Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Liturgusa maya Saussure & Zehntner, 1894

Mantis de la corteza, Lichen Mantis

Liturgusa maya in lateral view (ICCDRS 52233). Photo: Carlos Espinosa.
Liturgusa maya in lateral view (ICCDRS 52233). Photo: Carlos Espinosa.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Mantodea

Family
Liturgusidae

Genus
Liturgusa

Species
maya

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 2018

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: No data

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Santa Cruz.

References

  • Gavin J. Svenson (2014) Revision of the Neotropical bark mantis genus Liturgusa Saussure, 1869 (Insecta, Mantodea, Liturgusini) ZooKeys 390: 1–214 (2014) doi: 10.3897/zookeys.390.6661 www.zookeys.org
  • Rivera, J. Picón-Rentería, P., Avendaño, J.M., Román, A.C., Betancourt-Cargua, L. (2025) Liturgusa maya (Mantodea, Liturgusidae), the first record of an alien praying mantis in the Galápagos Islands. Journal of Orthoptera Research 34(2): 249–256. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.34.143096

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Liturgusa maya", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=25182. Accessed 20 April 2026.