Margaromantis planicephala ( Rehn, 1916 ) Rehn, 1916

Rivera, Julio, 2010, Lost and found: Rediscovery of the genus Margaromantis Piza, 1982 and consequential nomenclatural changes in the genus Colombiella Koçak & Kemal, 2008 (Mantodea: Mantidae, Photinainae), Zootaxa 2529, pp. 65-68 : 66-68

Margaromantis planicephala ( Rehn, 1916) n. comb.

= Margaromantis margaritaria Piza, 1982 n. syn.

Discussion. The holotype of Margaromantis margaritaria ( Fig. 1 ; compare to Fig. 30a of Rehniella planicephala (Lombardo, 1999)) is currently deposited in the Department of Entomology and Acarology, Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz", Universidade de São Paulo (ESALQ; Piracicaba, São Paulo State). The type has both the right fore and hind wings extended and for the most part is in good condition, with some damage to the edge of the anal area of the hind wing. The specimen bears three labels ( Fig. 1 ): (1) G.J. Moraes/ 9-3-79 /Petrolima-PE/ Brazil /[No.] 873; (2) 9-3-79 /G.J. Moraes Col./PL./[No.] 873; (3) Margaromantis / margaritarius Piza/Tipo 3.

The illustration of the head accompanying the original description of Margaromantis margaritaria is reproduced in Fig. 2A . This illustration is not well executed, as it is asymmetrical and does not reflect the real appearance and proportions of the specimen’s head. Despite this, the unusual shape of the head, the narrowness of the compound eyes and the broad, pentagonal-shaped frontal shield, characteristic of this species, can be observed in the drawing, especially when confronted with a more accurate design, such as that accompanying the description of Metriomantis planicephala published by Rehn (1916), which is reproduced in Fig. 2 B.

Distribution. Rehn (1916) cited the type locality of Metriomantis planicephala as “Ceará Mirim, State of Rio Grande do Sul;” the same locality also was cited by Lombardo (1999). However, Ceará Mirim is actually a town located in Rio Grande do Norte State, which is the true type locality as indicated by Otte (1978). Lombardo (1999) also reported R. planicephala from Rio Grande, Feira de Santana and “Bahia” (all in Bahia state) and from Gravatà (Pernambuco state). The type locality of Margaromantis margaritaria is Petrolima (Pernambuco state). Interestingly, the replacement name Colombiella proposed by Koçak & Kemal (2008) was intended to make reference to the distribution of Colombiella planicephala ; however, this species does not occur in Colombia ( Agudelo et al. 2007; Salazar 2002) as it seems to be restricted to eastern Brazil. The distribution of Margaromantis planicephala is shown in Fig. 3 .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Male holotype of Margaromantis margaritaria (coloration slightly modified from the original) and labels.

FIGURE 3. Known distribution of Margaromantis planicephala and the type localities of Margaromantis margaritaria Piza and Metriomantis planicephala Rehn.

FIGURE 2. A, Frontal view of the head of Margaromantis margaritaria (male; from Piza, 1982); B, Frontal view of the head of Metriomantis planicephala (female; from Rehn, 1916).