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Issue: Vol. 5837 No. 3: 24 Jun. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-06-24
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5837.3.3
Page range: 465-497
Abstract views: 107
PDF downloaded: 7

Revision of the subfamily Oxypilinae (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) from India

Western Ghat Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Kozhikode; Kerala; India- 673006; University of Calicut; Thenhipalam; Malappuram; Kerala; India- 673635
Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology; Conservation Biology Unit; Ruhr University Bochum; ND 1/31; Universitätsstraße 150; 44780 Bochum; Germany
Department of Entomology; Faculty of Biology; Lomonosov Moscow State University; Leninskie Gory st. 1 bldg 12; 119991; Moscow; Russia
Western Ghat Regional Centre; Zoological Survey of India; Kozhikode; Kerala; India- 673006
Mantodea Praying mantis Oxypilinae India Pseudohestiasula Hestiasula Ephestiasula

Abstract

The subfamily Oxypilinae (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) of India is revised by including two tribes, six genera, two subgenera, fourteen species and a subspecies. The genus Pseudohestiasula Schwarz & Shcherbakov, 2017 is a new record for India. Two new subgenera, Bharatestiasula subgen. nov. and Paxestiasula subgen. nov. are introduced by describing four new species and a new subspecies from the Southern Western Ghats, viz. Pseudohestiasula (Bharatestiasula) occidentalis sp. nov., P. (B.) greeni sp. nov., P. (Paxestiasula) unipunctata sp. nov., P. (P.) unipunctata obscura subsp. nov., and P. (incertae sedis) ovata sp. nov.. Pseudohestiasula (Bharatestiasula) subgen. nov. also includes P. (B.) castetsi (Bolivar, 1897) comb. nov., P. (B.) kaestneri (Beier, 1942) comb. nov. and P. (B.) masoni (Giglio-Tos, 1915) comb. nov.. The genus Catestiasula Giglio-Tos, 1915 is represented in India by a new species, Catestiasula keralensis sp. nov.. The only Indian Oxypilini species Ceratomantis ghatei Roy & Svenson, 2007 is now accommodated in a new subgenus Indoceratomantis subgen. nov. as C. (I.) ghatei. In addition, Ephestiasula obscura Lombardo, 1995 and Ephestiasula woodmasoni Mukherjee, Stiewe & Ghorai, 2010 are synonymized with Hestiasula nigrofemorata Werner, 1930 syn. nov., which is transferred to the genus Ephestiasula as E. nigrofemorata (Werner, 1930) comb. nov.. Hestiasula ceylonica Beier, 1956, Hestiasula brachyptera Villani, 2016 and Ephestiasula maculata Chatterjee, Ghorai, Srinivasan & Mukherjee, 2019 are new synonyms of Hestiasula woodi Giglio-Tos, 1915 (syn. nov.). A dichotomous key and an updated checklist to the Indian Oxypilinae are also provided.

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How to Cite

Kamila, A.P., Schwarz, C.J., Shcherbakov, E. & Sureshan, P.M. (2026) Revision of the subfamily Oxypilinae (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) from India. Zootaxa, 5837 (3), 465–497. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5837.3.3