Didymocorypha Wood-Mason, 1877

Wu, Chao & Liu, Chun-Xiang, 2020, New record of Didymocorypha Wood-Mason (Mantodea, Eremiaphilidae) from China, with description of a new high-altitude wingless mantis species in Asia, ZooKeys 922, pp. 51-64 : 51

Didymocorypha Wood-Mason, 1877 Figs 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7

Schizocephalus (Didymocorypha) : Wood-Mason, 1877: 221.

Pyrgocotis : Stål, 1877: 14; Westwood 1889: 3; Brunner de Wattenwyl 1893: 59; Kirby 1904: 218 (syn.); Giglio-Tos 1921: 31 (syn.).

Didymocorypha : Wood-Mason, 1882: 24; Westwood 1889: 3; Brunner de Wattenwyl 1893: 59; Bolivar 1897: 303; Kirby 1904: 218; Giglio-Tos 1919: 57; Giglio-Tos 1921: 31; Giglio-Tos 1927: 116; Beier 1935: 5; Beier 1964: 942; Beier 1968: 8; Ehrmann 2002: 122; Otte and Spearman 2005: 328; Ehrmann and Borer 2015: 231; Schwarz and Roy 2019: 115, 143.

Type species.

Schizocephalus (Didymocorypha) ensifera Wood-Mason, 1877 by original monotypy = Mantis lanceolata Fabricius, 1798.

Diagnosis.

Small-sized, slender (Figs 1 - 3 ). Head elongate (Fig. 4 ), with lateral lobes of vertex prolonged into triangular processes, running alongside each other but not fused. Compound eyes large, oblong. Lower frons approximately trapezoid. Pronotum slender, with nearly parallel lateral margins. Fore legs weak. Fore femur (Fig. 5A, B ) with 4 ventro-posterior and 4 discoidal spines; claw groove in the middle; fore tarsus much longer than tibia, and basal tarsomere longer than total length of remaining segments. Middle and hind legs slim without expansions but with genicular spines. Hind legs longer and stronger than mesolegs, similar to jumping legs of locusts. Male winged (Fig. 1A ) or wingless (Figs 1C , 3A ); if winged, fore wings hyaline, a little shorter than body. Female wingless (Figs 1B , 2 , 3C ).

Abdomen long, narrow. Cerci well-developed, with each segment wide, flat, lanceolate (Fig. 5C-E ).

Distribution

(Fig. 7 ). India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, China (new record).

Figures

Figure 1. Didymocorypha spp. body in dorsal view and ootheca. A, C Male B female D oothecae. A D. lanceolata (Fabricius) B-D D. libaii sp. nov. (holotype and paratype).

Figure 2. Didymocorypha libaii sp. nov. adult female in its natural habitat.

Figure 3. Adult and nymph of Didymocorypha libaii sp. nov. in natural habitat. A Adult male B nymphs C feeding adult female D copulating adults E ecological habitat.

Figure 4. Head of Didymocorypha spp., anterior view. A Male, D. lanceolata (Fabricius) B male, D. libaii sp. nov. (holotype) C female, D. libaii sp. nov. (paratype). Red arrows point to ocelli.

Figure 5. Fore femur (A, B) and cerci (C-E) of Didymocorypha spp. A, B, D, E D. libaii sp. nov. C D. lanceolata (Fabricius). A Ventral view B dorsal view A, B, C, E male D female. Abbreviations: fb = femoral brush; ds = discoidal spines; gs = genicular spur; pvfs = posteroventral femoral spines.

Figure 6. Male genitalia of Didymocorypha spp., Disarticulated genital complex, ventral view. A D. lanceolata (Fabricius) B, C D. libaii sp. nov. Abbreviations: L 4 A = sclerite extending over the ventral wall of left phallomere; L 4 B = sclerite extending over the dorsal wall of left phallomere; R 3 = anteriorly extending sclerite of right phallomere; afa = phalloid apophysis; fda = main posterior lobe of right phallomere; pia = process posterolateral to pva of right phallomere; pva = process anteromesal to pia of right phallomere; paa = posterior process of left phallomere; sdp = secondary distal process.

Figure 7. Distribution map of the distribution Didymocorypha spp. in South Asia and East Asia (Himalaya). ○: D. lanceolata (Fabricius); * D. libaii sp. nov.