# Small Mantids



## asdsdf (Aug 22, 2007)

Can someone give me a list of small mantids? Regular names and scientific are much appreciated. Thanks.


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## brancsikia (Aug 22, 2007)

What is small? In cm?

Pnigomantis medioconstricta is the best name to use (so the deleted post was right, it is the normal name everybody understands!). All the "fantasy names" are difficult to understand especially for non-native speakers.

Cheers

Brancsikia


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## Kudlaty (Aug 23, 2007)

Don't mean to be rude but if one is not interested in learning Latin names than maybe he should choose some other hobby...

"Fantasy names" are misleading and almost all of them impropriate.


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## Deutschherper (Aug 23, 2007)

I'm not really interested in learning Latin names, but I'm interested in things that have Latin names, so I'm going to learn some Latin. I don't think learning a little Latin is going to hurt anything :wink: ...

But not wanting to learn Latin names is no reason to leave a hobby.


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## asdsdf (Aug 23, 2007)

Well, I want to know the fantasy names, since if I want to research the web, I can just type the name. Some websites only have things on fantasy names.

Also, I wrote that the scientific names would be nice too. *Scientific names are Latin(they are the exact same thing, just different name for the name of the mantis.(if you got it)), they are names that scientists gave the mantids.*

(If you need more help, the scientific name for Nigerian Flower Mantids is Choloropax Modesta. The latin name is the same thing. Scientific is the latin name. Scientists give latin names to animals and mantids, etc. , and another name for those names are scientific)

I would think that small would be less than 3 inches or 5 cm?


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## Asa (Aug 23, 2007)

> Don't mean to be rude but if one is not interested in learning Latin names than maybe he should choose some other hobby..."Fantasy names" are misleading and almost all of them impropriate.


I wouldn't agree that you would have to leave the hobby, but common names are harder to figure out.


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## Rick (Aug 23, 2007)

Since when are they called fantasy names? How about common name? I prefer the accepted common name. Saying somebody should choose another hobby because they don't want to learn scientific (latin) names is like saying if you can't spell you shouldn't post a reply on a message forum. :roll: I know the real names but choose not to use them most of the time. Guess I need to find another hobby.


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## asdsdf (Aug 23, 2007)

I know, I wondered why he used "fantasy." Note*: I just used "fantasy" because that guy used it, I guess he didn't understand "regular" (my first post) .



> maybe he should choose some other hobby...


 ######???? You don't need to know latin to fing do something. It's like owning a dog. Who knows the latin(scientific) name of their dog species????


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## OGIGA (Aug 23, 2007)

Hello, I'm a homosapian.


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## asdsdf (Aug 23, 2007)

Yes, and I'm a heteroblahblah(straight) homosapian to be precise. Wierd. Homo sapian.

Anyways, back to the small mantids please?


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## Orin (Aug 23, 2007)

I think you guys lost the topic:

Miomantis species and Otomantis species are rather tiny and often available.


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## hibiscusmile (Aug 23, 2007)

It's like everything else, you will be able to keep up if you learn both, but do not try to hurry it, take your time and it will sink in. I do not like the "fantasy name" NAME. I was starting to wonder what I had missed, Common name is what it should be referred as! Fantasy name...bah Hum bug!!!


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## khabirun (Aug 23, 2007)

Mantids from the hymenopodidae family are small, check em out at terratypica so you can see which one you like.


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## asdsdf (Aug 23, 2007)

Thanks! The problem with terratypica is that there aren't any pics.  

Ya, lol, I was wondering what I missed too. So, I just used "fantasy" since they did. I normally use "common" or "regular"


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## TNeal (Aug 23, 2007)

As far as scientific names go, I have to agree that when one keeps or wants information on a species then scientific names are a must. Comman names can be very confusing when dealing with different parts of the world and country as every region has a different common name it seems. But, I don't put memorizing every scientific name high on my things to do list. I learn them as I need to, makes it easier that way.

Now, as far as a small mantis is concerned. I am keeping a mantis that stays very small. The North African Grass Mantis

(Oxythespis dumonti). The females of this species barely reaches 2 inches and the male is much smaller.

Another tiny species is the Ant Mantis. Sorry I don't know the scientific name for this one. Yen Saw is raising them and has all of that information. He says that they barely reach an inch long.

