Theopropus xishiae Wu & Liu, 2021

Wu, Chao & Liu, Chun-Xiang, 2021, Notes on the genus Theopropus Saussure (Mantodea, Hymenopodidae) from China, with description of a new species from the Himalayas, ZooKeys 1049, pp. 163-182 : 163

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1049.65295
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1D3720A7-708F-4D52-AD98-54125D34CE64
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/15E6FA92-601D-402F-A605-0B822A1CE170
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:15E6FA92-601D-402F-A605-0B822A1CE170
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Theopropus xishiae Wu & Liu
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Theopropus xishiae Wu & Liu sp. nov.

Figs 2B View Figure 2 ; 3B View Figure 3 ; 5B, E View Figure 5 ; 6B View Figure 6 ; 7B View Figure 7 ; 8B, E View Figure 8 ; 9A, D View Figure 9 ; 10B, D View Figure 10 ; 12 View Figure 12 ; 13D View Figure 13 ; 14B, D View Figure 14

Material examined.

6♂, 1♀, 1♀ juv. . Holotype. China • 1♂; Tibet, Medog, Beibeng ; 29°14'58.14"N, 95°10'31.55"E; 960 m; 12-VII-2013; Chao Wu leg.; IZCAS. Paratypes. China GoogleMaps • 1♀; Tibet, Medog, Beibeng ; 29°14'58.14"N, 95°10'31.55"E; 960 m; 12-VII-2013; Chao Wu leg.; IZCAS GoogleMaps . • 2♂; Tibet, Medog, Dexing cun; 29°19'36.48"N, 95°16'59.82"E; 770 m; 15-VII-2013; Chao Wu leg.; IZCAS GoogleMaps . • 2♂; Tibet, Medog, Jiangxin cun; 29°13'02.90"N, 95°08'05.61"E; 1200 m; 20-VII-2014; Chao Wu leg.; CWC GoogleMaps . • 1♂; Tibet, Medog, Beibeng ; 29°14'21.52"N, 95°12'00.21"E; 1320 m; 24-VII-2019; Chao Wu leg.; CJZ GoogleMaps . • 1♀ juv.; Tibet, Medog, Beibeng ; 1000 m; VII-2010; Wen-Xuan Bi leg.; IZCAS .

Description.

Male. Large-sized species for Theopropus . Body size much larger than in other congeners.

Head: Compound eyes oval, anteriorly protruding, with rounded top. Vertical process conical, extending about as high as the imaginary line between the apexes of the eyes; lower frons narrow, with arched dorsal margin and raised lateral margins (Fig. 5B View Figure 5 ). Antennae filiform, shorter than body length.

Pronotum (Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ): Wide. Lateral pronotal expansion very wide; lateral margins bearing small, sparsely arranged spines. Black band on each lateral margin of metazone disconnected in middle. Ratio of pronotum length to supracoxal dilatation width about 1.39-14.2.

Prothoracic legs (Fig. 8B View Figure 8 ): Coxa bearing 6-7 small dorsal spines, femora with 15 anteroventral spines, tibia with 15 anteroventral and 18 posteroventral spines.

Meso- and metathoracic legs: Long, robust; a subapical posteroventral lobe on mid and hind femora, narrow, long. Base half of tibia swollen.

Forewings: Long, narrow, opaque. Discoidal area possessing a large subbasal white spot with blurry black edges; the two black lateral borders of the wide white band in middle of the discoidal area arched, the anterior margin of the frontal one directing proximad, of the caudal one directing distad (Fig. 13D View Figure 13 ). Anal area long, narrow, hyaline.

Hindwings (Fig. 2B View Figure 2 ): Hyaline.

Abdomen: Long, narrow, with very small lobes. Subgenital plate short, wide, more or less asymmetrical, with styli.

External genitalia (Fig. 10B, D View Figure 10 ): Simplified. Similar to those of congeners. Left phallomere wide with inconspicuous secondary distal process (spd); phalloid apophysis (afa) short; posterior process of left phallomere (paa) digitiform.

