# I want one of these,....



## davestreasurechest (Oct 9, 2009)

i found this pic on the net somewhere , does anyone know what species it is ? where its from? anyone breeding?


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## bassist (Oct 9, 2009)

Those images are of a _Toxodera sp. _I think, no one's been able to keep them alive very long in captivity.



Christian said:


> People sometimes get the one or other specimen. It doesn't help though, as most die after a few days. This is definitely a taxon (there are 3 genera with several species) which should be left to experienced people. Ever wondered why there are never small nymphs shown? Because noone ever came so far. Most mantid enthusiasts aren't even able to deal with _Idolomantis_, which is rather easy compared to those ones. The fewer people know something about the natural habits of _Toxodera_ &amp; Co., the better... We see where knowing the ooth led to in case of _Idolomantis_. Toxos are just too rare to end as an overexploited species despite of available captive bred specimens as in the case of the latter. So better continue to breed your ghost and flower mantids and let stuff like this to those guys who know what they're doing.





Christian said:


> There are several posts on these ones. One important thing is that most pics are wrongly labelled. The ones with the bent pronotum are _Toxodera_, those with a straight one _Paratoxodera_. They occur im most parts of S-East Asia, but are rare to find. I visited Borneo three times without seeing one.


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## PhilinYuma (Oct 9, 2009)

Thank you very much, Bassist, for catching that one before it turned into another long fantasy thread.


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## revmdn (Oct 9, 2009)

That is pretty cool looking.


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## gadunka888 (Oct 9, 2009)

Very cool!  :lol:


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## Katnapper (Oct 9, 2009)

PhilinYuma said:


> Thank you very much, Bassist, for catching that one before it turned into another long fantasy thread.


+1


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## massaman (Oct 9, 2009)

dont think it will ever be in culture as this species would be too hard to take care of and there is no information on the nymphs or the ooths and so there is hardly any information to of anyone succeeding with this species in any of its life cycles!You could save your pennies and take a trip to where its suppose to live at and look for yourself but thats prob another pipe dream!Would rather have something like the Parymenopus Davisoni (Yellow Flower Mantis) but this species is prob just as rare as the walking branches are!


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## NoKanDo (Oct 9, 2009)

wow, that is amazing! those wold so cool if they could be kept in captivity... by far the coolest looking mantis,,,that is right after the ghost mantids of course! hahaha


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## ismart (Oct 9, 2009)

Moulting for this species looks to be a pain!


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## massaman (Oct 9, 2009)

I am sure trying to feed them and breed them would be just as bad and would think their ooth would be very very small or skinny or something as well!


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## idolomantis (Oct 9, 2009)

Some species aren't meant for culture..


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## ismart (Oct 9, 2009)

idolomantis said:


> Some species aren't meant for culture..


+1


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## massaman (Oct 9, 2009)

yep some species are just better if left alone then being ripped from its home and what have you!


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## Christian (Oct 9, 2009)

> Some species aren't meant for culture...


... for everyone.  

By the way, there was some taxonomic work finished on these recently. Now, there are 5 genera and 17 species (!) known. The additional genera look somewhat like _Paratoxodera_, although there is one freaky species (already known, but transferred to a new genus) which has the prothorax bent into an S-shape. It is still more rarer than the other ones. Not that those are abundant... :lol: There is no pic on the net as far as I know. Really weird mantids, in many respects. I had the opportunity to examine some and at a closer look they are still more weird. Their raptorial legs are also rather special. Should some become available, I just hope I will get my hands on them soon enough before they are raised to death by others. Not that there is any guarantee that is will work anyway.


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## yen_saw (Oct 9, 2009)

Only the dead specimen is what I found from my recent trip in Malaysia, one will need to be lucky and spend some time looking for this species. If this species can be kept alive in captivity Paul, you probably need to turn your home into a tropica jungle to stand a chance  no kidding!


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## wero626 (Oct 9, 2009)

That is one cool Mantid looks tough like he wants to fight very cool looking..!!


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## Anleoflippy (Oct 23, 2009)

This species can be found in Malaysia, some occurred in Borneo but most of them occurred at the Peninsular of Malaysia.

Hopefully I wil be able to find them at ranau near Mount Kinabalu


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