Kratt’s lichen mantis

Description

Liturgusa krattorum, or Kratt’s lichen mantis, is a species of mantis that was discovered by Gavin Svenson and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. These species of mantis are mainly found in Peru. They live in tall trees, are ambush predators, and are also fast runners mainly because they hunt other insects. The species was named after Martin Kratt and Chris Kratt, the hosts of Kratts' Creatures, Zoboomafoo, and Wild Kratts on PBS Kids, as well as Be the Creature on National Geographic. In 2017, a special episode of the PBS Kids' original show Wild Kratts with the same title as the scientific name of the mantis was released, which featured the animated counterparts of the Kratt Brothers adventuring with a member of the species. In the live-action closing of the episode, the brothers personally thanked Svenson for naming the mantis after them. Liturgusa is the type genus of praying mantises of the family Liturgusidae. The genus consists of more than twenty species with a Neotropical distribution. The behaviour of Liturgusa species is remarkable in that, in contrast to other mantises, they do not ambush their prey, but use an active hunting method at high walking speed.