Liturgusa stiewei, Svenson, Gavin J., 2014

Svenson, Gavin J., 2014, Revision of the Neotropical bark mantis genus Liturgusa Saussure, 1869 (Insecta, Mantodea, Liturgusini), ZooKeys 390, pp. 1-214 : 64-67

Liturgusa stiewei sp. n.

Liturgousa mesopoda : Hebard 1919b: 134.

Type.

Holotype Female, pinned. Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Type locality.

Jimenez, W. Colombia, elev. 1600ft. III 1907, M.G. Palmer (Lat. 2.675931, Long. -77.148414)

Material examined.

Liturgusa stiewei sp. n.

Diagnosis.

One of the largest species of Liturgusa , comparable to Liturgusa nubeculosa , Liturgusa stiewei is more comparable to many large species of Hagiomantis . Can be distinguished from Liturgusa nubeculosa by its shorter, more broad pronotum and black, more opaque hindwings.

Description.

Male from copal (restricted access to some characters). (Fig. 15A) N=1: Body length 30.70; forewing length 19.10; pronotum length 9.18; prozone length 3.10; pronotum width 3.37; pronotum narrow width 2.33; head width 5.90; prothoracic femur length 7.75; mesothoracic femur length 12.14; mesothoracic tibia length 10.07; mesothoracic tarsus length 7.30; metathoracic femur length 12.96; metathoracic tibia length 13.20; metathoracic tarsus length 13.12; pronotal elongation measure 0.34; pronotal shape measure 0.37; anteroventral femoral spine count 14; anteroventral tibial spine count 10; posteroventral tibial spine count 7.

Head: Transverse, the juxta-ocular protuberances small, but pronounced, the apex in the middle; the vertex near straight, even with the dorsal margin of the eyes. Frontal suture with a slight medial carina forming a continuous arc. Ocelli small. Frons, clypeus and labrum not visible for description. Palpi are pale.

Pronotum (Fig. 48A): A little less than three times as long as wide with a moderately defined supra-coxal bulge; dorsal surface smooth, without tubercles. Prozone broader than long, with parallel margins prior to rounded anterolateral corners, the anterior margin broadly straight; margins smooth or with very few broad, blunt tubercles. Metazone with concave lateral margins with near parallel margins just posterior to the middle; margins with numerous small tubercles; posterior margin with a shallow medial emargination; the dorsal surface of the posterior third of the metazone depressed. Coloration largely unknown except for two symmetrical dark marks on the anterior corners of the metazone.

Prothoracic Legs: Femur robust with a slightly concave dorsal margin; pale to dark banding not well defined on posterior (external) surface; anterior (internal) surface mostly not visible, but the distal half with a very thin black band running medially; the ventral surface pale. A shallow femoral pit to accommodate terminal posteroventral tibial spine positioned medial to and between the first two proximal posteroventral spines, in line with the most distal discoidal spine; coloration of pit not visible. Posterior prothoracic femoral genicular spine much smaller than posteroventral spines, originating at the beginning of the genicular lobe. Prothoracic tibial posteroventral spines with the first (proximal) smallest and the third through sixth of similar length, the second longer. Prothoracic coxae not visible.

Meso- and Metathoracic Legs: Femora with ventral (posterior) carina; dorsal (anterior) carina present. Mesotarsi with first segment shorter than the remaining segments combined.

Wings: Forewings mottled with brown and pale coloration; the costal region with faintly defined banding; vein coloration is pale, not matching surrounding cell coloration. Hindwings are hidden in examined specimen.

Abdomen: Slender, the fifth tergite the widest region before a gradual posterior narrowing. Subgenital plate irregularly rounded and without styli.

Genital Complex: Only male in copal.

Female. (Fig. 15B) N=2: Body length 41.94-42.00 (41.97); forewing length 26.10-26.70 (26.40); hindwing length 21.20; pronotum length 11.14-11.15 (11.14); prozone length 2.60-3.16 (2.88); pronotum width 4.16; pronotum narrow width 2.97; head width 7.24; head vertex to clypeus 3.16; frons width 2.81; frons height 1.06; prothoracic femur length 11.86-12.10 (11.98); mesothoracic femur length 14.59; mesothoracic tibia length 9.53; metathoracic femur length 13.70-14.00 (13.85); metathoracic tibia length 15.67; metathoracic tarsus length 13.20-13.42 (13.31); pronotal elongation measure 0.23-0.28 (0.26); pronotal shape measure 0.37; head shape measure 0.44; frons shape measure 0.38; anteroventral femoral spine count 16; anteroventral tibial spine count 10; posteroventral tibial spine count 7.

