Arria qinlingensis Wu, Zhang and Liu, 2024

Wu, Chao, Zhang, Jia-Zhi & Liu, Chun-Xiang, 2024, Arria qinlingensis sp. n., a remarkable new praying mantis from China (Mantodea: Haaniidae), Journal of Natural History 58 (9 - 12), pp. 408-421 : 411-417

Arria qinlingensis Wu, Zhang and Liu sp. n.

( Figures 2–5 , 6 (a), 7, 8 (c, d, g), 10(a, b))

Type material

Holotype. ♂, China, Shaanxi Province, Hanzhong, Huayang Town ; 33.650°N, 107.567°E; 1500 m; 25 July 2017; Yu-Chen Zheng leg. ( IZCAS).

Paratypes. 1♂, same data, but collected by Mr Yun Ji in July 2013 ( IZCAS) . 1♀, same data, but collected by Mr Wei-Wei Zhang in June 2014 ( IZCAS) . 1♀, same data, but collected by Mr Zhi-Liang Wang in 19 July 2016 ( CWC) . 3♂, China, Shaanxi Province, Ningshan, Huang’guan Town ; September 2023; Chao-Yue Sun leg . ( CWC).

Description

Small sized, moss-mimicking mantis. Female robust and apterous, with many granules, tubercles and leaf-like extensions throughout the body; male slender and with well-developed wings, length exceeds the abdomen ( Figure 2 ).

Colouration

Body entirely greenish brown in colour, scattered with black and dark green spots and bands. Lower frons light grey, with black spots; black marks on base of ocellus; vertex dark grey with black spots. Antenna yellowish green, gradually darkened towards tip. Compound eyes green with dark stripes. Pronotum supracoxal sulcus with black spots. Medial keel on the metazona with light green conical tubercles. Abdominal ventral surface has lighter colouration with brown spots. Dorsal side with black marks. Dorsal tergal lobes green, with dark green spots. Meso- and meta legs black with 3 green marks evenly distributed on the tibia and femur; meso- and metacoxa with lighter colouration with black spots; a white spot on the base of meso- and metathorax. Ventral surface of fore leg yellowish green, with smaller brown spots. Ventral surface of fore femora with 3 disjunctive black bands with blurred boundaries, all spines yellowish green, only slightly brownish at tip. Male forewings light brown with black spots; hindwings mainly transparent, yellowish brown towards costal field apex, with black spots at apex ( Figure 8 (c, d)).

Male

Head. Triangular, width longer than length. Compound eyes rounded, strongly protruded antero-laterally. Ocelli elliptical, large. Vertex without process. Juxta-ocular bulges protruding, rounded. Lower frons transverse, about 3 times wider than high, with smooth surface, dorsal margin carinate in the middle ( Figure 3 (a)). Antennae elongate and filiform, dark brown; scapes inflated.

Pronotum and prosternum. Pronotum short, both sides of supracoxal sulcus have conical tubercle. Metazona about 1.5 times longer than prozona, dorsal surface of metazona keeled along its midline; metazona with small distal tubercles, protuberant, coniform; metazone highly constricted after supracoxal dilation. Lateral margin of pronotum with small tubercles ( Figure 4 (a,b)). Prosternum flat, with black spots.

Prothoracic legs. Slender. forecoxae longer than the pronotum, bearing 6–8 small denticles on its anterior margin; apical lobes divergent. Femora elongate, lateral margin of femora with small tubercles; femora with 4 posteroventral, 4 discoidal, 12–13 anteroventral spines and 1 genicular spine on each side; tibial spur groove lying near the middle. Fore tibiae slender, with 4–5 posteroventral and 6–7 anteroventral spines; dorsal margin slightly curved. Tarsus longer than tibia; first joint of tarsi longer than the combined length of the remaining segments ( Figure 3 (c)).

Meso- and metathoracic legs. Elongate and slender. Ventral margin of femora bearing a series of small teeth. Tibiae slender, slightly longer than femora, straight. Tarsus shorter than tibia; first joint of tarsi longer than the combined length of the remaining segments.

Wings. Forewings long, narrow, with narrowly rounded apex; translucent, with some densely arranged large stains; costal area opaque, narrow; stigma indistinct. Hindwings longer than forewings, broad and with pointed apex, transparent with slightly infumated tip ( Figures 2 , 8 (c)).

Abdomen. Long and narrow, flat; lateral lobes on tergites 3 to 8 prominent, leaf-like, bright green, with a sharp tip; cerci hairy, elongate, with conical terminal joint; subgenital plate highly ciliate, longer than wide, with truncated posterior margin, styli short, located close to each other, the styli base robust ( Figure 6 (a)).

External genitalia. Ventral phallomere pointy at the two ends, broad at middle, elongate, with strongly transverse tl on right side of sdpl (in ventral view), wide, nearly semicircular; sdpl robust, short and straight, rod-shaped, with blunt apex; paa digitiform, elongated, curved, phalloid apophysis short, wide, with a blunt tip. Right phallomere with fda narrowed towards apex with minute setae, pva highly sclerotised, horseshoe shaped ( Figure 6 (a)).

