'Freedom’ praying mantis discovered in Iran

An Iranian researcher has named a newly discovered praying mantis species Sinaiella azadi, or freedom mantis in Persian, to highlight the importance of scientific freedom as domestic repression and obstacles to cross-border collaboration mount.

Mahmood Kolnegari, a PhD researcher at the University of Córdoba in Spain, discovered the insect in central Iran's mountainous region in 2022 according to a Monday report by Mongabay, an independent media organization reporting on nature.

Iranian researchers' work is often hindered by political oversight and travel restrictions while international sanctions limit scientists ability to work with peers abroad.

"Ecologists and naturalists ... need to be free to travel across these man-made boundaries," Kolnegari said, "to explore, to find species, and this is the first step of conservation."

Decades of sanctions have disrupted funding, hindered equipment procurement, and blocked access to international services. Domestically, the government's security focus restricts free inquiry, with censorship and political oversight prevalent.

The discovery of the mantis, detailed in a study published in February, marks the first recorded presence of the Sinaiella genus in Iran and Armenia, expanding its known range beyond the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt.

"Freedom is the essence of human life," Kolnegari said, explaining his choice of name. "Taxonomists require freedom to communicate, cooperate, and collaborate across geographic and political boundaries to correctly place species within the taxonomic tree of life."

The discovery involved an international team of scientists from Iran, Armenia, Germany, and Switzerland, demonstrating the potential for cross-border scientific partnerships despite political challenges.

"Good professional and personal relationships between scientists from all countries are especially important now, with so many wars and political divisions going on," said Evgeny Shcherbakov, a mantis expert from Lomonosov Moscow State University, who was involved in connecting the researchers.

Kolnegari found the new species, Sinaiella azadi, in the Zagros Mountains of Iran’s Markazi province at an elevation of 2,130 meters. The insect, characterized by dark back wings and a twig-like camouflage, exhibits a defensive behavior known as thanatosis, mimicking fallen vegetation when disturbed.

"I saw that slender, very tiny mantis, and I thought it couldn’t be here, because it is originally from the southern part of Asia," Kolnegari told Mongabay. "It is a ‘completely morphologically new type of mantis and completely different from other types of mantises known from central Iran."

The discovery also raises conservation concerns, as the mantis's habitat is outside protected areas and faces threats from livestock grazing and human development.