Researchers from Case Western Reserve University discovered a new species of praying mantis in the mountainous Nyungwe National Park of Rwanda.
The new praying mantis dubbed Dystacta tigrifrutex, or bush tiger mantis, have different characteristics according to its gender. The female mantis is wingless, so it often hunts close to, or under the ground. The male mantes have wings and often thrive on higher vegetation. These insects are named after the tiger because of their hunting similarities.
"The new praying mantis species was found in the high altitude rain forest region of southwestern Rwanda and probably only lives within Nyungwe National Park, which adds significant justification for protecting the park to ensure species like this can continue to exist," said Dr. Gavin Svenson, curator of invertebrate zoology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History and adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University, in a press release.
The survey at Rwanda lasted for three weeks and brought up great finds for the scientists. The discovery of the bush tiger mantis was just one of those. Researchers spent 8 months identifying the collected insects and named dozens of new species.
Analysts caught the insects using light traps to attract the specimens. The captured female laid an egg case, known as "ootheca," which soon became nymphs. They then described the male, female and nymphal stages of the new species. These pieces of new information are regarded as quite relevant to the advancement of insect biology.
The successful collaboration of the two lead authors, Dr. Gavin Svenson, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Riley Tedrow, Case Western Reserve University, and fellow researchers inspired the group to plan a return to Nyungwe in June for more mantis surveys. They plan to search several more locations in the park and bring back more new species, while finding out more about the bush tiger's habitat.
Further details of the discovery were published in the journal, Zookeys.
