Oxypiloidea (Catasigerpes) occidentalis ( Wood-Mason, 1879 )

Schwarz, Christian J., Pohl, Marius & Frank, Erik T., 2023, A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea), Zootaxa 5373 (1), pp. 1-64 : 43

Oxypiloidea (Catasigerpes) occidentalis ( Wood-Mason, 1879)

Figs. 147–150

Sigerpes occidentalis Wood-Mason, 1879: 259 .

= Sigerpes toganus Giglio-Tos, 1915: 13 .

Type localities. (S. o.) Sierra Leone; (S. t.) Bismarckburg, Togo.

Distribution. Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo ( Beier 1968; Giglio-Tos 1915a; Gillon & Roy 1968; Miles 2021; Prost & Roy 1986; Ragge & Roy 1967; Roy 1964b, 1965a, 1967, 1970b, 1971a, 1975, 2013a; Roy & Leston 1975; Wood-Mason 1879).

Records. CSC: ♁, new station, 03.IV.–12.V.2017, M. Pohl leg. (genitalia preparation Schwarz No. 317); ♁, new station, 03.IV.–12.V.2017, M. Pohl leg.; ♁, new station, 22.IV.–06.VI.2018, M. Pohl leg.

Remarks. One of the few species previously recorded from the CNP ( Gillon & Roy 1968; Roy 2013a). There are two female morphs, one with a long vertex process ( occidentalis ) and another with a short process. Roy (2013a) considered them to be conspecific, since only one type of male ( toganus ) attributable to these females has been found so far. The remaining uncertainty can only be clarified with breeding experiments.

Figures

FIGURES 147–149. Oxypiloidea (Catasigerpes) occidentalis (Wood-Mason, 1879). Male. 147. Dorsal view. 148–149. Ventral view. 149. Genitalia.

FIGURES 150–151. Acromantinae males, live aspects. 150. Oxypiloidea (C.) occidentalis. 151. Chrysomantis girardi.