Phylogeny of Mantodea based on molecular data: evolution of a charismatic predator

Abstract

Abstract. The previously unknown phylogenetic relationships among Mantodea (praying mantids) were inferred from DNA sequence data. Five genes (16S rDNA, 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, cytochrome oxidase II and histone 3) were sequenced for sixty‐three taxa representing major mantid lineages and outgroups. The monophyly of mantid families and subfamilies was tested under varying parameter settings using parsimony and Bayesian analyses. The analyses revealed the paraphyly of Hymenopodidae, Iridopterygidae, Mantidae, and Thespidae and the monophyly of the Amorphoscelidae subfamily Paraoxypilinae. All represented subfamilies of Iridopterygidae and Mantidae appear paraphyletic. Mantoididae is sister group to the rest of the sampled mantid taxa. Lineages congruent with current subfamilial taxonomy include Paraoxypilinae, Hoplocoryphinae, Hymenopodinae, Acromantinae and Oligonicinae. The mantid hunting strategy is defined as either generalist, cursorial or ambush predators. By mapping hunting strategy onto our phylogeny, we reconstructed the ancestral predatory condition as generalist hunting, with three independent shifts to cursorial hunting and one shift to ambush hunting, associated with the largest radiation of mantid species.

Phylogenetic Hypotheses and the Utility of Multiple Sequence Alignment

“…All transformations were set to unity (indels=1). The mantid data are from Svenson and Whiting (2004) the other data collected in Wheeler (2007).…”

The phylogenetic system of Mantodea (Insecta: Dictyoptera)

“…The assumed monophyly of Mantodea is well supported by morphological characters (Hennig 1969(Hennig , 1981Ax 1999;Klass 1995Klass , 1997Deitz et al 2003;Klass & Meier 2006;Klass & Eulitz 2007;Ware et al 2008;Klass et al 2009) and molecular data (Svenson & Whiting 2003, 2004aTerry & Whiting 2005;Kjer et al 2006;Inward et al 2007;Lo et al 2007;Fenn et al 2008;Ware et al 2008;Yager & Svenson 2008). Klass & Ehrmann (2003: 196) listed the following autapomorphies for Mantodea.…”

“…7.60). Roy (1999: 37) Morphological and several molecular datasets have repeatedly found Mantoida to be the sistergroup of the remaining extant Mantodea (Klass 1995(Klass , 1997Svenson & Whiting 2004a;Klass & Meier 2006;Inward et al 2007;Lo et al 2007;Ware et al 2008;Yager & Svenson 2008). Jantsch (1999) found a basal split between a monophyletic Mantoida + Chaeteessa and the remaining (predominantly Neotropical) Mantodea in his morphological analysis.…”

“…This will also include those structures that have been assumed by previous authors to have evolved convergently. The results are compared with the most comprehensive genetic analyses (mainly Svenson & Whiting 2009, but also Whiting 2004a andSvenson 2008), and with the typological classification by Ehrmann (2002).…”

Allometry and ontogeny in Callibia diana Stål (Mantodea: Acanthopidae)

“…This species is morphologically very different from other members of the family, such as Acanthops falcata Stål, and very little is known about its biology. Although there are nearly 2,400 species of praying mantids with highly modi ied forelegs and varied hunting strategies, and several studies have shown a relationship between their behavior and body shape (Terra 1980, Svenson & Whiting 2004, Holwell et al 2007, little is known on their biology (Travassos 1945, Travassos & Heitzmann 1960, Robinson & Robinson 1978, Kaltenpoth 2005). This paper was thus aimed at describing the lifecycle of the praying mantis C. diana and the allometric and shape changes of this species' different body parts throughout its ontogeny.…”