The extinct cockroach Manipulator modificaputis was a member of the Upper Cretaceous era. The 100 million-year-old fragment of Burmese amber, which contains the holotype specimen, was discovered in a volcanoclastic mudstone (a sedimentary rock) quarry near Noije Bum in the Hukawng Valley of Myanmar. Peter Vršanský from the Geological Institute SAS in Bratislava and Günter Bechly from the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart provided descriptions of the bug. The cockroach was discovered to have surprisingly large legs, a freely moving head, and an extended neck—all characteristics of a predatory lifestyle. As of 2022, M. modificaputis is believed to have a preference for flowers as a food source. Additionally, this insect differs from many other traits despite sharing some apparent similarities with mantises. The length of the insect's body is 9.3 millimeters (0.37 in), while its forewings are 14.7 millimeters (0.58 in) for males and 10.9 millimeters (0.43 in) for females. After analyzing the specimen, the scientists created the new family Manipulatoridae based on "the unique habitus with numerous autapomorphies along with several plesiomorphies." In 2022, further specimens, one of which was a juvenile, were found and reported from the amber mines in Myanmar. Noije Bum in the Hukawng Valley region is one of the most significant locations for amber fossils including fully preserved insects, as this species was discovered among several other ancient insect species that were also entirely preserved in amber. This species was a member of the old amber forest's invertebrate fauna in the Myanmar area. Until the allied genus Manipulatoides was identified from the same deposit in 2022, it was the only member of the family Manipulatoridae.
M. modificaputis in amber.
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