Euchomenellini, Giglio-Tos, 1916

Vermeersch, Xavier H. C., 2018, Phasmomantella gen. nov., a spectacular new genus of praying mantis from southern Central Vietnam (Mantodea, Mantidae, Deroplatyinae, Euchomenellini), European Journal of Taxonomy 442, pp. 1-17 : 5

Key to the genera of Euchomenellini

The following key is mostly based on the external morphological characters of females which are easily distinguishable in Euchomenellini and builds further on the key for Deroplatyinae proposed by Schwarz (2017).

1. Protibiae with at least 10 posteroventral spines; prominent tubercles behind the supra-coxal sulcus ………………………………………………………………………… Tagalomantis ( Hebard, 1920)

− Pronotum entirely smooth …………………………………………………………………………2

2. Protibiae with seven or eight posteroventral spines. Females: pronotum shorter than the remaining body; alae blackish brown with white transverse veinlets ………………… Indomenella ( Roy, 2008)

− Protibiae with seven posteroventral spines. Females: pronotum equal in size or longer than the remaining body ……………………………………………………………………………………3

3. Inner side of profemora transversely crossed by two broad and well-defined darker bands; darkened area near the distal end of the procoxae ( Fig. 2A ). Females: tegmina very short, less than half the post-pronotum body length; alae under-developed or almost scale-shaped, colour pale white, yellowish or slightly enfumated ( Fig. 2C ). Males: tegmina reaching as far or beyond the abdominal apex at rest, brownish enfumated and gradually darker near the apex; alae well developed, same colour as tegmina …………………………… Euchomenella ( Giglio-Tos, 1916)

− Inner side of profemora with only one dark spot distally adjacent to the tibial spur groove ( Fig. 2B ). Females: tegmina about half as long as the post-pronotum body length; alae fully covered by tegmina but normally shaped, entirely hyaline ( Fig. 2D ). Males: tegmina reaching as far as the abdominal apex at rest, tegmina and alae entirely hyaline ……… Phasmomantella gen. nov.

Figures

Fig. 2. Side by side comparison in colouration and morphology of the prothoracic legs and wings. A, C. Euchomenella macrops (Saussure, 1870). B, D. Phasmomantella nuichuana gen. et sp. nov., ♀. Not to scale.