Holaptilon khozestani Mirzaee and Battiston, 2024

Mirzaee, Zohreh, Battiston, Roberto, Ballarin, Francesco, Sadeghi, Saber, Simoes, Marianna, Wiemers, Martin & Schmitt, Thomas, 2024, The Six Dwarfs of the Middle East: revision of the enigmatic praying mantis genus Holaptilon (Mantodea: Gonypetidae: Gonypetinae) with the description of four new species under integrative taxonomy, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 82, pp. 89-117 : 89

4.7. Holaptilon khozestani Mirzaee and Battiston sp. nov.

Figure 9e, f

Material examined.

Holotype: 1♂, ethanol, with genitalia in a separate micro-vial, Mal Agha , Khozestan, Iran, 31.607N, 49.998E, 1230 m, 7/2021, leg. Mirzaee (SDEI) . - Paratypes: 3♀, ethanol, Dehdez , Khozestan, Iran, 31.733N, 50.222E, 1160 m, 6,7,8/2021, leg. Mirzaee (SDEI) ; 1♀, ethanol, Bagh Malek , Khozestan, Iran, 31.519N, 49.482E, 868 m, 7/2021, leg. Kiani (SDEI); 2 nymphs, ethanol, Mal Agha, Khozestan, Iran, 31.607N, 49.998E, 1230 m, 7/2021, leg. Mirzaee (SDEI) ; 4♂, 3♀ ethanol, Dehdez , Khozestan, Iran, 31.733N, 50.222E, 1160 m, 6,7,8/2021, leg. Mirzaee and Bakhshi (ZMPC) ; 1♀, ethanol, Bagh Malek , Khozestan, Iran, 31.519N, 49.482E, 868 m, 7/2021, leg. Kiani (ZMPC) ; 2♂, 5 nymphs, ethanol, Mal Agha , Khozestan, Iran, 31.607N, 49.998E, 1230 m, 7/2021, leg. Mirzaee and Bakhshi (ZMPC) .

Diagnosis.

Short, finger-like afa, pba anteriad of the afa less sclerotised and truncation of the posterior edge of the vla (Fig. 2i, j ).

Description.

Males are way smaller and more delicate in appearance than females. Male and female apterous, body sandy brown in dorsal view, with some black spots mostly in the middle of body parts. Head: Wider than high, wider than pronotum (Fig. 10m-p ). Pronotum: Almost flat, compact, wider than high in both sexes. Meso- and metanotum: roof-shaped and well keeled (Fig. 11m-p ). Forelegs: Femora broad, dorsal edge lamellar, longer than wide, armed with 10-12 anteroventral spines in both males and females, with second one longer than the others; 4 discoidal spines with the first one shorter, the third one much longer than the others, the second one is a bit smaller than the third one; 4 posteroventral spines, with almost all of them having the same size, the first two spines are close to each other but the third and fourth have a bit more distance between them; anterior genicular lobe and posterior genicular lobe with a spine; foretibia armed with 9-10 anteroventral spines in both sexes, elongating distally, and 11-14 posteroventral spines in both sexes, also elongating distally (Fig. 12d ). Abdomen: Slender but half as wide in male compared to female, the tergites keeled in midline; supra anal plate transverse, triangular; cerci with nine readily recognizable cercomeres, covered by long setae; last cercomere longer and narrower than the others; subgenital plate much longer than wide. Male genitalia: Ventral phallomere oval, moderately wide. Afa short, finger-like, curved at the apex, pba anteriad of the afa less sclerotised, the posterior edge of the vla truncated. Apical process paa long, directed right side, with curved apex (Fig. 2i, j ). Ootheca: Creamy to yellow colour, with elliptical form in the dorsal view. It has a prominent dorsal point where the egg-case laying ended on the posterior end. The anterior end of the ootheca is smaller than the rest of it. Rows of egg chambers are parallel (Fig. 13c-e ).

Measurements (in mm).

Body length: ♂ 13-14, ♀ 18-20; Head width: ♂ 3.0-3.3; ♀ 4.0-4.1; Head height: ♂ 1.6, ♀ 2.0-2.2; Pronotum length: ♂ 3.3-3.5, ♀ 3.7-3.9; Pronotum width: ♂ 2.5-2.7, ♀ 3.0-3.2; Forecoxa length: ♂ 2.8-3.4, ♀ 3.6-4.0; Forefemora length: ♂ 3.5-4.2, ♀ 4.2-4.6; Forefemora width: ♂ 1.7-2.0, ♀ 2.2.

Distribution.

