i still think O ministralis and O. novaezealandiae are both sold as NZ mantis, especially overseas. perhaps christian can enlighten us? and its too small for pseudomantis, unless its a male.
Hey, Superfreak. Since I am not an Entomologist, I can be Hugely Irresponsible and say that I think that the naming of Orthodera novaezealandiae is a gimic dreamed up by the New Zealand Public Morale Board to convince kiwis that they have their very own kiwi mantis, although it is clearly O. ministralis. If I am right, then it doesn't matter which putative species breeders have, and even in the (extremely unlikely
) event that I am wrong, the species could only be reliably distinguished by its country of provenance.
The diagnosis of O. novaezealandiae can be found in
Fauna of New Zealand #19: Mantodea (Insecta), which, as I told you, I believe, I picked up from oz a cupla months ago. I know that Christian is familiar with this slim volume and can correct me if I am wrong, but I think that the author, G.W. Ramsay, gives the most pathetic excuse for speciation that I have ever heard. I will quote two chunks here, from p.14:
"In this situation, where the geographically isolated New Zealand population is relatively constant in its morphological characteristics yet
falls within the range of variation of the Australian population, and has long been recognized elsewhere as a distinct, valid species, it is expedient to continue to so regard it ...... In future, should information about the Australian taxa indicating that the New Zealand population cannot be regarded as distinct, then its reduction to synonymy would be a very simple matter." (My emphasis).
So lets try the systematics of expediency, safe in the knowledge that if we get caught, we can always put things back the way they were.
And to make things even more absurd, on the same page, he mentions that "in contrast to the Australian situation, New Zealand populations of this mantid do not vary greatly in the form of the pronotum." The species is well distributed throughout both countries, but for members other than you and James Longo and our growing strine contingent, Australia, by my calculation, is about 215 times larger than N.Z., so greater variation in pronotum or ear lobe shape should be expected in Australia.
Sorry if I'm bad tempered today, but I'm just about over the flu, which means that I have to taper off my morphine, never a pleasant experience. Goodbye, fluorescent purple butterflies.
