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Why I adore this site
A collection of words and phrases that keep me coming back for more.
a priori, why I adore this ..., Chrysotus edwadsi, bletted, casu marzu, darner, melittologist, nabob, omne trinum perfe..., pi-stachio, pinnacle of the b..., pseudomantid and 24 more...
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Adjectival Arcana
A roster of adjectives that infrequently surface in typical conversation and writing. Many are dredged from scientific or other technical jargon or sieved from examples of disused archaic forms.
unitegmic, acaulescent, reticuloendothelial, ingressive, uniate, acanthopterygian, ossific, epiphysial, perivisceral, acœlomatous, cestoid, acælomate and 7756 more...
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yarb A truly magisterial summation by mollusque. Mar 21, 2012
hernesheir Hindsight that assumes the past? Jul 30, 2010
mollusque The citation being "true" on its face is equivalent to the poor taxonomy option. That would mean that "pseudomantid" was a term used by orthopterists, and the writer of the Collier's article thought that "pseudomantids" were raphidopterans. In support of this interpretation, an Encyclopedia Americana article from 1951 say Raphidiodea have "the appearance of mantids". However, an entomologist would not normally use the word pseudomantid unless there were a family Pseudomantidae. There is no such family (only the tribe Pseudomantini), and there is no evidence that members of the genus Pseudomantis are called pseudomantids. On the other hand, I have not been able to find a raphidopteran genus beginning with "pseudo-", so there is no obvious word for "pseudomantid" to be an error for. Jul 30, 2010
hernesheir Perhaps the Collier's citation given is "true" on its face. Until all biologists who study those groups of insects have been polled, one would never know whether some few of them sometimes called those bugs pseudomantids. I'd be interested in what those few who study pseudomantid taxonomy and phylogeny would say about the usage. Jul 30, 2010
mollusque The quotation is about Raphidiodea, which is now known as Raphidioptera, whereas Pseudomantis is part of Orthoptera. These are different orders of insects, so it is not true that raphidiodeans are sometimes called "pseudomantids". It's not clear what the error was: a malaprop, a misspelling, or poor taxonomy. Jul 30, 2010
hernesheir "With rather similar wings, biting mouth parts, and long antennae. Sometimes called pseudomantids. The larvae are predaceous and terrestrial or arboreal." - Collier's Encyclopedia: With Bibliography and Index, Volume 13, p.65, 1984. Jul 29, 2010
hernesheir Mollusque, I haven't been able to relocate the adjectival reference upon which I based my listing of pseudomantid - please accept the euvocalic plural noun pseudomantids, if you haven't done so already! Of course, Pseudomantis is well-attested. Jul 29, 2010
mollusque Any citations? Jul 29, 2010