Holaptilon iranicum Mirzaee and Sadeghi, 2024

Mirzaee, Zohreh, Battiston, Roberto, Ballarin, Francesco, Sadeghi, Saber, Simoes, Marianna, Wiemers, Martin & Schmitt, Thomas, 2024, The Six Dwarfs of the Middle East: revision of the enigmatic praying mantis genus Holaptilon (Mantodea: Gonypetidae: Gonypetinae) with the description of four new species under integrative taxonomy, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 82, pp. 89-117 : 89

4.6. Holaptilon iranicum Mirzaee and Sadeghi sp. nov.

Figure 9b, c

Material examined.

Holotype: 1♂, pinned, with genitalia in a separate micro-vial, Arjan , Fars, Iran, 29.569N, 51.947E, 2100 m, 5/2021, leg. Mirzaee (SDEI) . - Paratypes: 2♀, pinned, 1♀, 1 nymph, ethanol, Dasht Arjan , Fars, Iran, 29.569N, 51.947E, 2100 m, 5/2020, 5/2021, leg. Mirzaee (SDEI) ; 2♂, ethanol, Fasa , Fars, Iran, 29.176N, 53.380E, 1150 m, 7/2019, leg. Mirzaee (ZMPC) ; 1♀, ethanol, Sahlak , Fars, Iran, 29.176N, 53.380E, 1150 m, 7/2019, 2020, leg. Mirzaee (ZMPC) ; 1♂, 1 nymph, ethanol, Sahlak , Fars, Iran, 29.176N, 53.380E, 1150 m, 8/2021, 6/2022, leg. Mirzaee (ZMCBSU) ; 1♀, ethanol, Yasuj , Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Iran, 30.713N, 51.618E, 1839 m, 8/2019, leg. Mirzaee (ZMPC) ; 1♀, ethanol, Arjan , Fars, Iran, 29.569N, 51.947E, 2100 m, 4/2021, leg. Mirzaee (ZMCBSU) .

Diagnosis.

Short, finger-like afa, which is markedly narrowed towards the apex and often curved near it. pba anteriad of afa markedly sclerotised, posterior edge of vla markedly truncated (Fig. 2c, d ).

Description.

Males of this species are bigger and more robust than the males of the other species, but smaller and more delicate in appearance than females. Males and females apterous, head and body dorsally pinkish in the individuals of Arjan districts, with small dark and black spots mostly in the middle of body parts; being entirely black ventrally in the individuals from Fasa and Sahlak districts, with small dark and black spots mostly in the middle of body parts. Head: Wider than high, two times wider than pronotum (Fig. 10c-e ). Pronotum: Pentagonal shaped pronotum with rounded margin at the base, almost flat, compact. Meso- and metanotum: roof-shaped and finely keeled (Fig. 11d-f ). Forelegs: Femora broad, dorsal edge lamellar, two times longer than wide, armed with 10-12 anteroventral spines with second one longer than the others; four discoidal spines with the first one shorter, the third one longer than the others, the second one is a bit smaller than the third one, the forth is short but longer than the first one; four posteroventral spines, with the first one slightly longer than the other three spines, the first two spines are close to each other but the third and fourth more distant; anterior genicular lobe and posterior genicular lobe with a spine; foretibia armed with 10 anteroventral spines, elongating distally, and 12 posteroventral spines, also elongating distally. 1/2 part of all the spines on fore femora are black from top part and the base pale; the first three tarsomeres black, the others white (Fig. 12b ). Abdomen: Entirely blackened in ventral view in both sexes of the individuals of Sahlak and Fasa districts, but the ventral side of the individuals from Arjan and Yasuj is light brown; slender but half as wide in male compared to female, the tergites weakly keeled in midline; supra-anal plate transverse, triangular; cerci with eight readily recognizable cercomeres, covered by long setae, last cercomere longer, but narrower than any of the others; subgenital plate much longer than wide. Male genitalia: Ventral phallomere oval, moderately wide. afa short, finger-like, markedly narrowed towards apex and often curved near it, strongly sclerotised, pba anteriad of afa markedly sclerotised. Posterior edge of vla markedly truncated. Sclerite L4B curved, of complex shape, widened distally. Apical process paa long, directed left side, with blackened curved apex. (Fig. 2c, d ). Ootheca: The ootheca was deformed. From the lateral view, it is convex and it has a yellow colour. The anterior end of the ootheca is smaller than the rest of it. Rows of egg chambers are parallel to the top and bottom of the egg casing (Fig. 13b ).

Measurements (in mm).

Body length: ♂ 12.5-15.0, ♀ 17.0-18.0; Head width: ♂ 3.0, ♀ 3.8-4.0; Head height: ♂ 1.5-2.2, ♀ 1.8-2.2; Pronotum length: ♂ 2.8-3.4, ♀ 3.5-3.6; Pronotum width: ♂ 2.5-3.5, ♀ 3.0-3.2, Forecoxa length: ♂ 3.0-3.6, ♀ 3.4-4.0, Forefemora length: ♂ 4.0-4.6, ♀ 4.0-4.3; Forefemora width: ♂ 2.0, ♀ 2.0.