I hope this helps,

Tom


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## brancsikia (Aug 24, 2007)

Bolbena (Bolbena) hottentotta (IGM Nr. 79)

only about 1.5 cm

*Please use your fantasy and make propositions for a common (vernacular) name because it does not exist yet.*

Some information: you find this species in some Southern African countries and they also have some boxing behavior like many others.

Is there a list were I could check common "fantasy" names against scientific names? Especially for species new to the hobby it might be interesting to know. If you want new common names for new species in the hobby it might be also good to discuss possible common names e.g. "Lichen mantis" for ?Theopompa ophthalmica? seem not to be a good choice...how should I name the other 50 or so "lichen mantids" (at least some are already in the hobby).


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## Red (Aug 24, 2007)

galapagia peruana, oxythespis dumonti, pseudoharpax viriscens... odontomantis planiceps (ant mantis) uh... miomantis sp.

regards


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## yen_saw (Aug 24, 2007)

> Pnigomantis medioconstricta is the best name to use (so the deleted post was right, it is the normal name everybody understands!). All the "fantasy names" are difficult to understand especially for non-native speakers.


When i tell people i keep Pnigomantis medioconstricta, they have no idea if that is even a matis and have many queries, but when i used Indonesian double shield mantis as common name, they get the idea better.


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## brancsikia (Aug 24, 2007)

To use for Pnigomantis mediconstricta the common name Indonesian double shield mantis or Flores double shield mantis is a very good example for a very good common name, cause the species is endemic to the Indonesian island Flores and it is the only mantis with a double shield.

But unfortunately there are much more common names that fit for many species. Names like ant mantis, lichen mantis, flower mantis... can be kind of useless if you do not know the scientific name and e.g. are looking for mating partners. If somebody has Odontomantis planiceps and looks for ant mantis people could offer O. micans....and you will be surprised that they do not mate.

So a list of accepted common names might be a good project (not for me cause I do not know most of these names). How many common names are there for the 80-100 mantid species that are currently in culture?

To add something to the topic: most of the Tarachodinae are also small species (another group where it does not make sense to use common names cause lots of the species in culture look quite similar).


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## Sparky (Aug 24, 2007)

_Pseudoharpax virescens_ is the Gambian Spotted-Eye Flower Mantis

It only grows up to an inch  and it looks very exotic.


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## Ben.M (Aug 24, 2007)

> _Pseudoharpax virescens_ is the Gambian Eye-spotted Flower MantisIt only grows up to an inch  and it looks very exotic.


Isnt it Gambian *Spotted-eye* flower mantis, i luv this sp. easily my fav that i hav kept


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## Sparky (Aug 24, 2007)

oops yeah it is, lol i copy pasted that because I didn't know how to spell the scientific name  

and yes, I just got a gambian ooth from Nick  hope it hatches soon.


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## Precious (Aug 24, 2007)

> Bolbena (Bolbena) hottentotta (IGM Nr. 79)
> 
> only about 1.5 cm
> 
> ...


I think you mite bee two smart four the rest of us.  

Although, I go to Latin Mass, Dominus Vobiscum!


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## Hypoponera (Aug 25, 2007)

For those that are interested, here is a thread on common/binomial names.

http://mantidforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php...highlight=names


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## brancsikia (Aug 25, 2007)

Thanks for the link, great!

But where are the results, the last answer is already old?

@Precious: Sorry I do not understand your statement...you wrote in a kind of slang I do not no as a non native speaker.

I do not want to leave the topic completely: So Metallyticus is of course also a small species :wink:


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## Hypoponera (Aug 25, 2007)

Sorry to say, that link is all the info I could find. I do not know if the results were ever worked out. Maybe some one could print out all the pages and work out a "complete" listing. Maybe I will try to do that next weekend!


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## yen_saw (Aug 28, 2007)

@brancsikia: I understand the confusion when using common name, it is rarely used in German but commonly use in the USA. Unlike German, this hobby is still new in the USA and common name seems to be the popular way to promote this hobby. Obviously the best way to identify a species is via scientific name.


