Ilomantis Giglio-Tos, 1915

Sydney K. Brannoch & Gavin J. Svenson, 2016, Leveraging female genitalic characters for generic and species delimitation in Nilomantis Werner, 1907 and Ilomantis Giglio-Tos, 1915 (Mantodea, Nilomantinae), Insect Systematics & Evolution 47, pp. 209-244 : 221-228

Ilomantis Giglio-Tos, 1915

Ilomantis Giglio-Tos, 1915: 46, 1927: 136 ; Beier 1935: 54 –55 (synonymized with Nilomantis ); Paulian 1957: 30 (resurrected Ilomantis ); Roy 1987: 121; Ehrmann 2002: 242; Otte & Spearman 2005: 120 -121 (re-synonymized with Nilomantis )

Type species

Tropidomantis thalassina Saussure, 1899: 593 –594.

Diagnosis

Small, slender mantises (body length 14–27.05 mm), green to ochre, fully developed wings. Body surface and anterior margin of forewings lightly ciliated. Pronotal medial keel present. Head capsule dorsoventrally compressed. Compound eyes dorsoventrally compressed, laterally conical, blunted. Cranial vertex with a cosinusoidal margin, juxtaocular bulges present; elevation on the vertex in the shape of a truncated pyramid. Lower frons featuring a medially bifurcated carina.

Redescription

Head ( Fig. 8 ). Prognathous (based on observed resting position); head capsule wider than long. Juxtaocular bulges present, highlighted by parietal sulci. Head capsule dorsoventrally compressed with likewise compressed, laterally conical compound eyes. Four gently sloping carinal ridges on the vertex (two of which originate from the mid-vertex, the other two originate from the mid-ocular region) converge into an elevation on the postero-medial vertex in the shape of a truncated pyramid, which is bisected apically by the coronal suture. Vertex slightly concave posterior to lateral ocelli. Ocelli of both sexes are situated atop an elevated region; ocelli amber to yellow. Lower frons transverse, featuring a subtle, medially bifurcated sulcus. Clypeus broad, with elevated margins. Labrum rounded anteriorly. Maxillary and labial palpi pale, light green to ochre. Compound eye pigmentation darker than cuticle of the head capsule. Antenna long and filiform, lightly ciliated, tapering to a point, with darkened terminal antennomeres.

Thorax. Pronotum roughly 2.5-times longer than wide at supracoxal sulcus dilation, featuring a pronounced medial keel that bisects the anteriorly positioned supracoxal sulcus and terminates at the posterior margin of the metazone ( Fig. 11 ). Metazone posterior margin elevated into a shelf extending slightly over anterior margin of the mesothorax. Margin of the lateral lamellar expansion of the pronotum is relatively smooth with socketed setae projecting around the perimeter. Region containing pronotal medial keel elevated, sloping down to lateral margins. Thorax medially traversed by a yellow stripe ( Fig. 12 ). Prozone with bilaterally symmetric sculpting, which tapers to the edge just prior to the lateral margins. Anterior metazone features a slight indentation on either side of the medial keel. Cervix bears lateral cervical sclerites and intercervical sclerites; ventral cervical sclerites absent. Lateral cervical sclerite anterior margin extends just past the anterior margin of the prozone and is lightly ciliated. Postcervical plate and exposed thoracic membrane is contained within the boundaries of the intercervical sclerites and the episternum, with either a broad or narrow hexagonal shape ( Fig. 13 ). A furcasternal tubercle projects medially at the base of the T-shaped sclerite, posterior to the prothoracic coxae, surfaced with setation ( Fig. 14 ). DK hearing organ present on metathoracic ventral surface (see Yager & Svenson (2008) for hearing organ description). Wings of both sexes well developed, extending beyond base of terminalia, hyaline to opaque; variably ciliated.

Prothoracic legs. Lightly ciliated. Forecoxae long, extending past the base of the pronotum; postero- and anteroventral margins with socketed setae; apical lobes squared, convergent. Forefemora feature relatively straight dorsal margins that narrow distally. Posteroventral femoral spines robust and darkened apically, interspersed with cilia and a row of crenulation. Genicular lobes of the femora each with a slightly curved spine. Tibial spur groove lies between first discoidal spine and the first anteroventral femoral spine. Anteroventral femoral spines alternate between short and long, darkened apically. Second discoidal spine significantly longer than the first and third. Posteroventral and anteroventral tibial spines gradually elongating towards the tibial spur, darkening apically, interspersed with cilia. Tarsi 5-segmented, ciliated, with an enlarged penultimate euplantulae; darkened ungues. F =3DS/11–12AvS/4PvS; T =10–14AvS/9–14PvS.

