Scientists have found the first new order of insects since 1915.

Oliver Zompro, a doctoral student at the Max-Planck Institute for Limnology in Ploen, Germany, originally found the predator in a 45-million year old piece of Baltic amber.

An international team of scientists later discovered a living population of the paperclip-sized insects in western Namibia.

Dorsal view of "Mantophasmatodea" nymphCourtesy: Conservation International

The new insect, called Mantophasmatodea, looks like a cross between a stick insect and a praying mantis. The discovery brings the total number of insect orders to 31. An order is one of the primary classifications for animals.

This discovery "tells us that there are places on Earth that act as protective pockets, preserving tiny glimpses of what life was like millions of years ago," said Piotr Naskrecki of the group Conservation International in a release.

"These creatures are some of the last witnesses of the time when Africa and America were part of the same landmass," he added.

The insects at Brandberg hide in the clumps of grass during the day and emerge at night to feedCourtesy: Conservation International

The group helped fund the expedition that found the living insects in Namibia's isolated Brandberg mountains.

The scientists reported the new insects have jaws with three small teeth and long antennae. And they say a row of spines on the front and middle of the insect's legs suggest it used them to hold on to its prey.

Insects are often overlooked as a conservation priority. They represent more than 80 per cent of all living creatures on Earth, with more than 1.2 million known species.

The discovery is described in Thursday's Web issue of Science Express, and more detailed descriptions will appear in an autumn issue of the journal Zoologischer Anzeiger.