Phasmomantella nuichuana, Vermeersch, 2018

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 : 7-11

Phasmomantella nuichuana gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:BBECB6B7-4623-4711-A730-9B20CC92E34C

Figs 2B, D , 3 ¯4, 6; Table 1

Diagnosis

Very large species with long and slender pronotum and relatively broad abdomen in females. Head broader than high with large globular eyes. Antennae filiform. Pronotum very finely denticulate along the margins, with more prominent teeth in the prozone, teeth fading away towards the posterior end of the metazone. Medial keel embedded in a longitudinal groove in the prozone but elevated in the metazone. Cervical region with two ventral sclerites. Profemora with four discoidal spines, 15 anteroventral spines and four posteroventral spines. Protibiae with 13 or 14 (rarely 15) anteroventral spines (most proximal spine usually much smaller than the others) and seven posteroventral spines. Tegmina cover about half the PPBL in females. Male unknown.

Etymology

The species epithet “ nuichuana ” refers to the original collection locality, Núi Chúa N.P. in southern Central Vietnam.

Type material

Holotype ( Fig. 3 )

VIETNAM: ♀, Ninh Thuan prov., Núi Chúa N.P., 11°42′ N, 109°09′ E, 3¯ 9 Aug. 2014, night collecting, GTI project, RBINS mission ( IRSNB IG 32.779 ), J. Constant and J. Bresseel leg.

Paratypes ( Fig. 4 )

VIETNAM: 3 ♀♀, same data as for holotype ( RBINS); 1 ♀, same data as for holotype ( VNMN).

Description

Female (holotype, Fig. 3 )

MEASUREMENTS. For details, see Table 1.

HEAD ( Fig. 3C ). Wider than long with large, rounded compound eyes projecting outside profile of head both laterally and anteriorly. Vertex straight. Ocelli very small. Ocellar tubercle with slightly protruding arch-shaped ridge anteriorly connecting the ocelli. Median ocellus pointing forwards; lateral paired ocelli barely larger and facing sideways. Lower frons transverse and slightly arch-shaped without vertical ridges internally; upper and lateral margins bordered with a protruding ridge. Clypeus entirely smooth.

THORAX ( Fig. 3A ). Pronotum long, straight and slender. Gradually expanding from rounded anterior margin towards widest point, then narrowing down in gentle sinusoidal curve until margins run parallel to each other, and very slightly widening again near the posterior end. Fine denticulation along lateral margins more prominent in prozone, progressively disappearing towards posterior end of metazone. Dorsal surface entirely smooth. Narrowest point located in the middle of pronotum. Medial keel embedded in a longitudinal groove-like depression in prozone and anterior part of metazone up to widest point but becoming distinctly elevated afterwards. Cross-section of metazone triangular. Cervix with two strongly sclerotized ventral cervical sclerites, lateral cervical sclerites and intercervical sclerites. Postcervical plate elongated and smooth, with two longitudinal folds running parallel to each other between the intercervical sclerites and the forecoxal joints. Furcasternite entirely smooth.

PROTHORACIC LEGS ( Fig. 3 A–B, D). Coxa slightly shorter than half of pronotum length, with 9 to 10 white spinules of equal size, irregularly alternated with one to four even smaller spinules in between them. Coxal lobes rounded, equal in length and adjacent, occasionally with a small space between them. Femur with straight dorsal margin, surface entirely smooth apart from two parallel rows of small tubercles that run ventrally and start proximally from 2 nd discoidal spine towards distal part of joint with trochanter. Femoral brush long and narrow in shape, starting from AvS 13 and ending just a little distally of AvS 15. Colouration green with exception of a well-defined, but irregularly outlined square-shaped spot on the anterior surface situated between boundaries of four most proximal AvS. Femoral spot reaches from ventral margin to roughly two-thirds of femoral height, reddish brown in dried specimens. Small discolourations of same colour as femoral spot are present at base of AvS 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 15, but are hard to distinguish by naked eye. Discolouration of most distal AvS very small, larger ones at base of AvS 2 to 4, overlapping with femoral spot. Tibial spur groove around distal third of femur. AvS unequal in size and arranged as follows: IIIIIIIIIIIIIII. All spines yellowish green, apically infuscate. AvS 10 and 15 large but with four much smaller spines of equal size between them. Large and medium spines alternate between AvS 1 and 10, first spine being a medium one. Medium spines subtly inclined towards anterior side of femur. PvS 4 is smallest, 3 is largest, 1 and 2 larger than 4 th, but gradually becoming smaller towards proximal end of femur. DS with same size arrangement as PvS, with DS 3 remarkably large and about twice the size of PvS 2. Protibiae smooth with longitudinal groove across entire length of posterior side. Tibial AvS gradually elongated towards tibial spur; PvS more procumbent. Protarsi apically darkened; first tarsomere longer than others combined. Spinal formula: F = 4DS/15AvS/4PvS; T = 13¯15AvS/7PvS.

MESO- AND METATHORACIC LEGS ( Fig. 3 A–B). Long and slender, densely setose across entire surface. Meso- and metafemora distinctly darker and brownish as compared to greenish tibiae. Femora with ventral (posterior) and dorsal (anterior) carina, rounded genicular lobes and a short genicular spur. Tibiae tubular with two tibial spurs. Tarsi 5-segmented and apically darkened. First tarsomere of mesotarsus as long as (and in the metatarsus slightly longer than) remaining segments combined.

TEGMINA AND ALAE ( Fig. 3A ). Covering about half the PPBL, entirely opaque and uniformly green, reaching about halfway on tergite 4. Costal area gradually broadening and reaching widest point just past half length of tegmen, right after stigma. Veins and stigma green. Stigma long and narrow, situated at about half total length of tegmen; small black spot located at distal end of stigma and often partially encompassing the latter at its posterior side. Alae only slightly shorter than tegmina when folded and entirely hyaline.

ABDOMEN ( Fig. 3 A–B). Much broader than rest of body, reaching widest point around tergite 4 before a gradual posterior narrowing. Ventrally and dorsally uniformly green/yellowish. Tergite 10 broad, short and rounded.

Distribution

Currently recorded only from Núi Chúa N.P. in Ninh Thuan Province, southern Central Vietnam ( Fig. 6 ).

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.

Fig. 3. Phasmomantella nuichuana gen. et sp. nov., holotype, ♀. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, ventral view. C. Head, frontal view. D. Left anterior leg, anterior view. C–D not to scale.

Fig. 4. Phasmomantella nuichuana sp. nov., dorsal and ventral views of paratypes 1–4.

Fig. 6. Distribution map of Phasmomantella nuichuana gen. et sp. nov. (black circle) and Phasmomantella pallida (Roy, 2001) (red circle).