Galepsus (Syngalepsus) bucheti, Moulin, Nicolas, 2018

Moulin, Nicolas, 2018, A revision of Syngalepsus Beier, with the description of two new species from the Central African Republic and Malawi (Mantodea, Tarachodidae), ZooKeys 802, pp. 121-143 : 131-132

Galepsus (Syngalepsus) bucheti sp. n. Figures 3 A–D, 4 A–B, 6H, 7H, 8

Type material.

Holotype male: CAR, Dzanga-Ndoki National Park, Mboki, bank of the Sangha River, 02°28'09"N, 16°04'44"E, 367m, Mercury Vapor light trap, 24.I.2012 (RP field code), N. Moulin leg., genitalia prep. Moulin NM0103 (MNHN, ex Moulin coll.), DNA barcoding BOLD NMMAN11-0518.

Unique male known.

Type locality.

The type specimen was collected at Mboki, on the banks of the Sangha River, the border between the Central African Republic and Cameroon, in the territory of the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park. The vegetation close to Sangha River is a mosaic of a semi-evergreen forest that contains swamp-forest areas along the rivers and shrubby areas in disturbed environments.

Etymology.

Named for Sergej Buchet, researcher participating at "SANGHA, Biodiversité en Terre Pygmée” on CAR, in 2008 and 2010; large contributor in the Author’s crowdfunding "A la recherche de la Biodiversité des Mantes d’Afrique”, KissKissBankBank platform (April 2015).

Diagnosis.

Close to Galepsus (Syngalepsus) denigratus Beier and even more to Galepsus (Syngalepsus) birkenmeierae Beier with the large black patch on prosternum but different by genitalia conformation. Head wider than the pronotum; vertex slightly convex; prosternum with a large black patch.

Description male.

Fine body, brown, length 32.7 mm from head to subgenital plate. Hind wings with venation brown. Head. Vertex straight or slightly convex with the region between the parietal sutures and the eyes convex. Two black spots near of the eyes, on the posterior face of the head. Lower frons transverse. Maxillary and labial palps with base of penultimate and last segment with black patch. Below of the last segment black. Antennae brown-black. Thorax. Pronotum. Smooth lateral margins. Surface smooth. Prozone broader than metazone. Pronotum 2.8 times longer than broad. Covered by small dark-brown spots, diffuses. Prosternum with a large black patch covering the posterior ¾ of the surface. Place of the spot within the other species visible. Forelegs . Femora with 12 anteroventral spines, four posteroventral spines, four discoidal spines; tibiae with eleven anteroventral spines. ten-eleven posteroventral spines. Legs globally of same colour of pronotum. Coxae without coloured patch. Trochanter with a black spot. Base of femora with a black patch, in extension of the one of trochanter. Tibiae with an elongated black patch at base of anteroventral tibial spines, from the 3rd to 11th. All tarsomere black below. Meso- and metathoracic legs stained with dark-brown. All tarsomere black at the distal end. Wings. Forewings and hindwings are uniformly translucent pale brown with brown veins. Reaching tip of abdomen. Abdomen. Flattened. Supra-anal plate: two times wider than length, distal margin rounded, pubescent. Cerci: relatively longs, flattened, the last three distal cercomeri longer than wide. Subgenital plate: pubescent, posterior edge almost straight. Styles: long, relatively thin, hairy.

Genitalia. Right phallomere with ventral process (pva) and ventral plate (pia) sclerotised; posterior process of phalloid apophysis (apa) long, with sclerotised denticles, ventral plate (pia) sclerotised with a rectangular form in anterior part and a hairs tuft at the posterior part. Apex of right phallomere rectangular covered on apex and left side with thick bristles. Ventral phallomere elongated, with a tooth (pda) on posterior margin, distant of the left margin. Left phallomere with a posterior process of phalloid apophysis (apa) pointed shorter than apical process (paa) and sclerotised at apex. Apical process (paa) large, hammer form at apex. Thick bristles on posterior process of phalloid apophysis (apa) apex and main lobe (fda) of the right phallomere apex.

Female unknown.

Measurements (mm).

Holotype: body length 32.7, pronotum length 7.1, fore wings length 23.2, fore coxae length 4.3, fore femora length 4.9, fore tibiae length 2.9; width of pronotum 2.5, width of head 4.3, width of fore femora 1.5.