Paratheopompa siamensis, Schwarz, Christian J. & Ehrmann, Reinhard, 2017

Schwarz, Christian J. & Ehrmann, Reinhard, 2017, A new genus and species of bark mantis from Thailand, with an updated key to the bark mantis genera of the Oriental region (Insecta: Mantodea), Zootaxa 4291 (3), pp. 581-587 : 582-585

Paratheopompa siamensis sp. nov.

( Figs 1–2 )

Type material: Holotype: ♀, N Thailand, Chiang Mai, Doi Pui , 18.47° N, 98.59° E, VI.1987, Sabine Steinke leg. (SMNK-Mant-Cat.-No. 11109).

Description. Female. Rather large for the group, with very wide, sculptured pronotum.

Body ( Fig. 1 ) depressed, robust, tuberculate, 41.3 mm long. Coloration yellowish-brown, mottled with dark.

Head ( Figs 2 a–b) 6.8 mm long and 9.6 mm wide, yellowish-brown with black markings. Eyes slightly kidneyshaped, exophthalmic. Upper portion of vertex slightly concave with median depression, juxta-ocular bulges strongly protruding, separated from vertex by a deep sulcus, with a row of black spots extending anteriad along margin of eyes. Lower portion of vertex with two deep sulci between convex median part and juxta-ocular sulci, part between paramedian sulcus and juxta-ocular sulcus slightly protruding. Ocelli small, forming an obtuse angle of about 130°, area between ocelli black. Frontal shield black except latero-ventral angles, transverse, its ventral margin evenly curved, dorsal margin strongly sinuate, projected forward medially. Central part of clypeus elevated into a conical projection, medio-ventral part incised. Palps pale, maxillary palps with a blackish spot on penultimate segment. Ventral side of scapes with two very prominent cone-like tubercles at base. Both flagella missing.

Pronotum ( Figs 1 , 2 b) very robust, almost circular, 9.4 mm long and wide, with a narrow foliaceous expansion obscuring both supracoxal dilatation and a second pair of lateral bulges on the metazona just posteriad of it. Greatest width of pronotum just posteriad supracoxal dilatation. Margins of prozona convex, almost semicircular, margins of metazona sinuate. Pronotal margins dentate along entire length. Length of prozona 4.0 mm, of metazona 5.4 mm, ratio metazona/prozona 1.35. Prozona with two tuberculate keels each projecting into a massive tuberculate tooth of 1.6 mm length. Supracoxal sulcus rather deep, dilatation with rounded margins. Metazona heavily sculptured, with a median sulcus and numerous tubercles along lateral margin (not on foliaceous part), antero-lateral corners of metazona projecting into a strong tooth. Median part of metazona just posteriad of supracoxal sulcus depressed, a second transverse depression is located at posterior third of metazona. Posterior margin of metazona with two strong conical tubercles. Cervical region black, prosternum with a large black marking surrounding the base of the coxae, and with a smaller yellowish patch between the base of the coxae. Remaining parts of prosternum brownish.

Forelegs ( Fig. 2 c) slightly dilated, robust, tuberculate. Fore-coxae 11.0 mm long, exceeding posterior margin of metazona, triangular in cross-section. Ridges separating posterior from ventral, and ventral from anterior side dentate. Anterior side strongly tuberculate, with black base and a black apical band, area between the black bands yellowish-brown dorsally, becoming darker ventrally. Apical lobes divergent, their margin yellowish. Dorsal margin with 13 conical teeth, interspersed with smaller teeth. Anterior side of trochanter black dorsally. Anterior femora 13.9 mm long and 5.7 mm wide, dorsal margin sinuate, dentate. Posterior side pale, tuberculate, spotted with black. Anterior side black along proximal three quarters of ventral margin, black pattern then curving up to dorsal margin, and with a second dorso-ventral black band along base of genicular lobus. Antero-dorsal margin with a few black spots. Claw-groove near base. Ventral side of femur with a black groove accommodating the last postero-ventral spine of the tibia, and with a row of small tubercles stretching from base along discoidal spines and above-mentioned groove, then medio-ventrad of postero-ventral spines to apex of femur. Four discoidal spines, with first the shortest and third the longest. Four postero-ventral spines, and an additional spine on base of genicular lobe, the first two spines closer together than the remaining. Antero-ventral side with 14 spines of very similar length, plus an additional spine on base of genicular lobe. Spine arrangement: iIiIiIiIiIiiiI. Antero-ventral spines black with black corona, discoidal spines darkened in their apical half, postero-ventral spines with dark tips. Anterior tibiae slightly convex, 10.7 mm long, dorsally with three dark interrupted bands, armed with 11 anteroventral spines more or less increasing in length toward apex, and 9–10 postero-ventral spines of different lengths: proximal three spines short, spines four to eight (nine) distinctly longer and very slightly increasing in length towards apex, and distal-most spine (ninth or tenth) longer than any of the preceding spines (partially broken off on left foreleg). Postero-ventral spines with dark tips, distal-most spine also with dark base, antero-ventral spines and anterior side of tibia black. Ventral side of tibia darkened apically. Fore-tarsomeres darkened at apex. Metatarsus slightly longer than remaining segments combined.

Meso- and metathorax and coxae pale ventrally, with some dark marks. Metathorax with a DNK ear. Mid and hind femora 11.8 and 12.8 mm long, respectively, depressed, widened at base, posterior side with 3 and 4 disrupted dark bands, respectively, anterior side pale except of some dark apical markings and a dark annulation at the apical fourth. Mid and hind tibiae with black base and with three dark annulations. Mid tibiae 10.2 mm, markedly sinuate, hind tibiae less so, 15.3 mm long. Mid and hind tarsomeres with black apex, metatarsus also with black base. Hind metatarsus 5.2 mm, slightly shorter than remaining segments combined.

Wings not reaching tip of abdomen. Tegmina opaque, mottled with dark, 28.0 mm long and 12.0 mm wide, about three times as long as pronotum, with rounded apex. Ratio tegmen length/width 2.3. Subcosta posterior displaced from Radius anterior (sensu Béthoux & Wieland 2009). Costal field 3.0 mm wide, with maximal width at about middle of tegmen, evenly curved. Stigma oblique and narrow, pale. Alae smoky, apex of costal and discoidal field mottled with white.

Abdomen ovoid, tergites extended into small subacute, sternites into rounded lateral lobes. Tergites with extensive mottling pattern, sternites with numerous black spots. Supra-anal plate transverse, with truncate apex, cerci not surpassing subgenital plate.

Male unknown.

Distribution. Thailand.

Etymology. named after the Kingdom of Siam, the old name of Thailand.

Remarks. The specimen is in satisfactory condition, pronotum and mid legs are glued to the remaining specimen but important parts are well visible.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Paratheopompa siamensis, holotype female in dorsal vieW. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 2. Paratheopompa siamensis, holotype, morphological details. a, Head in anterior vieW. b, Head and pronotUm in dorsolateral vieW. c, Left foreleg in anterior vieW. Scale bar = 10 mm. Abbreviations: jb = jUxta-ocUlar bUlge, js = jUxta-ocUlar sUlcUs, ps = paramedian sUlcUs.