Mantodea of Iran: A review-based study

Abstract

Scattered taxonomic data can be used to determine the geographic distribution of arthropods such as Mantodea (mantids). The distribution of mantids is not well known in Iran and not readily determined because the literature has been published in a mix of Persian-language and non-Persian-language scientific references, including books, journals, annual congress proceedings, and final reports of academic projects. To create a national checklist of mantids in Iran, I reviewed 35 Persian and non-Persian (English, German, and Italian) publications. I recorded 57 praying mantid species from 9 families described from localities across Iran. I identified 18 species—Ameles decolor, Ameles heldreichi, Ameles picteti, Ameles spallanzania, Elaea marchali, Empusa pennata, Eremiaphila andresi, Eremiaphila cerisy, Eremiaphila turcica, Geomantis larvoides, Iris coeca, Iris pitcheri, Oxyothespis wagneri, Pareuthyphlebs palmonii, Pseudoyersinia paui, Rivetina baetica, Severinia nigrofasciata, and Severinia turcomaniae—with records in Iran that may be incorrect based on geographic ranges that do not include Iran and similarity to other species that do occur in Iran. In the proposed checklist comprising 39 species, the family Rivetinidae, with 9 species, and the 2 families Amorphoscelidae and Nanomantidae, with 1 species each, comprised the greatest and least diversity, respectively. This checklist can facilitate future studies on Iran’s mantodeans.