South-west of Iran, Dehdez, Khozestan province (Fig. 6 : blue points).

Habitat.

High in the mountains, surrounded by an abundance of rocks and vegetation, with a permanent river (Fig. 7c ).

Conservation.

This species seems very localised with an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of about 800 km2 in a small number of locations (3). With no data on population trends over time, despite its natural habitat with low anthropogenic presence and impacts, this species might be addressed as Endangered. Further studies are needed to clarify its threat status.

Etymology.

The specific name " Holaptilon khozestani " refers to Khozestan province where the new species was found.

Figures

Figure 2. Dorsal view and ventral view of male genitalia of different Holaptilon species: a, b H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c, d H. iranicum sp. nov.; e, f ventral view H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; g, h H. brevipugilis; i, j H. khozestani sp. nov.; k, l H. pusillulum; scale bar: 500 µm. afa = anterior process (left phallic complex: left phallomere). paa = apical process (left phallic complex: left phallomere). vla = the right-posterior ventral lobe (left phallic complex: " ventral phallomere "; with L 4 A sclerotization in ventral wall; with opening of ejaculatory duct in dorsal wall). pba = (left phallic complex: left phallomere), of afa plus the edge (between pouches pne and lve) from which they arise (with L 1 and L 2 sclerotizations). L 4 B = sclerite extending over the dorsal wall (left phallomere). L 4 A = sclerite extending over the ventral wall (left and " ventral " phallomere).

Figure 6. Current and historic records of Holaptilon species, visualisation with QGIS v. 3.22, Base map: ESRI Terrain map.

Figure 7. Examples of the habitats of Holaptilon species: a H. abdullahii sp. nov., Soroo, Busheher province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). b H. iranicum sp. nov., Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). c H. khozestani sp. nov., Malagha, Khozestan province (31.607 N, 49.998 E). d H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E).

Figure 9. Genus Holaptilon life habitus: a H. abdullahii sp. nov., paratype male from Soroo, Busheher province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). b H. abdullahii sp. nov., paratype female from Kangan, Busheher province (27.843 N, 52.064 E). c H. brevipugilis male and female from Arak (34.128 N, 50.07 E) (photo credit: Mahmood Kolnegari). d H. iranicum sp. nov., holotype male from Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). e H. iranicum sp. nov., paratype female from Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). f H. khozestani sp. nov., holotype male from Malagha, Khozestan province (31.607 N, 49.998 E). g H. khozestani sp. nov., paratype female from Dehdez, Khozestan province (31.733 N, 50.222 E). h H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., paratype female from Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E). i H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., holotype male from Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E). j H. pusillulum male from Jerusalem, Israel (28.853 N, 53.326 E) (photo credit: More Yosef Avi). k H. pusillulum female from Jerusalem, Israel (31.737 N, 35.077 E) (photo credit: Chaym Turak).

Figure 10. Heads of different Holaptilon species: a male (Kangan), b female (Kangan) H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c female (Arjan), d male (Arjan), e female (Sahlak), f female (Yasuj) H. iranicum sp. nov.; g male (Tadovan), h female (Tadovan) H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; i female (Arak), j male (Mashhad), k female (Arak), l male (Arak) H. brevipugilis; m male (Dehdez), n male (Malagha), o male (Dehdez), p female (Dehdez) H. khozestani sp. nov.; scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 11. Posterior view of the thoraxes of different Holaptilon species: a male (Kangan) b female (Kangan) H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c female (Arjan), d male (Arjan), e female (Sahlak), f female (Yasuj) H. iranicum sp. nov.; g male (Tadovan), h female (Tadovan) H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; i female (Arak), j male (Mashhad), k female (Arak), l male (Arak) H. brevipugilis; m male (Dehdez), n male (Malagha), o male (Dehdez), p female (Dehdez) H. khozestani sp. nov.; scale bar: 2 mm; white arrows indicate the characters that were used in the previous studies as diagnostic characters.

Figure 12. Different types of spines of the foreleg of different Holaptilon species: a female H. iranicum sp. nov.; b female H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; c male H. brevipugilis; d male H. khozestani sp. nov.; e male H. abdullahii sp. nov.; f female H. pusillulum; scale bar: 2 mm.

Figure 13. Ootheca of different Holaptilon species: a H. abdullahii sp. nov.; b H. iranicum sp. nov.; c - e H. khozestani sp. nov.; f Palachia pulchra, parasitoid wasp which parasites Holaptilon ootheca; scale bar for the oothecae: 3 mm, for the wasp: 0.5 mm.