Corticomantis, 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 : 134-136

Corticomantis gen. n.

Liturgusa (partim): Beier 1931: 14-15; Beier 1935: 11; La Greca 1939: 5; Weidner 1964: 143; Terra 1995: 53; Jantsch 1999: 48; Ehrmann 2002: 206; Otte and Spearman 2005: 132; Agudelo et al. 2007: 116.

Liturgousa (partim): Rehn 1935: 204.

Type species.

Liturgusa atricoxata Beier, 1931

Description.

Habitus: Small and squat, wide body, the genus Corticomantis exhibits striking, contrasting coloration including dark brown, black and varying shades of green that resembles a bark-lichen surface. Dorso-ventrally flattened with moderately long legs.

Measurement Ranges: Monotypic genus, see Corticomantis atricoxata for measurement ranges.

Head: Transverse with large, rounded eyes projecting outside the profile of the head both laterally and anteriorly (the anterior margin of the eyes anterior to the central surface of the head). Juxta-ocular protuberances present, small in males and well developed in females. The vertex between the parietal sutures is straight. Frontal suture with a faint curved carina. Ocelli small in males and females with the central ocellus oriented anteriorly while the lateral are oriented anteriorly at a 45 degree angle from the central axis of the head; protruding on a cuticular mounds or on a prominent continuous curved carina. Frons narrowed between the antennal insertion sites and depressed below the central ocellus; a transverse carina present below the central ocellus, running from lateral margins under the antennal insertion sites medially in a dorsally oriented curve. Upper margin of clypeus convex, lower margin straight; a central protruding carina; the lateral margins tapering, widest at the upper margin. Labrum with minimal sculpting and a rounded terminus. Antennae filiform and with rare setae, pale proximally and fading to black distally. Varying levels of black markings across the anterior surface of head, the vertex and juxta-ocular protuberances speckled. Palpi are pale.

Pronotum: Short and broad with a less defined supra-coxal bulge, the metazone being wide and the lateral margins of the metazone nearly parallel before tapering posteriorly; dorsal surface with tubercles of varying size and density, but obviously prominent. Broad prozone with lateral margins that taper anteriorly, the anterior margin rounded; a central depression medially on the dorsal surface. Metazone with lateral margins that are nearly parallel anteriorly, but taper dramatically to the narrowest point (the midpoint of the metazone) before becoming parallel anterior to the posterior terminus; the corners of the posterior margin rounded with the medial region straight; posterior region with two blunt protrusions on each side of the medial line. Supra-coxal sulcus strongly defined. Colored with black and pale speckling. The lateral margins of the pronotum slightly expanded to form a ledge.

Prothoracic Legs: Femoral spine count of males and females: anteroventral 15-16, posteroventral 4, discoidal 4. Femur robust with a slightly concave dorsal margin distally, the proximal half convex, larger in females; anteroventral and posteroventral (internal and external, respectively) spines well developed; line of small tubercles running medially of the posteroventral spines. A continuous carina running from distal terminus of femur along dorsal margin to the base, circling the posterior (external) surface of the proximal end and running along the ventral margin at the base of the posteroventral spines. Pale to dark banding on posterior surface of femur, sometimes not well defined and degenerating into pale and dark speckling ventrally; internal surface mostly black, but with pale regions dorsally; ventral surface black and pale. Posterior surface of femur smooth or with few tubercles. Well developed femoral pit on the ventral surface to accommodate terminal posteroventral tibial spine positioned between the most proximal posteroventral spine of femur and the most distal discoidal spine, pit is colored black. Prothoracic tibial spine count of males and females: anteroventral 9-10, posteroventral 8. Prothoracic tibial spines robust; the posteroventral spines with the first and second most proximal and fifth through seventh shorter than the much longer proximal third, fourth, and terminal spines; the anteroventral spines longest at distal end and shortening proximally. Prothoracic tibiae with a smooth posterior surface. Tarsi banded with pale and dark coloration. Prothoracic coxae smooth with no or a few very minor tubercles or setae along anterior margin; black markings vary.

Meso- and Metathoracic Legs: Long and slender with pale to dark banding on the femur and tibia. Femora with a pronounced dorsal and ventral (posterior) carina; posterior (upper) surface with two carina. Tibia widening from the proximal terminus and with multiple, faint carina. Mesotarsi with first segment shorter than remaining segments combined. Metatarsi with first segment the same length as the remaining segments combined.

Wings: Fully developed in males and females. Forewings mottled with contrasting regions of brown, white, green, and black; the proximal quarter dark, then fading dramatically to a mottled white with a darkened spot on and around the pterostigma; the distal quarter of the wing mottled irregularly with half greenish white and half brownish black; the costal vein alternating from pale to dark its entire length while the costal region is mostly pale with banding in the distal quarter, but can be banded throughout its length; the costal region wide relative to the wing length. The forewings may be colored asymmetrically, one being mottled as described above while the other is blackened. Hindwings opaque and smoky; the terminus of the discoidal region projecting to beyond the distal margin of anal region.

Abdomen: Males and females with widening abdomen from first segment until the beginning of the distal half (segments 5-6) when the lateral margins narrow to the terminus, the middle being the broadest region. Tergites with pointed posterolateral projections in the distal half of the abdomen of females. Cerci cylindrical, long and setose, tapering to a point. Supra-anal plate of female as broad as wide with a blunt terminus, large in size; of male transverse with blunt terminus. Subgenital plate of male with rounded, slightly irregular terminus; without styli.

Male Genital Complex: The only known species for the genus exhibits dextral genitalia ( ‘reversed’ genitalia in Balderson 1978 and Holwell and Herberstein (2010); defined as a genital complex in which the apical process (paa) of L4B is directed to the right) while most Mantodea exhibit sinistral oriented genitalia (e.g. all species of Liturgusa and Fuga ). Although Corticomantis atricoxata exhibits this orientation, any future new species could exhibit sinistral orientation and the genus should not be defined by dextral genital orientation. Holwell and Herberstein (2010) demonstrated that some species of Ciulfina exhibit both orientations, thus could be variable within Corticomantis species as well. The main body of ventral left sclerite (L4A) with a prominent, heavily sclerotized distal process (pda). The apofisis falloid (afa) of the main body of dorsal left sclerite (L4B) well sclerotized with a blunt, rounded terminus, and long setae emerging laterally; the apical process (paa) heavily sclerotized and curved, ending with a rounded terminus. The right dorsal phallomere (fda) of the first sclerite of right phallomere (R1) tapers to a rounded terminus; the ventral plate (pia) strongly sclerotized; the ventral process (pva) strongly sclerotized.

Ootheca.

Unknown for the genus.

Etymology.

A compound word formed from two components, “corticis” and “mantis”. In the feminine, Corticomantis translates to "bark mantis".