Rare new creature — known for its ‘cryptic’ hunting habits — discovered in rainforest
A rare new type of insect with a peculiar method of hunting has been discovered in the Amazon rainforest, researchers said.
The creature — a tree-dwelling species of praying mantis — was identified during a survey of a private reserve in central Brazil, according to a study recently published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.
Using a trap composed of a cloth sheet and a light bulb set up night after night, researchers were able to lure two male specimens into being captured during their 64-day-long survey.
The specimens, distinguished by their green bodies and red antennae, were then kept in an enclosure where their behavior was observed before they died of natural causes, researchers said.
Under the watchful eyes of the researchers, the creatures displayed a “cryptic” behavior, which involved pressing their bodies flat against a surface.
Researchers surmised that “these insects likely hunt among the upper-level foliage where they hide by pressing their body against the undersurface of leaves...” This hunting strategy has been documented in other insects as well.
After the insects died, their bodies were further analyzed, researchers said.
A number of bodily features, including aspects of their genital appendages, confirmed the identification of a new species, making it the fifth known member of the Microphotinini genus.
“Members of Microphotinini are seldom collected in reported surveys and remain rare in scientific collections,” researchers said.
The newfound species was named Microphotina cristalino in a nod to the region where it was discovered.
“‘Cristalino’ is the main river in the region and also happens to mean ‘translucid’ in Portuguese, which alludes to the translucent quality of the body and crystal-clear wings of our new species,” researchers said.
The Amazon rainforest is home to a sizable number of praying mantis species, but certain regions, including the Mato Grosso State, the area where the survey was conducted, remain under-explored.
“Increased sampling efforts along this rich yet highly disturbed region will likely reveal a novel praying mantis fauna,” researchers said.
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