19 new species of praying mantises

Caption Praying mantis Liturgusa krattorum

Gavin Svenson / Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Newly discovered praying mantis species Liturgusa krattorum is named for Martin and Chris Kratt of the television show "Wild Kratts," which teaches children about animal biology. This female bark mantis, which was captured in dense Amazonian rain forest in northern Peru, has the flat body and...

See more galleries

Caption New praying mantis Liturgusa fossetti

Illustration by Joshua Maxwell / Gavin Svenson / Cleveland Museum of Natural History

These illustrations show the male and female of a new species of praying mantis, Liturgusa fossetti, named for the late James Stephen Fossett for his dedication to exploration. Gavin Svenson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History discovered 19 new species of bark mantis after visiting...

See more galleries

Gavin Svenson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History discovered 19 new species of praying mantises after combing through museum specimens and tramping through rain forests in the Amazon, as detailed in ZooKeys. Here's a sampling of these so-called bark mantises, which cling to the trunks of...

This photo gallery is featured in these articles:

Science Now

Scientist finds 19 new species of speedy, clever praying mantises