Inimia Connors, 2023

Connors, Matthew G., Yeeles, Peter, Lach, Lori & Rentz, David C. F., 2023, A revision of the genus Ima Tindale (Mantodea: Nanomantidae: Fulciniinae) with the description of a new genus, Zootaxa 5380 (3), pp. 201-226 : 213-214

Inimia Connors gen. nov.

Type species. Inimia nat Connors , here designated.

Etymology. Meaningless but named with respect to Ima in that it is similar but larger, as the mantis itself is. Feminine.

Differential diagnosis. Small, moderately robust, male macropterous, female moderately brachypterous. Body colour dark brown with darker mottling, with a distinctive short line of dark and pale patches along the tegmen. Eyes moderately dorsoventrally compressed, juxtaocular bulge prominent. Pronotum robust, roughly diamond-shaped, approximately 2.0 times as long as wide, with weak to moderate paired tubercles. Abdomen with small triangular dorsomedian projections and small keeled dorsolateral projections. Male genitalia with pda bifurcate, afa not strongly bifurcate, L4A without other projections. Inimia gen. nov. can be distinguished from all other Australian Fulciniinae by the dark brown body colour, the pronotum being approximately 2.0 times as long as wide, the small dorsomedian abdominal projections in the female, the pda of the male genitalia being bifurcate, and the afa of the male genitalia not being strongly bifurcate.

Description. See description under Inimia nat gen. et sp. nov. below.

Remarks. This genus is described for a single rather aberrant species that was first assumed to be a species of Ima . Externally, the body form, colouration, and behaviour bear a close resemblance to Ima spp. , however the postabdomen of both sexes shows a much closer affinity to Calofulcinia . In particular the broader supra-anal plate and more rounded ventroterminal lobes of the female ( Figure 11A ), and the very short styli and bifurcate pda of the male ( Figure 10C–D , 11B ) are dissimilar to the two Ima spp. but instead closely resemble those of Calofulcinia spp.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Inimia nat gen. et sp. nov. A. Dorsal habitus, allotype female. B. Dorsal habitus, holotype male. C. Male genitalic complex, dorsal view. D. Male genitalic complex, ventral view. A–B. Scale = 10mm. C–D. Scale = 1mm.

FIGURE 11. Inimia nat gen. et sp. nov. A. Subgenital plate, allotype female. B. Subgenital plate, male. Scale = 1mm.