Acanthopidae

Acanthopidae
Metilia brunnerii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Mantodea
Family: Acanthopidae

Acanthopidae (from Ancient Greek ἄκανθα (ákantha), meaning "spine", and ὅψ (óps), meaning "eye") is a family of South American mantises consisting of 16 genera in the order Mantodea. The group was first formally split off as a separate family by the German entomologist Reinhard Ehrmann in 2002. In 2016, five genera (Acontista, Callibia, Paratithrone, Raptrix, and Tithrone) were moved from Acanthopidae to the newly created family Acontistidae, but this has not been accepted in most recent classifications.