Paraoxypilus Saussure, 1870

Milledge, Graham A., 2024, Review of the genera Glabromantis, Paraoxypilus, and Phthersigena (Mantodea: Nanomantidae: Fulciniinae), Records of the Australian Museum 76 (2), pp. 69-103 : 70-71

Paraoxypilus Saussure, 1870

Paraoxypilus Saussure, 1870: 227 . Type species Paraoxypilus tasmaniensis Saussure, 1870 designated by Giglio-Tos (1913).

Exparoxypilus Beier, 1929 ( Connors, 2023).

Myrmecomantis Giglio-Tos, 1913: 5 . Type species Myrmecomantis atra Giglio-Tos, 1913 by monotypy. syn. nov.

Diagnosis. Members of this genus can be distinguished from other members of the Paraoxypilina by having the anterior margin of the forecoxa armed with small teeth (e.g., Figs. 6 E, F ).

Description. Body small, overall colour some shade of brown, grey or black.

Head wider than high, with a pair of prominent apophyses on the vertex beside each eye and sometimes with other spines and tubercles; frontal shield wider than high, with pronounced sub antennal ridge. Antennae fine and filamentous, slightly longer than prothorax in female, about three times longer than prothorax in male.

Pronotum short and broad, margin with slight to pronounced supracoxal expansion and with a more or less prominent spine at each corner, dorsal surface variously spined and/or tuberculate, margins tuberculate to denticulate, with distinct median carina which has more or less well-developed dorsal projections.

Forecoxa with anterior margin slightly expanded and armed with small teeth, inner face often with contrasting markings, outer face divided by strong longitudinal ridge, coxa longer than pronotum. Fore femur strongly expanded dorsally, dorsal margin broadly arched, inner face often with contrasting markings, outer face with central longitudinal ridge; claw groove at midpoint, deep and pronounced; ventrally with three discoidal spines, in length from longest to shortest 2–1–3, outer row of five small spines, inner row of five spines and double row of small tubercles between spines one and two; area between inner and outer spines tuberculate, often with several low sclerotized ridges and with central longitudinal depression in which the tibia rests. Fore tibia without spines but with inner row of small tubercles near claw corresponding to similar row on femur; outer face slightly concave, inner face often marked with contrasting colours.

Male with wings longer than abdomen, forewings translucent to semi opaque, hindwings mostly hyaline; female apterous, although very small vestiges of wings apparent. Mesonotum and metanotum with small caudal projection on median carina.

Mid and hind legs slender, unmodified, often with pale banding.

Abdomen of male elongate, narrow, lateral margins slightly expanded, dorsal median carina slightly expanded toward posterior margins of tergites; abdomen of female with lateral margins strongly expanded giving abdomen and ovoid appearance, posterior margins of tergites with scattered bumpy protuberances, with distinct dorsal median carina which is expanded toward posterior margins of tergites, anterior margin of tergite 1 often whitish in colour; supra-anal plate of male shorter than subgenital plate, that of female elongate, covering ovipositor, carinate with blunt pointed tip. Cerci short, about the same length as supra-anal plate in male, about half the length of supra-anal plate in female. Female genitalia with apical lobe of gonapophysis 8 prominent and spatulate. Male with relatively short styli. Male genitalia with vspr prominent.

Remarks. Myrmecomantis atra shows no apomorphic characters that warrant separation from Paraoxypilus . Giglio-Tos (1913) did not list any diagnostic characters in his description of M. atra. His generic key ( Giglio-Tos 1913) separated these two genera based on several characters of the pronotum and forecoxa. Only three species of Paraoxypilus were known at the time. His later generic key ( Giglio-Tos, 1927) separates this genus from Paraoxypilus by the possession of a well-developed pre-acetabular spine, a character which varies in other Paraoxypilus species from poorly to well developed.

Species of Paraoxypilus are commonly known as boxer mantids due to the curious boxing like movements of their forelegs. This is possibly associated the expanded femora and distinctive colour patterns of these limbs. The function of this behaviour is unclear but may involve intraspecific signalling. This behaviour is also displayed in at least some species of Bolbe , which, according to the phylogeny of Schwarz & Roy (2019) is in sister group to the Paraoxypilina .

Male genital morphology is conserved compared to many other Mantodean taxa, with relatively small differences between species and genera. The morphology of the right phallomere varies little between species, so is only illustrated for the type species of Paraoxypilus and Glabromantis .

Figures

Figure 6. Paraoxypilus tasmaniensis, frontal view of head, A. female, B. male, lateral view of head and pronotum, C. female (arrow indicates par-ocular spine), D. male, internal face of foreleg, E. female, F. male.