Head (Fig. 42F): Longer than broad, the juxta-ocular protuberances very large, the apex in the middle; the vertex slightly concave or straight, above the dorsal margin of the eyes. Frontal suture without a carina, a black pigmented depression just ventral to medial region of suture, two depressed pits dorsally and symmetrically position lateral to the medial line that extend to broadly defined depressions dorsally towards the vertex. Ocelli small, all three of similar size and protruding on small cuticular mounds; the lateral ocelli oriented outward. The carina on the frons strongly pronounced, centrally elevated, the medial region just ventral to the carina strongly sloped ventrally. Clypeus transverse, the upper margin slightly straight medially and curving near dorso-lateral corners; the lower margin concave or straight; the central, transverse carina pronounced and straight. Antennae scape pale, pedicel mostly pale with faint brown marks, the flagellum fading to black in the proximal quarter. Black markings extend laterally to the margin of the eyes from ventral depression abutting frontal suture. Vertex and juxta-ocular protuberances mostly pale with brown and black speckling; region between ocelli pale except for a thin band running along medial line from the frontal suture; lower region of frons pigmented brown; the dorsolateral corners of clypeus with brown spots, the rest is pale; the mandibles and labrum with pale and brown markings; the area immediately adjacent to lateral ocelli black. Palpi are pale.

Pronotum (Fig. 48B): About 2.7 times long as wide with a moderately defined supra-coxal bulge; dorsal surface smooth, without tubercles. Prozone is broader than long with gradually tapering margins leading to an evenly rounded anterior margin; margins smooth. Metazone with concave lateral margins, the medial region flat or bulging outward; margins with very small tubercles; posterior margin with a very shallow medial emargination; the dorsal surface of the posterior third of the metazone depressed. Mostly pale or light brown with brown and black marking across the surface; two prominent black marks present in the posterolateral corners; two symmetrically positioned black marks on either side of midline and just anterior to the posterior margin; two symmetrically positioned lateral marks just posterior of supra-coxal sulcus.

Prothoracic Legs: Femur normal with a slightly concave dorsal margin; strongly defined pale to dark banding on posterior (external) surface; anterior (internal) surface with a strongly defined black band running medially from the base to terminus, some regions slightly widened, particularly near the femoral brush; the ventral surface pale. Posterior surface of femur with few tubercles. A large femoral pit to accommodate terminal posteroventral tibial spine positioned medial to and between the first two proximal posteroventral spines, in line with the most distal discoidal spine; pit is black. Posterior prothoracic femoral genicular spine tiny compared to posteroventral spines, originating at the beginning of the genicular lobe. Prothoracic tibial posteroventral spines with the first (proximal) and fourth through sixth of similar length, the second and third longer. Prothoracic coxae smooth, the anterior surface with a large medially positioned black band in the proximal half as well as a similar black band in the distal half.

Meso- and Metathoracic Legs: Femora with ventral (posterior) carina; dorsal (anterior) carina present. Mesotarsi with first segment shorter than the remaining segments combined.

Wings: Forewings mottled with brown, pale and black coloration; the costal region mostly pale with some regularly spaced black marks; vein coloration pale; discoidal area with highly contrasting regions, evenly mottled proximally with a distinct shift to mostly pale in the distal half. Forewings symmetrically colored; extending just short of the terminus of the abdomen, the supra-anal plate visible. Hindwings entirely opaque black; the terminus of the discoidal region projecting beyond the distal margin of anal region, the wing appearing slightly elongate.

Abdomen: Widened, the fourth tergite the widest before a gradual posterior narrowing; a smooth surface with light brown coloration. Tergites without posterolateral tergal projections, if present they are very small. Supra-anal plate transverse, an evenly rounded terminus.

Etymology.

A noun in the genitive case, Liturgusa stiewei is named for Martin Stiewe in honor of his contributions to Mantodea systematics and his collaboration in discovering this new species.