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## Precious (Aug 29, 2007)

> Since when are they called fantasy names? How about common name? I prefer the accepted common name. Saying somebody should choose another hobby because they don't want to learn scientific (latin) names is like saying if you can't spell you shouldn't post a reply on a message forum. :roll: I know the real names but choose not to use them most of the time. Guess I need to find another hobby.


What he said. My education is paramedical and in practice we use common names with patients and with each other. Nomenclature (names) is a huge part of any science but it is pretentious to demand that mantid enthusiasts be degreed in entomology. So bring your maxilla and mandible into occlusion and shut your oral cavity.


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## Hypoponera (Aug 30, 2007)

Precious,

I have said degree and I still use common names were ever possible! I spent many years memorizing latin binomial names. I have found that I remember the common names better! Besides, I have yet to run into another entomologist. So few people I deal with would understand the Latin names anyway.


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## yen_saw (Aug 30, 2007)

Entomologists i met here working in Houston Museum (by the way Lucy the fossil exhibition will be here tomorrow!!) used common names too, sometimes if they are really "serious", once a while scientific name can be heard.


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## brancsikia (Aug 30, 2007)

I think it is not possible to change the strict use of scientific names instead of common names (and I do not want it cause I also like good common names and if it is promoting the hobbby and a reason why more people are interested in mantids).

But people who want for each species in captivity a common name might have to do a lot of work.

We (or you) are the people that are creating the common names at the moment. Look at this list of some of the species stock of mantids that is currently kept in captivty:

http://www.hotel-grille.de/IGM-Nummern.htm

If we prefer common names we should try to choose useful unique common names for a species. African mantis, ant mantis, lichen mantis can only name a group of species.

I am looking forward to see Hypoponeras listing and assessing the available common names.


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## Kudlaty (Aug 30, 2007)

You're all right – there’s no better way to sell an insect than to give it an easy to “repeat” and imagination-stimulating common name (for example:Green Leaf, Giant Stick, Giant Malaysian, Devil Flower etc.).



> it is pretentious to demand that mantid enthusiasts be degreed in entomology


 - didn't know that memorizing a few new words gets you a science degree...


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## Precious (Aug 30, 2007)

I think this thread is dead, but I am compelled to retort. The insect kingdom is the largest with mantids making up some 2000 species - so it's more than a few words. I'm a latin proponent but some of us are new to the game and the common names are helpful and descriptive.

From the likes of graduates today, I'd say they are handing out degrees for far less than the memorization of a few words. That said, your point is well taken.


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## Christian (Aug 31, 2007)

As someone who achieved a degree I can say that you are not knowing what you're talking about. This thread is really dead, in many ways...


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## xenuwantsyou (Sep 1, 2007)

Just a thought. When searching on the internet I find that much of the time a site that uses the scientific name is more likely to have reliable info.


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## OGIGA (Sep 2, 2007)

This thread is dead because we're not talking about small mantids anymore.


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## Asa (Sep 2, 2007)

Correct.

Crud :lol: 

If you want to have fun with mantids, I don't think years of training or even experience are neccesary.s


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## asdsdf (Sep 2, 2007)

Thanks to everyone who actually told me small mantids. Is it possible to even "revive" a post?


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## Asa (Sep 2, 2007)

Off topic again, lol.


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## asdsdf (Sep 2, 2007)

Fine, fine.  Anyways, I think ant mantises are cool, but during the day, does the temperature have to be around 85? I like the fact that they are tiny, and maature quickly.  (Less anxiety with a mismolt later on)


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## HepCatMoe (Sep 2, 2007)

> Who knows the latin(scientific) name of their dog species????


canus familiaris  

a wolf is canus lupus


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## OGIGA (Sep 2, 2007)

> Thanks to everyone who actually told me small mantids. Is it possible to even "revive" a post?


Hmm, start a new thread. And then, with this thread, edit your first post and change the Subject to something like "scientific names". Hehehehe.


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## asdsdf (Sep 2, 2007)

> > Who knows the latin(scientific) name of their dog species????
> 
> 
> canus familiaris
> ...


  that's not a specific name. how about doberman pinscher? without looking it up.

Ogiga: oh well. :? thanks.


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## chun (Sep 2, 2007)

a doberman pischer is not a different species, it is a breed and do not have seperate scientific names; so it will still be _Canis lupus familiaris_ regardless.


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