98-million-year-old amber mantis is the earliest known leaf mimic

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

In the mid-Cretaceous, sticky resin in what is now northern Myanmar swallowed a praying mantis. Ninety-eight million years later, the amber specimen is the earliest clear evidence of a mantis mimicking a plant.

The insect, named Folimantis hyalinala, has leaf-shaped flaps along its abdomen that match the leaves of Selaginella, a spikemoss found in the same amber deposits. No living mantis is known to mimic Selaginella, so the fossil offers a rare look at how insect camouflage started.

Why it matters

The fossil pushes the origin of mantis plant mimicry back before flowering plants, and suggests the disguise evolved on the abdomen first.

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Key Indicators

98.79 million years

Age of the specimen

The Kachin amber is dated to the mid-Cretaceous, about 98.79 million years ago.

Living mantis species known to mimic Selaginella

The paper reports no modern Mantodea species with this mimicry style.

Abdominal segments with leaf-like extensions

Extensions run along segments II through IX, largest on segments IV through VIII.

1–2 mm

Length of each leaf-shaped extension

Each flap is about 1 to 2 millimeters long and 0.5 to 1.5 millimeters wide.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Hongru Yang

Paleoentomologist and lead author

Researcher; lead author of the New Phytologist paper

Organizations Involved

New Phytologist

Peer-reviewed scientific journal

Published the study describing Folimantis hyalinala

A botany journal published by Wiley that printed the Cretaceous mantis study.

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

Scientific society

Called in 2021 for a moratorium on publishing Myanmar amber fossils acquired after January 2021

A professional paleontology group that has raised provenance concerns about Myanmar amber.

Timeline

2015 November 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday

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November 2026
Discovery reported widely
Latest Media

ScienceAlert reported the find as the earliest clear evidence of mantis leaf mimicry.
Yesterday
October 2026
Study describes Folimantis hyalinala
Research

New Phytologist published the description of the 98-million-year-old mantis and its Selaginella-like abdomen.
October 4th, 2026
2021
Paleontology society seeks amber publication moratorium
Statement

The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology called for a hard moratorium after Myanmar's coup.
2021
2015
Myanmar bans fossil exports
Policy

The ban left amber-embedded specimens in a legal grey area.
2015

Scenarios

Second Cretaceous mantis with abdominal leaf mimicry described

Possible Resolves by End of 2029

Discussed by: The study authors, who argue abdominal mimicry came before changes to wings and thorax

The paper proposes that plant mimicry began on the rear of the body, with other appendages modifying later. A second amber mantis with similar abdominal flaps would support that sequence.

A journal or publisher restricts Myanmar amber specimens

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, which sought a moratorium in 2021

Concerns about conflict-linked amber mining could lead a named journal or publisher to bar descriptions of specimens acquired after January 2021. Such a policy would affect how future Kachin amber finds are published.

Mantis plant mimicry pushed back beyond 98 million years

Uncertain Resolves by End of 2030

Discussed by: The paper's diversification analysis, which traces insect-plant mimicry to the Late Paleozoic

The authors note that mimicry between insects and gymnosperms, ferns, and Selaginella existed long before the Cretaceous. An older mantis fossil with clear plant-mimicry features would extend the mantis record further.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2023

Orchid mantis camouflage genomics (2023)

Researchers studied the genome of the orchid mantis, Hymenopus coronatus, and its close relative the dead leaf mantis to understand the basis of flower-like camouflage. The work was published in Nature Communications.

Then

The study tied body-shape and color changes to specific genetic and developmental pathways.

Now

It gave researchers a genomic framework for studying mimicry in living mantises.

Why this matters now

Modern mantises mimic flowers; the Cretaceous fossil shows an older, leaf-based strategy from before flowering plants took over.

2022

Selaginella leaves found in Kachin amber (2022)

Leaves of Selaginella with midribs and overlapping, shingle-like arrangements were reported in Kachin amber, including Selaginella grimaldii. The fossils gave a picture of the forest floor where the mantis lived.

Then

The leaves provided comparison material for other Kachin amber fossils.

Now

They helped establish Selaginella as a common plant in that Cretaceous ecosystem.

Why this matters now

The mantis's abdominal flaps match these leaves in shape, size, and arrangement, which is why researchers identify Selaginella as its model.

2015–2021

Myanmar amber export ban and moratorium call (2015–2021)

Myanmar banned fossil exports in 2015, but amber-embedded specimens stayed in a legal grey area. After the 2021 military coup, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology called for a hard moratorium on publishing amber fossils obtained from Myanmar after January 2021.

Then

Publication of newly mined Myanmar amber became contested.

Now

Researchers and journals now face provenance questions for conflict-linked specimens.

Why this matters now

The new mantis comes from Kachin amber, so its publication sits inside this ongoing ethics debate.