Hierodula confusa Vermeersch & Unnahachote, 2020

Liu, Qin-Peng, Liu, Zi-Jun, Wang, Guo-Li & Yin, Zi-Xu, 2021, Taxonomic revision of the praying mantis subfamily Hierodulinae of China (Mantodea: Mantidae), Zootaxa 4951 (3), pp. 401-433 : 408

Hierodula confusa Vermeersch & Unnahachote, 2020

( Figs. 15R–S )

Hierodula confusa Vermeersch & Unnahachote, 2020: 1 . Holotype (♂): Thailand, Bangkok, THNHM.

Hierodula membranacea auct . nec Burmeister, 1838: Wang et al. 2020a: 1–21.

Material examined. 1♂, 1♀, CHINA, Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Mengla, Menglun , 21°55’08’’N, 101°16’19’’E, alt. 567m, 1.vii.2018, leg. Guozhong Yang.

Measurements [in mm, ♂ (n = 1), ♀ (n = 1)]. Body length, ♂ 93.6, ♀ 91.4. Pronotum length, ♂ 26.4, ♀ 30.0. Forewing length, ♂ 65.2, ♀ 58.4.

Distribution. China (Yunnan); Thailand.

Remarks. H. confusa was long confused with H. membranacea in China before it was formally described. Considering the distributions of H. membranacea are likely limited to India and Nepal ( Ehrmann & Borer 2015; Schwarz et al. 2018a; Vermeersch & Unnahachote 2020), we suggest H. membranacea should be removed from the Chinese fauna. Vermeersch & Unnahachote (2020) indicated that H. confusa may represent an intermediate species between H. membranacea and R. extensicollis . Our studies support this hypothesis because similarities are also found on the ootheca of the three species ( Fig. 15R–U ), such as the attachment mode, the appearance, and the arrangement of wrinkles on the external wall.

Male genitalia. Specimens studied herein do not differ from those in Vermeersch & Unnahachote (2020).

Ootheca ( Fig. 15R–S ) barrel-like. External wall reddish-brown, covered with wrinkles and with yellowishbrown external coating cemented to it. The proximal end of ootheca fully encircling the substrate, fixing the ootheca nearly perpendicular to the substrate. Residual processes are often truncated.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Ootheca of Hierodulinae from China (except T–U. Hierodula membranacea from India). A–D. Rhombomantis fusca. E–H. R. longipennis. I–J. Hierodula patellifera (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan). K–L. Hierodula tenuidentata. M–N. Hierodula pistillinota. O. Hierodula maculata. P. Hierodula patellifera (Qingdao, Shandong). Q. Mekongomantis quinquespinosa. R–S. Hierodula confusa.