Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey,

It's been quite a while since i've been on here. I'm having an identification problem with one mantis i bought from a pet shop near me. I thought it's an african mantis but it dark shade of black changes everything, plus the top of its head seems to not be as flat as an African mantid's i think. Please let me know on what you think this mantis is. The photo is below:

Thanks,
Joe

Check out my site at [urlwww.jdsmantids.com[/url]

JD's Mantids.com

It does somewhat look like an african but the head and forelegs don't look quite as large as it is in africans. My africans are more green too.

Hey,

Oh i understand but do u know what type of mantis this is?? i've been looking up picture of a lot of species and still cant tell wht mantis this is.

Joe

That is subadult S. Viridis. I have one looks exactly like the one you have. Where do you live and how much do you pay for that mantis?

Hey,

I think i bought it for $20. it was greener when i bought it but then it turned a little black when it molted. It's a female too. What does a S. Virdis look like as an adult?

Joe
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Come Visit my site at www.jdsmantids.com

It looks more like an S. Centralis to me. It looks too stalky/bulky to be a Viridis.

-Andrew

Viridis' are stocky. Their heads and forearms are large. A better pic would help us.

the colour of the mantis is very unreliable in determining the specie. Humidity, temperature and photoperiod are three factors which can change a mantid's colour ( i think for Sphodromantis, it's photoperiod, need to check up that though). I have seen sphodromantis with a shade of orange, purple (just a tint of purple), brown, yellow, red (just a tint of red) and bright and dark green.

It looks like a centralis. It's definitely not lineola ( i think).
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PARADOXA-UK: mantids.net

Looks like S. centralis to me, definitely not S. viridis.

Chun(or anyone), do you happen to know the distinguishing(spelling?) characters that differentiate S. centralis from S. lineola?
-Jesse

You can see a pic of an S. Viridis here:
http://www.nature-of-oz.com/SphodromantisViridis.jpg

And here are some pics of my S. Centralis:
http://mantidforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=193

You nymph looks more like my S. Centralis than the S. Viridis.

Thanks,
Andrew

Hey,

Heres a better pic of it, let me know if u want another one.

Joe

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Come Visit my site at www.jdsmantids.com

Thats definately a Centralis.
Look at the arms, they are much thicker/bulkier than Lineola or Viridis. The build of S.Centralis is much bulkier than Lineola or Viridis. Thats how I have learned to tell them apart.

Thanks,
Andrew