Pseudacanthops caelebs ( Saussure, 1869 )

Lombardo, Francesco, Ippolito, Salvatrice & Rivera, Julio, 2013, Synopsis of the Neotropical mantid genus Pseudacanthops Saussure, 1870, with the description of three new species (Mantodea: Acanthopidae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 120 (3), pp. 373-403 : 376-381

Pseudacanthops caelebs ( Saussure, 1869) Figs 2, 8-15, 23, 27-33, 95

Hymenopus caelebs Saussure, 1869: 73 .

Paracanthops (Hymenopus) caelebs . – Saussure, 1870: 243.

Pseudacanthops caelebs . – Saussure, 1870: 243. – Saussure, 1871: 148. – Saussure, 1872: 279. – Saussure & Zehntner, 1894: 182. – Kirby, 1904: 283. – Chopard, 1913: 60. –

FIGS 2-7

Head in frontal view of males: (2) Pseudacanthops caelebs . (3) P. centralis (typus). (4) P. huaoraniana , typus. (5) P. clorindae , typus. (6) P. lobies. (7) P. spinulosus . Scale = 0.5 cm.

Giglio-Tos, 1927: 515. – Beier, 1934: 4. – Travassos, 1945: 217 (partim Mexico). – Cerdà, 1993: 135 (partim Mexico, Belize). – Terra, 1995: 30. – La Greca & Lombardo, 1997: 53. – Jantsch, 1999: 78 (partim Mexico). – Ehrmann, 2002: 291 (partim Mexico, Belize). – Battiston et al., 2005: 213 ( Mexico). – Agudelo Rondón et al., 2007: 115 ( Mexico).

Acanthops caelebs . – Stål, 1877.

TYPICAL MATERIAL EXAMINED: Holotype Ƌ of P. caelebs from MEXICO; Orizaba ( MHNG).

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXAMINED: BELIZE; Rio Grande 1935, 2 Ƌ ( ANSP). – GUATEMALA; Plan Grande (15°49’54.93 N; 88° 48’ 08.70 W), 2 Ƌ ( ANSP). – HONDURAS; Atlandida , Massif Pico Bonito, El Pino 200 m, 5.04.1995, 1 Ƌ ( T. Porion & A. Grange leg.) ( MNHN) .

DIAGNOSIS: Body about 45-48 mm in size, eyes oblong with a well distinct apical ocular spine, postgene with two flattened tubercles; pronotum with or without small granulations on dorsal surface; middle and hind tibiae enlarged in their proximal half and with a poorly developed medial lobe.

Female unknown.

DESCRIPTION

Colouration: Body chestnut to ochre. Head ochraceous and exhibiting a dark strip between the compound eyes. Coxae ochraceous. Fore femora with two black bands on their inner side, medial surface with two black strips; bigger internal spines blackish. Mesothoracic wings ochraceous. Metathoracic wings with costal area ochraceous, anal veins with small ochraceous spots. Abdominal tergites ochraceous with black distal edges.

Head (Figs 2, 8-9): With some sparse small granules and about 1.42 times as wide as the pronotum supracoxal dilatation; vertex fastigium projecting upward in a squarish concave process at the apex where four small tubercles are present; frons near FIGS 8-13

Pseudacanthops caelebs male: (8-9) Head; 8 typus, 9 from Honduras. (10-13) Pronotum; 10- 12 typus, 11-13 from Honduras .

ocular suture bearing 2-3 small spines, these are absent in the holotype; eyes oblong with a big ocular apical spine (approximately 1.3 as long as diameter of one ocellus); occiput with a flattened conical process on each side; post-frontal suture with two triangular spines opposite upper ocelli. Frontal shield transverse pentagonal, about twice as broad as high; vertex with two parallel contiguous small teeth.

