Abstract
1694 Manuscript 1212; Received 24 May 2004; Finally accepted 26 August 2004; © Zoo Outreach Organisation; www.zoosprint.org November 2004 The Family Eremiaphilidae (Mantodea) is known to be distributed in the deserts, especially the semi arid regions (Mukherjee et al. 1995). Only a single genus, Eremiaphila, from this family is found in India. Genus Eremiaphila, according to Giglio-Tos (1927), includes some 47 species distributed in deserts of South-West Asia, Mediterranean and Red Sea. Ehrmann (2002) in his recent catalogue of world Mantodea lists 68 species. An interesting feature of this genus is the presence of a pair of terminal spines on the last abdominal sternite (= subgenital plate) of a female, a character also present in the only other genus in this family. The species Eremiaphila rotundipennis (wrongly designated as E. irridipennis) was reported for the first time from India (Rajkot in Gujarat) by Mukherjee and Hazra (1985). The species is distributed in northwestern Egypt, India and Libya, according to Ehrmann. Little is known about its biology and ecology. The present note extends the range of this species to adjacent state, namely Rajasthan and adds comments and morphometry of nymphs for the first time.
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