Female. Large-sized, robust. Body size largest among known Theopropus species.

Head (Fig. 5E View Figure 5 ): Similar to male, but vertex extending beyond apex of eyes.

Pronotum (Fig. 7B View Figure 7 ): Wide. Lateral pronotal expansion very wide. Lateral margins bearing small, sparsely arranged spines. Black band on each lateral margin of metazone disconnected in middle. Ratio of pronotum length to supracoxal dilatation width about 1.08.

Prothoracic legs (Fig. 8E View Figure 8 ): Coxa bearing 7-8 small dorsal spines; femora with 16 anteroventral spines; tibia with 16 anteroventral and 19 posteroventral spines. Two black horizontal bands present on ventral side of tibia, but absent in femora. No black spots observed near tibial spur.

Meso- and metathoracic legs: Long, robust. The subbasal posteroventral lobe on femur wide, disc-shaped (Fig. 9D View Figure 9 ); base half of tibia swollen.

Forewings (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ): Wide, fusiform, opaque. The large white subbasal spot of the discoidal area with black edges; frontal one of the two black lateral margins of the wide white band in the middle of discoidal area arc-shaped, pointing proximad, and hind one approximately straight. Anal area long, narrow, hyaline.

Hindwings (Fig. 3B View Figure 3 ): Wide, opaque, except for margin.

Abdomen (Fig. 9A View Figure 9 ): Broad, nearly round. Lateral margins of 4th-7th abdominal tergite with significantly expanded lobes.

Coloration.

Yellowish green, with white spots and bands. Antennae black. Band on each lateral margin of metazone black. Two horizontal ventral bands on prothoracic femora and tibia black in males (Fig. 8B View Figure 8 ), which is absent on femora in females (Fig. 8E View Figure 8 ). Forewings yellowish green, costal area white; the large spot in base of discoidal area white, with black hind edge; the wide band in middle of discoidal area white, with black lateral margins; anal area orange in males and white in females. Hindwings hyaline, with red-brownish veins in males, ivory in females. Abdomen yellowish white; lateral margins of 3th-5th abdomen tergite with green plaques, and 6th-7th mostly white in females.

Measurements

(length in mm, holotype in parentheses). Body (head to wings): male 33.0-33.7 (33.7), female 52.45; body (vertex to abdomen end): male 27.2-28.1, female 49.1; pronotum: male 6.3-6.4 (6.4), female 13.4; fore coxae: male 6.6-6.7 (6.7), female 13.6; fore femora: male 7.4-7.5 (7.5), female15.5; fore tibiae: male 5.3-5.4 (5.4), female 11.4; middle femora: male 6.8-6.9 (6.9), female 11.1; hind femora: male 8.0-8.1 (8.1), female 13.6; forewing: male 25.0-25.2 (25.2), female 35.1; hindwing: male 22.0-22.2 (22.2), female 29.8.

Differential diagnosis.

The new species most resembles Theopropus sinecus . It is distinguished by the larger body size, wider pronotum, and fewer femoral and tibial spines than those of its congener. Concerning the males, the two black lateral borders of the wide white band in the middle of discoidal area are pointing in opposite directions in T. xishiae sp. nov. (Fig. 13D View Figure 13 ), however, are parallel in T. sinecus (Fig. 13B View Figure 13 ). The structure of the female’s abdomen is also different from that of its congeners (Fig. 9A View Figure 9 ): lateral margins of 4th-7th abdominal tergites each bear a distinctly expanded lobe; abdomen yellowish white, lateral margins of 3th-5th abdomen tergite with green plaques; 6th-7th completely white.

This beautiful species is distributed in the southern Himalayas, which is the northernmost and westernmost record for Theopropus .

Distribution.

China: Tibet, Medog. Expected to also occur in N India.

Etymology.

The new species was named after Xi Shi who was born in The Spring-Autumn Period, the top of the four beautiful women in ancient China, the beauty representative in Chinese culture.