Sinaiella Karsch, 1892

Kolnegari, Mahmood, Schwarz, Christian J., Ghrejyan, Tigran & Borer, Matthias, 2025, Sinaiella azadi sp. nov. (Mantodea: Toxoderidae); a new praying mantis species from Western Asia (Iran and Armenia), Zootaxa 5594 (1), pp. 98-110 : 100-106

Genus Sinaiella Karsch, 1892

General characteristics of genus Sinaiella . Male medium-sized. Slender, rod-shaped mantids. Color yellow to brown. Head broad. Lower frons strongly transverse. Compound eyes rounded, without spines. Ocelli large, elevated. Antennae ciliated. Vertex grooved. Pronotum slender, longer than forecoxa, lateral margins smooth, finely ciliated, without denticles or thorns. Supracoxal extension distinct. Metazona keeled. Flight organs not reaching the end of the abdomen. Forefemora with four (rarely three) discoidal and four posteroventral spines, claw groove located proximal to middle of femur. Walking legs slender. Cerci flattened, distal segment rounded or truncate. Genitalia of eremiaphiloid type ( Schwarz & Roy 2019); anterior lobe of phalloid apophysis sclerotized, with irregular protuberances; posterior lobe of phalloid apophysis bifid, with the exception of S. raggei .

Female like the male, but more robust.Ocelli small, not elevated.Antennae shorter.Wings strongly brachypterous ( Kaltenbach 1982).

Examined material. Abbreviations: IZAY —Institute of Zoology Armenia Yerevan. KSMA —King Saud University Museum of Arthropods. MFNB —Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. MNHN —Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. NMNHGR —National Museum of Natural History and Genetic Resources (Tehran). NMB —Naturhistorisches Museum Basel. NHMUK (formerly BMNH)—Natural History Museum United Kingdom, London.— SMNK —Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde, Karlsruhe. ZFMK —Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn.

Key to species (males)

1 Last segment of cerci rounded........................................................................... 2

- Last segment of cerci truncate..................................................................... nebulosa

2 Last segment of cerci approximately twice as long as the penultimate segment. Body brownish........................ 3

- Last segment of cerci approximately as long as the penultimate segment. Body yellowish...................... sabulosa

3 Body pale brownish without darker patterns. Hindwings hyaline, all veins pale. Posterior lobe of phalloid apophysis with one spine........................................................................................... raggei

- Body color variable from brownish with dark spots and patterns to pale yellow. Hindwings infumated, convex veins dark. Posterior lobe of phalloid apophysis bifurcate..................................................... azadi sp. nov.