenus ''Tarachodes''.
Description
An adult female ''Tarachodes maurus'' has a flattened body. The upper surface is a mottled brownish-grey, while the underside is brightly coloured with patches of pale blue and orange; both thorax and abdomen are liberally spattered with black spots. The
labrum is red and the appendages are black, their edges being rimmed with yellow.
[
]
Ecology
''T. maurus'' is a cryptic species. Its color camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
s it against the tree bark, but if a predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
detects it and approaches from the front, the mantis rears up on its hind limbs, displaying its aposematic colouring to startle and scare away the assailant. When a predator approaches from behind, this response is not elicited.Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...
in December 1939. He found that the female ''T. maurus'' broods a batch of eggs with her abdomen partially concealing it.[ She does not move about while brooding the eggs but as an ]ambush predator
Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey ...
, attacks and feeds on any prey that came within reach.[
Unlike the closely related species '' Tarachodes afzelii'', the female plays no part in the development of the eggs apart from brooding them. After a month or two, they hatch and the ]nymphs
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
crawl away and disperse. The eggs would probably hatch even if the female were removed, but her presence is likely to lessen egg predation, and she can also try to prevent a parasitic wasp
Parasitoid wasps are a large group of hymenopteran superfamilies, with all but the wood wasps (Orussoidea) being in the wasp-waisted Apocrita. As parasitoids, they lay their eggs on or in the bodies of other arthropods, sooner or later causi ...
from attacking them.[
]
See also
*List of mantis genera and species
The following list of mantis genera and species is based on the "Mantodea Species File", which is the primary reference for the taxonomy shown here.
The insect Order (biology), order Mantodea consists of over 2,400 species of mantises in about 460 ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7685229
maurus
Insects described in 1871