Dactylopterygidae is a family of praying mantises, based on the type genus Dactylopteryx. The first use of "Dactylopterygidae" was by Giglio-TosGiglio-Tos (1915) Bull, soc. ent. Ita. 46. and it has recently (2019) been revived as part of a major revision of mantis taxonomy;Schwarz CJ, Roy R (2019) The systematics of Mantodea revisited: an updated classification incorporating multiple data sources (Insecta: Dictyoptera) Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.) International Journal of Entomology 55 (2): 101-196. three genera have been separated from others in the subfamily Liturgusinae (mostly from Asia) and moved here from the family Liturgusidae.
The new placement is in the superfamily Mantoidea (of group Cernomantodea) and infraorder Schizomantodea. Species in this family have been recorded from Tropical Africa.Mantodea Species File (Version 5.0/5.0, retrieved 15 July 2020)
Genera The Mantodea Species File lists: Dactylopteryx Karsch, 1892 Theopompella Giglio-Tos, 1917 Zouza Rehn, 1911
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