Distribution.

Southern Iran, Fars, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces (Arjan, Fasa, Sahlak, Darab, Dalkhan, Yasuj) (Fig. 6 : yellow points).

Habitat.

High in the mountains, surrounded by an abundance of rocks and vegetation, with a constant supply of water provided by winter snowfall (Fig. 7b ).

Conservation.

This species seems rather localised with an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of about 1500 km2 in a small number of locations (6), but presumably underestimated. With no data on population trends over time, and despite its natural habitat with low anthropogenic presence and impacts, this species might be addressed as Endangered, but further studies are needed to elucidate its threat status.

Etymology.

The specific name " Holaptilon iranicum " refers to the country of origin, Iran.

Figures

Figure 2. Dorsal view and ventral view of male genitalia of different Holaptilon species: a, b H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c, d H. iranicum sp. nov.; e, f ventral view H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; g, h H. brevipugilis; i, j H. khozestani sp. nov.; k, l H. pusillulum; scale bar: 500 µm. afa = anterior process (left phallic complex: left phallomere). paa = apical process (left phallic complex: left phallomere). vla = the right-posterior ventral lobe (left phallic complex: " ventral phallomere "; with L 4 A sclerotization in ventral wall; with opening of ejaculatory duct in dorsal wall). pba = (left phallic complex: left phallomere), of afa plus the edge (between pouches pne and lve) from which they arise (with L 1 and L 2 sclerotizations). L 4 B = sclerite extending over the dorsal wall (left phallomere). L 4 A = sclerite extending over the ventral wall (left and " ventral " phallomere).

Figure 6. Current and historic records of Holaptilon species, visualisation with QGIS v. 3.22, Base map: ESRI Terrain map.

Figure 7. Examples of the habitats of Holaptilon species: a H. abdullahii sp. nov., Soroo, Busheher province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). b H. iranicum sp. nov., Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). c H. khozestani sp. nov., Malagha, Khozestan province (31.607 N, 49.998 E). d H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E).

Figure 9. Genus Holaptilon life habitus: a H. abdullahii sp. nov., paratype male from Soroo, Busheher province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). b H. abdullahii sp. nov., paratype female from Kangan, Busheher province (27.843 N, 52.064 E). c H. brevipugilis male and female from Arak (34.128 N, 50.07 E) (photo credit: Mahmood Kolnegari). d H. iranicum sp. nov., holotype male from Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). e H. iranicum sp. nov., paratype female from Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). f H. khozestani sp. nov., holotype male from Malagha, Khozestan province (31.607 N, 49.998 E). g H. khozestani sp. nov., paratype female from Dehdez, Khozestan province (31.733 N, 50.222 E). h H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., paratype female from Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E). i H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., holotype male from Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E). j H. pusillulum male from Jerusalem, Israel (28.853 N, 53.326 E) (photo credit: More Yosef Avi). k H. pusillulum female from Jerusalem, Israel (31.737 N, 35.077 E) (photo credit: Chaym Turak).

Figure 10. Heads of different Holaptilon species: a male (Kangan), b female (Kangan) H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c female (Arjan), d male (Arjan), e female (Sahlak), f female (Yasuj) H. iranicum sp. nov.; g male (Tadovan), h female (Tadovan) H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; i female (Arak), j male (Mashhad), k female (Arak), l male (Arak) H. brevipugilis; m male (Dehdez), n male (Malagha), o male (Dehdez), p female (Dehdez) H. khozestani sp. nov.; scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 11. Posterior view of the thoraxes of different Holaptilon species: a male (Kangan) b female (Kangan) H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c female (Arjan), d male (Arjan), e female (Sahlak), f female (Yasuj) H. iranicum sp. nov.; g male (Tadovan), h female (Tadovan) H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; i female (Arak), j male (Mashhad), k female (Arak), l male (Arak) H. brevipugilis; m male (Dehdez), n male (Malagha), o male (Dehdez), p female (Dehdez) H. khozestani sp. nov.; scale bar: 2 mm; white arrows indicate the characters that were used in the previous studies as diagnostic characters.

Figure 12. Different types of spines of the foreleg of different Holaptilon species: a female H. iranicum sp. nov.; b female H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; c male H. brevipugilis; d male H. khozestani sp. nov.; e male H. abdullahii sp. nov.; f female H. pusillulum; scale bar: 2 mm.

Figure 13. Ootheca of different Holaptilon species: a H. abdullahii sp. nov.; b H. iranicum sp. nov.; c - e H. khozestani sp. nov.; f Palachia pulchra, parasitoid wasp which parasites Holaptilon ootheca; scale bar for the oothecae: 3 mm, for the wasp: 0.5 mm.