Meso- and metathoracic legs. Lightly ciliated across surface with increased ciliation density distally. Femoral carina on the posteroventral margin; femoral genicular lobes lacking spines. Tibiae tubular with an apical lobe and two apical spurs. Tarsi 5-segmented, ciliated, with an enlarged penultimate euplantulae; darkened ungues.

Abdomen. Smooth, surface ciliated. Segmentation of tergites straightly traversing the abdomen. Female supra-anal plate triangular, ciliated; narrower than the subgenital plate. Female subgenital plate posterior margin bifid, ciliated, narrowing towards the terminus; cerci long, filiform, tapering. Male supra-anal plate triangular, ciliated; narrower than subgenital plate. Male subgenital plate approximately rounded at the terminus; cerci long, compressed, tapering; styli short. Female genitalia: gonoplac (GL) features a rectangular dilation on the anteroventral margin; gonapophysis IX (GP) apex approximately mammiform to rounded. Male genitalia: lobo membranoso (loa) lightly sclerotized and without apical crenulation; processo distale (pda) narrow and rounded apically.

Key to Ilomantis Giglio-Tos, 1915 species

1. Medial keel of pronotum originates from the anterior margin of prozone. The lower frons features a latitudinal, medially bifurcated sulcus that traverses the anterior margin of the sclerite. Postcervical plate and exposed thoracic membrane broadly framed by the intercervical sclerites and episternum. thalassina

1’. Medial keel of pronotum originates from the mid-prozone. The lower frons features a latitudinal, medially bifid sulcus that traverses the anterior region of the sclerite, but not across the anterior margin. Postcervical plate and exposed thoracic membrane narrowly framed by the intercervical sclerites and episternum. ginsburgae sp.n.

Figures

Fig. 8. Illustrations of anterior perspective of the Ilomantis and Nilomantis head (scale bar = 1 mm). (A) Ilomantis thalassina, female; (B) Ilomantis thalassina, male; (C) Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., female; (D) Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., male; (E) Nilomantis floweri, female; (F) Nilomantis floweri, male. (B, D, E, F) Ilomantis species feature a cosinusoidal vertical margin, whereas Nilomantis species feature a relatively straight vertical margin. Gray markings on the ocellar tubercle and within the corridors of the frontal sulci represent the presence of reddish-brown markings. LF, lower frons.

Fig. 11. Illustrations of dorsal perspective of the Ilomantis pronotum (scale bar = 1 mm). (A) Ilomantis thalassina, female; (B) Ilomantis thalassina, male; (C) Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., female; (D) Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., male. Ilomantis thalassina exhibits a medial keel that fully traverses the pronotum (A and B); Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n. exhibits a medial keel that originates in the mid-prozone and concludes at the posterior pronotal margin (C and D). MK, medial keel.

Fig. 12. Example of yellow stripe that originates in the posterior half of the ocellar tubercle and traverses the thorax of both Nilomantis and Ilomantis species. Species shown: Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., male. This figure is published in colour in the online edition of this journal, which can be accessed via http: // booksandjournals. brillonline. com / content / journals / 1876312 x.

Fig. 13. Illustrations of ventral perspective of the Ilomantis cervix (scale bar = 1 mm). (A) Ilomantis thalassina, female; (B) Ilomantis thalassina, male; (C) Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., female; (D) Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., male. The postcervical plate and exposed thoracic membrane are contained within the boundaries of the intercervical sclerites and the episternum, with either a broad (Ilomantis thalassina, A and B) or narrow (Ilomantis ginsburgae sp. n., C and D) hexagonal shape. Abbreviations: eps, episternum; etm, exposed thoracic membrane; ics, intercervical sclerite; lcs, lateral cervical sclerite; pcpl, postcervical plate; tss, T-shaped sclerite.

Fig. 14. Oblique ventral view of the furcasternal tubercle (FT) located medially at the base of the T-shaped sclerite, posterior to the prothoracic coxae. Arrow indicates FT. Species shown: Nilomantis floweri, male. This figure is published in colour in the online edition of this journal, which can be accessed via http: // booksandjournals. brillonline. com / content / journals / 1876312 x.