Interesting Article

[ramseysreptiles]

High everyone I'm new here and already know I can learn a lot just by what I've read so far but has anyone ever seen this Missing Link to Mantids. I found it very interesting.

 

[Birdfly]

That is very interesting. I'd like to see a side shot of it too

 

[darkspeed]

Well as we know from specimens found in amber, Mantids have been around for a reeeeeealy long time. So I wouldnt go so far to say the australian cave cricket they found may be the missing link between Cockroaches and Mantids. I would be more willing to bet that it is an obscure species of mantid that over millions of years has become highly specialized for survival in a cave environment.

 

[Birdfly]

True, but it might give us a bit of an idea as to the possibility of how they came about.

Or just an instance of convergent evolution

 

[kamakiri]

Interesting article and thanks for posting...but my sentiments match DARKSPEEDs. It seems to be more of an old roach offshoot than a link to mantids.

 

[Orin]

The genetics test results sound interesting but you have to question how accurate an article can be that calls something with what appears to be obvious dark pigment an albino.

 

[Orin]

Nearly all the egg laying cockroaches glue thier eggcases to objects.

However, if it occurs during formation like mantids, then it is pretty interesting.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Yea, well if we were inside a cave all our life, we would be an abino too! Must have to let off their own light, to see where they are going. Millions of years... ha ha... I won't say it! I will say it is ugly! But pretty to another bug I suppose.

 

[Orin]

Yea, well if we were inside a cave all our life, we would be an abino too! Must have to let off their own light, to see where they are going. Millions of years... ha ha... I won't say it! I will say it is ugly! But pretty to another bug I suppose.

The photo with that article depicts an animal with more brown on it than many commonly kept cockroaches. Albinos can have red or yellow pigments but not brown.

It uses its antennae to "see" where it's going.

 

[sidewinder]

Let's not forget that not all color comes from pigmentation that would be affected by albinism. Chemicals in the body can provide some color as can some foods. In insects, many colors are seen because of how the exoskeleton structure interferes with light reflection. The insect in the picture could be suffering from some sort genetic disorder or failure in its pigment producing genes.

Finally, maybe the person or persons that wrote the article misinterpreted what they were told. That happens all time and more often on obscure scientific subjects.

Scott