Platycalymma Westwood, 1889

Roy, Roger & Svenson, Gavin J., 2011, Revision of Platycalymma Westwood, 1889, and the synonymy of Ichromantis Paulian, 1957 (Mantodea, Iridopterygidae, Tropidomantinae), Zootaxa 3014, pp. 1-25 : 3-4

Platycalymma Westwood, 1889

Platycalymma WESTWOOD, 1889: 39; BRUNNER DE WATTENWYL, 1893: 61; SAUSSURE & ZEHNTNER, 1895: 164; KIRBY, 1904: 228; GIGLIO-TOS, 1927: 138; BEIER, 1935: 58; BEIER, 1964: 947; BEIER, 1968: 10; EHRMANN, 2002: 283; OTTE & SPEAR- MAN, 2005: 124.

Platycalymna [sic]: PAULIAN, 1957: 36; ROY, 1987: 121.

= Ichromantis PAULIAN, 1957: 40; ROY, 1987: 121; EHRMANN, 2002: 191; OTTE & SPEARMAN, 2005: 122; nov. syn.

Type species: Platycalymma latipennis WESTWOOD, 1889 , by monotypy

After examination of numerous Malagasy Tropidomantinae specimens, it became clear that there were no generic level distinctions between Platycalymma latipennis WESTWOOD, 1889 and the two Ichromantis species described by Paulian (1957), I. befasica and I. dichroica . Upon turning to the original descriptions and examining the types for all three species, we found Westwood’s (1889) description to accurately portray all three species as well as the additional congeneric Tropidomantinae material in the collection. In fact Westwood’s description captured many features unique to the genus within the Tropidomantinae :

“ PLATYCALYMMA, Westw. , nov. gen. Corpus latum, capite plano inermi; prothorace elongato-ovali, pone medium lateribus sensim sed parum angustioribus, supra carinato; abdomine ovato-subdepresso, segmentorum angulis posticis acute productis; cercis analibus modice elongatis, apicibus acutis; tegminibus ovalibus; alis area costali lata, venis discoidali et axillari bifurcatis; pedibus anticis satis robustis; femoribus crassis, externe subtuberculatis spinis modice elongatis; pedibus 4 posticis gracilibus inermibus.”

In translation:

“ PLATYCALYMMA, Westw. , nov. gen. Body wide, vertex of head unarmed; prothorax elongate-oval, the margins posterior from the middle only slightly narrower, carina dorsally; oval sub-depressed abdomen, the posterior corners of the segments sharply projected; cerci moderately elongated, tips pointed; tegmina oval; the cοstal regiοn wings brοađ, the điscοiđal anđ axillary veins bifurcate﹔ the anteriοr legs sufficiently rοbust﹔ brοađ femοra, externally with minor tubercles and moderately elongated spines, the posterior 4 legs slender, unarmed.”

Paulian’s (1957) description of Ichromantis, although much longer, does not present any characters that are contradictory to Westwood’s description. In addition, Paulian included a number of additional features, all of which apply to P. latipennis and the two Ichromantis species:

“Genre Ichromantis nov. Corps moyen, à élytres fusiformes élargis, hyalins chez le 3, opaques chez la Ƥ. Tête beaucoup plus large que le pronotum, à yeux très gros, arrondis; écusson frontal très transverse, en bande étroite, échancrée au milieu par l’ocelle antérieur; vertex concave, un lobe obtus en dedans de chaque oeil. Pronotum moyennement long, sa plus grande largeur un peu après le milieu, rétréci vers l’avant en ogive régulière, vers l’arrière plus fortement et en courbe plus ou moins concave en dehors, bords lisses; carène dorsale lisse et entière, occupant toute la métazone et se terminant, en avant de celle-ci, par une petite dent, limitée à la moitié postérieure de la prozone.

Elytres assez larges, surtout chez la Ƥ, bien plus longs que l’abdomen; aire costale élargie vers la base, à nervures transverses parfois bifurquées et plus ou moins confluentes vers l’extérieur, dessinant des aréoles irrégulières, différentes selon l’espèce; une série de nervures transverses entre sous-costale et radiale; les deux rangées d’alvéoles entre les nervures longitudinales sont sensiblement égales, et à peu près subcarrées (3) ou alternativement larges et étroites. Fémurs antérieurs longs et grêles avec cinq fortes épines externes écartées, séparées par de fines épines; trois discoïdales dont la médiane est la plus large, onze épines internes; tibias antérieurs avec onze épines relativement longues et aiguës; tarses antérieurs très longs et grêles. Fémurs et tibias des paires postérieures longs, grêles, inermes, les tibias non carénés. Cerques rubannés, longs et grêles. Plaque sous-génitale moyenne.

Ce nouveau genre, proche de Chiromantis d’Afrique orientale, en diffère par le moindre élargissement de l’aire costale dont les nervures sont plus simples; le plus grand nombre d’épines tibiales.

In translation:

“Genus Ichromantis nov. Medium size body, with extended, fusiform elytra, hyaline in the 3, opaque in the Ƥ. Head much wider than pronotum, with very large eyes, rounded; frontal shield very transverse, narrow band, indented in the middle be the anterior ocellus, vertex concave, obtuse lobe medial to each eye. Pronotum moderately long, its greatest width slightly posterior to the middle, narrowed toward the front, regular sulcus stronger and more or less concave and curving outwards, smooth edges; well-developed dorsal carina, occupying all of the metazone and terminated slightly anterior by a small tooth, limited to the posterior half of the prozone.

Elytra rather broad, especially in the Ƥ, much longer than the abdomen; costal area enlarged toward the base, sometimes with bifurcated transverse veins more or less confluent to the outside, forming irregular cells differentiated in various species; a series of transverse veins between the subcostal and radial veins; the two rows of cells between the longitudinal veins are substantially equal, and nearly squared (3) or alternatively wide and narrow. Anterior femora long and slender, with five strong spines externally, separated by thin spines; three discoidal spines with the middle as the broadest, eleven internal spines; anterior tibiae with eleven spines that are relatively long and acute; tarsi very long and slender. Femora and tibiae of posterior legs long, slender, unarmed, tibiae not carinate. Banded cerci, long and slender. Subgenital plate average.

This new genus is close to Chiromantis of East Africa, but differs in the lesser expansion of the costal area whose veins are simple and the greater number of tibial spines.”

Therefore, we establish Ichromantis Paulian, 1957 as a junior synonym to Platycalymma Westwood, 1889 based on

the similarity of original generic descriptions, our examination of the holotypes of all three species, our compara-

tive examination of body measurements, general external morphology, and male genitalic morphology.