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Metallyticus splendidus (informally known as the iridescent bark mantis) is a very rare species of praying mantis found in Southeast Asia. It has an iridescent appearance.

Anatomy
M. splendidus has a few traits that are uncommon in the Mantodea family such as a short pro-thorax, which is found to be shorter than normal Mantids, characters of a wing venation which are patterns of their veins in their wings. They also include autapomorphies such as the bluish-green body coloration and the enlargement of the first posteroventral spine of the fore femora, that are not found in other members of the Mantodea family. They are distinct with a coloration of bluish-green and their first posteroventral spine is enlarged. Their coloring is unique among the Mantids and is to be the only kind within the family Mantodea and although the reasoning behind the M. splendidus coloration is unknown, it could be a warning color for predators. Due to their lack of discoidal spines on the raptorial forelegs, the M. splendidus are believed to be the most basal extant mantid caused by their plesiomorphic wings and lack of discoidal spines. The Mantodea family is known for its cervical sclerite which is the hardened part of the body that separates the head from the thorax and where a pair of lateral cervical sclerites are embedded and bulged. M. splendidus do not have ventral cervical sclerites and the anterior rim is wide and bulged while their medial groove of intracervical sclerite is narrow.

Sexual Dimorphism
Males are known to grow to about 3.5 centimetres while females grow to 4 centimetres. During their malting phase, males will take seven molts to reach adulthood while females will take eight.

Life Span & Habitat
The average life span of the M. splendidus is from 8-10 months and the species of M. splendidus are specifically found in Southeast Asia or near Malabar.

Habitat Area
Their ideal environment is to live underneath bark at the base of trees and are carnivorous with their diet consisting of anything that they can catch with their main source of energy coming from consuming cockroaches. They consume a meal every two to five days prefer temperatures that range from 18-26 C while their ideal substrate is coco soil and tend to like humidity at 60-70% during the day and 70-90% during the night.

Diet & non-cannibal nature
Unlike many of the other mantis in the Mantodea family, M. splendidus is non-cannibalistic and does not consume its partner during mating.

Embryonic Development
During embryonic development, M. splendidus produce an egg that is spheroidal and has a convex ventral side at the center where numerous micropyles group. This also provides a hatching line in the anterior half in the egg produced by the M. splendidus. A circular embryo is formed by the concentration of the blastoderm cells and further undergoes embryogenesis. During embryo development, the embryo goes through a 180° rotation around the anteroposterior axis. The egg is a yellowish-white color. The egg is around 3.2-mm long and 1-mm thick. Therefore an egg of M. splendidus will have the following features: (1) spheroidal, with a pointed anterior pole, a convex ventral side, and a concave/straight dorsal side; (2) a chorion composed of exochorion and endochorion; (3) a hatching line along the coronal line at the anterior half of the egg; (4) funnel-shaped, grouped micropyles located in the central area on the ventral side of the egg; (5) numerous aeropyles along the hatching line and around the anterior pole of the egg.

Taxonomic Description
M. splendidus was found in 1835 by Westwood and is determined by its brownish-yellowish color towards the anterior, yet has a bluish-green color on the posterior. The approach to determines its phylogeny was based on determining its genital structures, the pro ventricle morphology and the cervical sclerites. Its genus consists of five species of Mantodea; M. violaceus (Burmeister, 1838), originally described as Metalleutica violacea, M. semiaeneus Westwood, 1889 M. fallax Giglio-Tos, 1917, and M. pallipes Giglio-Tos, 1917.