Alice Springs Desert Park

ASDP Insects > Insects Index

The genus Gyromantis are praying mantises belonging to the order Mantodea. These mantises are cryptic, blending into the background of the bark on the trunk of the trees where they can be found hiding in plain sight.

Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT

Pictured above is the female Gyromantis sp. The males have longer wings, reaching the end of the abdomen, and their abdomens are thinner as well.

Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT

At time of writing, there are only two recognised species of Gyromantis (listed below), with many more yet to be identified.

Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT
Spiny Bark Mantis (Gyromantis sp), Alice Springs Desert Park NT

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Mantodea
  • Family: Amorphoscelidae
  • Genus: Gyromantis
  • Species:
    • Gyromantis kraussi (Saussure, 1872)
    • Gyromantis occidentalis Sjöstedt, 1918

Footnote & References

  1. Many thanks to Matthew Connors for ID, member of Entomology Australia “Invertebratology”, Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/groups/507004496955277/
  2. Gyromantis Giglio-Tos, 1913, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Gyromantis

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