''Titanodula formosana'' is a species of

praying mantis Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They hav ...

in the subfamily

Hierodulinae The ''Hierodulinae'' are a subfamily of praying mantids, originally used by Brunner von Wattenwyl. It was restored as part of a major revision of mantid taxonomy, and now contains genera previously placed elsewhere in the family Mantidae. The ...

. ''T. formosana'' is found in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and the

Sunda islands The Sunda Islands ( id, Kepulauan Sunda) are a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Sunda Islands" . ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. They consist of the Greater Sun ...

Taxonomy

''T. formosana'' was originally placed in ''

Hierodula ''Hierodula'' is a genus of praying mantids in the tribe Hierodulini, found throughout Asia. Many species are referred to by the common name giant Asian mantis because of their large size compared to other mantids. Their large size and vibrant ...

'', but a 2020 study moved the species to a new genus, ''

Titanodula ''Titanodula'' is a genus of mantids in the subfamily Hierodulinae. There are currently five species placed in ''Titanodula''. The genus is endemic to Asia and is distinguished from the similar genus '' Hierodula'' by the large size and unique ...

'', based on its large size and the unique shape of the male genitalia.

References

formosana Articles created by Qbugbot Insects described in 1912 {{hierodula-stub