Flightless (extremelly rare) iberian meadow mantis

Apteromantis aptera is one of the rarest mantis species in Europe. In fact, it is strictly endemic to a few areas in the south of the Iberian Peninsula where it is a meadow species, hopping pretty much like a grasshopper and thus overlooked by most naturalists.

We could find a new population of this Near Threatened and covered by Annex II of the Bern Convention species last weekend in a biodiversity rich area in Baixo Alentejo, Southern Portugal.

As far as I know, there are only about half a dozen records from Portugal and this adds a little more data to the known distribution of this very rare species.



Apteromantis aptera

More info about it and first reference for the species in Portugal here