First record of a praying mantis, Tropidomantis kawaharai Brannoch sp. nov. (Mantodea: Iridopterygidae), in the mid‐Pacific Marquesas Archipelago

Abstract

AbstractTwo 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.