Female

Head. Similar to the male, but ocelli small, juxta-ocular bulges more developed and protuberant, coniform, with many small granules. Antennae short ( Figure 3 (b)).

Pronotum and prosternum. Pronotum short, robust. Both sides of supracoxal sulcus have conical tubercles. Metazona about twice longer than prozona, dorsal surface of metazona keeled along its midline; metazona with distal tubercles well-developed and protuberant, coniform, with many small granules; lateral margin of pronotum with small, spine-like, blunt tubercles; supracoxal dilation with lateral pronotal expansion; Prosternum flat, with black spots (( Figures 4 (c), 5(a)).

Prothoracic legs. Robust, the surface has a series of tubercles. Coxae longer than pronotum, bearing 6–8 large denticles on their anterior margin and 1–2 smaller denticles between the large ones; apical lobes divergent. Femora elongate, lateral margin with small, spine-like, blunt tubercles; femora with 4 posteroventral, 4 discoidal, 12–13 anteroventral spines and 1 genicular spine on each side; tibial spur groove lying near the middle. Fore tibiae robust, with 4–5 posteroventral and 6–7 anteroventral spines; dorsal margin slightly curved. Tarsus longer than tibia; first joint of tarsi longer than the combined length of the remaining segments ( Figure 3 (d, e)).

Meso- and metathoracic legs. Similar to the male.

Abdomen. Thick, dilated, fusiform, much wider than in males. All abdominal tergites possess a dorsal tergal lobe, on tergites 2–4 it very large, foliaceous, with irregular distal edges, the others are close to triangles; tergites 2–8 bear lateral sternal lobe, foliaceous and with narrowly rounded apex. Sternites 2–5 wtih small ventral sternal lobe, with rounded apex. Supra-anal plate longer than wide, tongue-like, posterior margin triangular, with a prominent midline keel and small projection at the middle. Apical part of the ovipositor long, extending beyond the supra-anal plate. Cerci as in the male, hairy, with a conical terminal joint ( Figure 5 (b)).

Ootheca. Small-sized, rectangular, with a pointed prolongation on the dorsal surface at apex ( Figure 7 ).

Etymology

The new species is named after the type locality ‘ Qinling’ (Shaanxi, China), with the Latin adjectival suffix -ensis, meaning ‘belonging to’ .

Distribution

China: Shaanxi, Qinling Mountains.

Notes

The new species is similar to Arria leigongshanensis , but the body is larger. In contrast to A. leigongshanensis , the female of A. qinlingensis sp. n. has many small denticules on its juxtaocular bulges, and prominent lobes on the abdomen are significantly more pronounced. The male external genitalia are also different from each other: the male of A. qinlingensis sp. n. has an acute sdpl, while A. leigongshanensis has a broad and blunt sdpl. The tl of A. qinlingensis sp. n. is less pointed and the margin is smoothly curved outwards, while A.leigongshanensis has a distinctive tl structure,which abruptly ‘grows out’ of the margin of the ventral phallomere.

Measurements (lengths in mm, holotype in parentheses)

Male. Body (head to abdomen end): 32.36–33.54 (32.36); body (head to wings): 44.52– 45.04 (44.52); pronotum: 6.81–6.95 (6.81); fore coxae: 6.19–6.77 (6.19); fore femora: 6.91– 7.26 (6.91); fore tibiae: 3.94–4.02 (3.94); hind femora: 9.09–10.02 (9.09); hind tibiae: 9.60– 11.12 (9.60); forewings: 32.88–34.05 (32.88); hind wings: 31.76–33.55 (31.76).

Female. Body (head to abdomen end): 29.43–31.12; pronotum: 7.95–8.03; fore coxae: 6.94– 7.02;fore femora:7.77–7.87;fore tibiae:4.54–4.82;hind femora:9.72–10.09;hind tibiae:7.34–7.95.

Figures

Figure 2. Arria qinlingensis sp. n., body in dorsal view. a: male (holotype); b: female (paratype).

Figure 3. Head and prothoracic leg of Arria qinlingensis sp. n. a, c: males; b, d, e: females. a, b: anterior view; c, d: ventral view; e: dorsal view.

Figure 4. Pronotum of Arria qinlingensis sp. n., dorsal view and lateral view. a, b: male; c: female. a, c: dorsal view; b: lateral view.

Figure 5. Pronotum and abdomen of female Arria qinlingensis sp. n. in living, lateral view. a: pronotum; b: abdomen.

Figure 6. ♂ coxosternite, tergite 10 and circus, male genitalia of Arria spp., ventral view. a: A. qinlingensis sp. n.; b: A. leigongshanensis.

Figure 7. The female adult and ootheca of Arria qinlingensis sp. n.

Figure 8. Adult of Arria spp. in natural habitat. a, b: A. pallida; c, d, g: A. qinlingensis sp. n.; e, f: A. leigongshanensis. a, c, e: males; b, d, g, f: females. c: photograph © Yu-Chen Zheng, published with permission, g: photograph © Zhi-Liang Wang, published with permission.