Mantis ID

[SunDragon]

I picked this guy up about a month ago, and he is just the coolest thing. Sorry the picture is so bad, I havent been fast enough to get any others. After his second molt hes a beautiful emerald green color.

I believe I saw someone else with one like him and they refered to him as a gondy G. but I dont know what the G might stand for.

Little help with the ID?

 

[Timmy]

Hello,
the G stand for glabrous i think
Take a look at the meral spots. they should be orange like this.

 

[SunDragon]

Nope, mine are purple.

 

[Gonodactylus]

The G. stands for Gonodactylaceus which this clearly is. The species appears to be falcatus. However, no Gonodactylaceus know has a purple meral spot. The spot of G. falcatus is a greenish yellow.

Roy

 

[SunDragon]

Okay, maybe im looking at the wrong thing. What is the meral spot? I thought it was the fan looking antena part.

 

[Timmy]

Hello,
the meral spots are inside his raptorial appendages.
Take a look at my photo, there you can see the orange Meral spots very good.

 

[Gonodactylus]

If you look at Timmy's photo in this thread of G. glabrous, you will see on the inside of the raptorial appendages (striking appendage) a bright orange spot surrounded by while. This is on a saddle shaped structure that is the spring that stores the energy for the strike. Anyway, in G. falcatus, the spot is not nearly so distinct and is a greenish yellow.

Roy

 

[SunDragon]

Ah, okay. ill try to get a look at them tonight. Thanks guys.

 

[SunDragon]

well, I just cant get him to sit still long enough for me to look. Anyone got any idea how big this guy might get? Hes maybe 2.5-3 inches right now. Hes in a 2.5 gallon right now.

 

[Gonodactylus]

Three inches is as large as they get.

Roy