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| Tropidomantis kawaharai Brannoch
in Brannoch & Svenson, 2018.
DOI: 10.1111/AEn.12373
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Abstract
Two praying mantis specimens were collected on the island of Hiva Oa of the Marquesas Archipelago, an isolated island chain located approximately in the centre of the Pacific Ocean. While external morphological features agree with the diagnosis of the genus Tropidomantis, the unique combination of character states reveals that they represent a new species. Furthermore, this is the first record of a praying mantis collected in the Marquesas Archipelago. We describe the morphology of the species, illustrated by high resolution habitus images, figures of diagnostic features and measurement data for Tropidomantis kawaharai sp. nov.
Keywords: Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands, new record, new species, Tropidomantis kawaharai
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| Figure 2. Dorsal and ventral habitus images of Tropidomantis kawaharai sp. nov.: (a, b) Holotype GSMC006598; (c, d) Paratype GSMC006599. |
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| Figure 4 Key morphological features of Tropidomantis kawaharai: (a) anterior view of head capsule; (b) ventral view of cervical sclerites; (c) dorsal view of pronotum. Dark grey shading = compound eyes and ocelli; light grey shading = cuticular colour markings; crosshatching indicates cuticular depressions; stippling indicates membranous region.
Abbreviations: icar, anterior rim of intercervical sclerite; icpr, posterior rim of intercervical sclerite; ics, intercervical sclerites; job, juxtaocular bulge; lclp, lateral part of lateral cervical sclerites; lcmp, medial part of lateral cervical sclerites; lcs, lateral cervical sclerites; LMP, lateral margin of pronotum; MK, medial keel; vcs, ventral cervical sclerites.
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Tropidomantis Stål 1877
Tropidomantis kawaharai Brannoch sp. nov.
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Etymology: This species is named in honour of Dr Akito Kawahara, who collected the specimens, for his enthusiastic commitment to the success of students in the field of entomology and whose mentorship encouraged the author to pursue a career in systematic entomology.
Sydney K. Brannoch and Gavin J. Svenson. 2018. First Record of A Praying Mantis, Tropidomantis kawaharai Brannoch sp. nov. (Mantodea: Iridopterygidae), in the mid‐Pacific Marquesas Archipelago. Austral Entomology. DOI: 10.1111/aen.12373
