[1][2][3][4] Compared to many other praying mantises, the ghost mantis is a "miniature species"[3] growing to only about 45 to 50 millimetres (1.8 to 2.0 in) long.

Predators such as birds tend to overlook insects that resemble their background, and by staying still the ghost praying mantis can go unnoticed.

When adult, females are significantly more compact than males, with shorter antennae and wings that do not cover the abdomen.

Phyllocrania paradoxa have a wide range across the African continent and its islands and can be found in Angola, Cameroon, Cape Province, Congo Basin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Transvaal, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Ghost mantis inhabit dry areas, bushes, shrubbes, trees in the open.