Thorax (Figs 10-13): Pronotum 2.81 times as long as its maximum width; metazone slightly but notoriously constricted on its distal half; disc of pronotum exhibiting some scattered granulations in the holotype (Figs 10, 12), whereas these are more numerous and larger in specimens from Honduras (Figs 11, 13), two conical tubercles are present near to distal margin; lateral margins of metazone denticulated; ratio metazone/prozone 2.02; supracoxal dilatation distinct.

Legs: Fore coxae about 0.77 times as long as pronotum; anterior margin with minute spines; posterior margin smooth; posterior surface exhibiting numerous small, ivory calluses; inner apical lobes contiguous. Fore femora (Figs 14-15) 0.97 times as long as pronotum and 4.42 times as long as their maximum width; dorsal margin smooth, basal lobe distinct with crenulated margin; external surface smooth in the holotype and in the specimens from Guatemala, with 7-8 tubercles on its median line in the specimens from Honduras. Tibiae half as long as femora. Spination formula: F=6ES/13-14IS/4DS and T=19-20ES/15IS. Middle and hind femora shortened with long hairs; external surface with 3-4 ivory and robust tubercles; medial margin with a basal lobe; tibiae (Fig. 23) covered with minute hairs; basal half thicker than distal half

FIGS 14-21

Fore femora of: (14-15) Pseudacanthops caelebs ; 14 from Honduras. 15 typus. (16) P. centralis . (17) P. clorindae , typus. (18-19) P. spinulosus (20-21) P. huaoraniana , typus and female paratypus. Scale = 1 cm.

and with a medial lobated swelling; apex of tibiae with a distict lobe. Metatarsus shorter than the remaining segments together.

Wings: extending well beyond the tip of the abdomen. Mesothoracic wing (Fig. 27) ratio total length/maximum width 4; anterior margin sinuous with a wide excavation and distinctly rounded apical lobe; anterior half and apex opaque chestnut, posterior half hyaline; costal area proximally wide about 1.5 times as length of prozona; stigma dark brown and rounded. Metathoracic wing with costal and subcostal area and entire apical area opaque with scattered darker spots.

FIGS 22-26

Male middle tibiae of: (22) Pseudacanthops spinulosus . (23) P. caelebs , from Honduras. (24) P. huaoraniana , typus. (25) P. centralis , typus. (26) P. clorindae , typus. Scale = 1 cm.

Abdomen (Fig. 28): slightly flattened; lateral margins of urotergites 2-4 and 7-9 exhibiting slender lobes on their postero-lateral corners; 5-6 with leaf-like, irregularly-edged lobes. Urosternites with a longitudinal median carina, flanked by 2-3 short crests near the distal margin. Cerci (Fig. 29) extending beyond the subgenital plate and covered with sparse, long hairs; last segment enlarged and flattened, lateral margins irregularly sinuous and apex deeply incised, forming unequal terminal lobes. Subgenital plate longer than broad with incised apex, styles small; supranal plate short with rounded apex.

External male genitalia: Ventral phallomere (Fig. 32) about twice as long as its width; short, arcuated distal process; lateral process elongated, with its apical outer margin sinuous and denticulated. Left phallomere (Figs 30-31) well sclerotized; ventral lamina with elongated distal process; anterior process stocky; phalloid apophysis membranous with numerous small spines.

Measurements (millimeters): Head width 6.2-6.5; pronotum supracoxal dilatation width 4.4-4.5; prozone length 4.1-4.2; metazone length 8.3-8.5; anterior coxae length 9.4-9.8; anterior femora length 12-12.3; tegminae length 44-47.

FIGS 27-29 Pseudacanthops caelebs : (27) Mesothoracic wing. (28) Abdomen. (29) Last segment of cercus.

DISTRIBUTION: We had the opportunity to examine material from Bolivia, Brasil, Costa Rica, French Guyana, Nicaragua, and Venezuela and none of these specimens is referable to P. caelebs . Consequently, we believe that all records of P. caelebs from these countries are misidentifications, as this species seems to be restricted to southern Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala (Fig. 95).