Microphotina cristalino, Lanna & Fiat & Herculano & Rivera & Peloso, 2023

Lanna, Leonardo Moutinho, Fiat, Lucas Linhares, Herculano, João Felipe, Rivera, Julio & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A new species of Microphotina Beier, 1935 from the southernmost region of Amazonia (Mantodea: Photinaidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 870, pp. 87-106 : 91-96

Microphotina cristalino sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:889DF5D8-9672-49C3-BBC0-B1A3329419DD

Figs 3–6

Diagnosis

The new species can be easily recognized by the following combination of characters: i) subgenital plate distally with a broadly-angled notch; ii) styli short, almost as long as wide, triangular; iii) afa reduced, forming a short, well-sclerotized, blunt process; iv) posterior process (paa) hammerhead-like with irregular margins.

Etymology

The specific epithet derives from RPPN Cristalino where the new species was discovered, a private reserve that plays an important role in protecting the biodiversity of one of the most threatened areas in the Amazon biome. ‘ Cristalino ’ is the main river in the region and also happens to mean ‘translucid’ in Portuguese, which alludes to the translucent quality of the body and crystal-clear wings of our new species. Because the name refers to the reserve, the river, and the Portuguese word, we choose to use it as a noun in apposition to name the new species.

Material examined

Holotype BRAZIL • ♂; Mato Grosso, Alta Floresta, RPPN Cristalino ; 9°35′47.3″ S, 55°55′56.2″ W; alt. 260 m; 7 May 2021; Projeto Mantis leg.; Amazônia, terra firme, white cloth light trap; MPEG 05050654 .

Paratype BRAZIL • 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype; 12 May 2021; Projeto Mantis leg.; MPEG 05050655 .

Description

Male holotype MPEG 05050654

HABITUS. Small, green photinaid with red antennae and colorless, hyaline wings. Live specimen in Fig. 3A and Fig. 6 ; pinned specimen in Fig. 3B–C.

MEASUREMENTS (in mm; measurements in parenthesis correspond to the paratype). Body length 28.55 (27.67) (to tip of supraanal plate), 32.8 (31.75) (to tip of wings); head length 2.17 (2.34); head width 4.42 (4.68); lower frons length 0.36 (0.34); lower frons width 1.56 (1.53); antennae length 18.00 (20.00); pronotum length 7.78 (7.76); maximum width of pronotum 1.97 (2.00); minimum width of pronotum 1.11 (1.23); prozona length 2.00 (2.12); metazona length 5.78 (5.64); forecoxa length 5.66 (5.48); forefemur length 6.33 (6.23); forefemur width 1.40 (1.23); foretibia length 4.36 (4.08); mesofemur missing (7.16); mesotibia missing (4.98); metafemur length 7.70 (7.54); metatibia length 8.48 (8.50); tegmen length 20.8 (21.24); tegmen width 6.38 (7.09); costal field at midpoint 0.67 (0.50); wing length 19.40 (19.68); wing width 9.30 (10.30); cerci length 2.51 (2.36).

COLORATION (in vivo; Figs 3A , 6 ). Head in general light green, except for the following parts: labrum yellowish; mandibles cyan around the labrum; palp segments green to cyan to yellow, matching neighboring head structures in color; ocellar tubercle reddish pink; scape and pedicel of antennae green, flagellum red on its basal ⅓, becoming darker distally. Pronotum whitish green; forelegs vivid green, femoral and tibial spines green with dark tips. Meso- and metathorax pale green; wings iridescent, fully hyaline, membrane colorless, veins greenish (more evident on the costal field); cursorial legs vivid green. Abdomen pale green dorsally and beige ventrally.

HEAD ( Fig. 4A–B ). Distinctly wider than long. Juxtaocular bulges weakly developed, slightly more elevated than the imaginary line connecting the top of compound eyes, vertex slightly convex, scarcely more elevated than juxtaocular bulges, eyes kidney-shaped, lateral margin rounded. Ocellar tubercle undeveloped, ocelli prominent, elliptical, arranged forming angle of about 120º. Lower frons narrow, 4.3× as wide as long (4.5 in paratype). Clypeus wider than long, trapezoidal.Antennae long and filiform, flagellomeres become increasingly elongated distally ( Fig. 4C–E ).

THORAX. Pronotum relatively slender ( Fig. 4F–G ), lateral margins smooth, lacking denticles, 3.9 × as long as its maximum width, supracoxal expansion indistinctly marked. Lateral margins of prozona almost parallel, anterior margin rounded. Metazona 2.9 (2.7 in paratype) times as long as prozona, with concave margins.

PROTHORACIC LEGS. Relatively slender. Forecoxae about as long as metazona, margins and overall surface smooth, inner aspect of forecoxae with scarce pilosity, especially on its basal third, apical lobes divergent. Spination formula: F = 4DS/14AvS/5PvS; T = 15(L)-14(R)AvS/17(L)-16(R)PvS [paratype foretibiae: AvS =17(L)-16(R), PvS =16(L)-15(R)]. Forefemora ( Fig. 4H ) with tibial spur groove at the proximal third of the corresponding femur. The third discoidal spine is the longest, followed by the second, which is slightly longer than the fourth, and the first is very small, almost indistinct (in the paratype, the second discoidal spine is slightly smaller than the fourth on the left forefemur). Anteroventral forefemoral spines equidistant and similar in size (except for 11 th and 13 th spines, which are considerably shorter), with configuration iIiIiIiIiI i I i i (‘I’ articulated spines; ‘i’ non-articulated spines; ‘ i ’ smallest non-articulated spines), four basal most spines arranged in two rows. Posteroventral forefemoral spines equidistant, cuticle between spines smooth. Genicular lobes each bearing small spine. Foretibial spines slightly decumbent, increasing in size distally, posteroventral spines smaller than anteroventral spines, the latter with its distalmost spine around a third of length of tibial spur (in paratype, distalmost anteroventral spine half as long as tibial spur). Metatarsus longer than remaining tarsomeres combined, euplantula well developed.

WINGS. Fore- and hindwings iridescent, fully hyaline, and unpigmented. Costal field of forewings narrow, with 26–29 parallel cross-veins; stigma indistinct. Hindwings at rest surpass forewings by about 1.5 mm (1.0 mm in the paratype).

MESO- AND METATHORACIC LEGS. Slightly setose. Mesothoracic tibiae shorter than their corresponding femora, metathoracic tibiae longer. Mesothoracic metatarsus marginally shorter than remaining tarsomeres combined, metathoracic metatarsus much longer.

ABDOMEN. Slender, without lobes or projections, parallel-sided. Supraanal plate triangular, apex rounded. Cerci pilose, longer than supraanal and subgenital plates, with 12 cercomeres each, first cercomere consisting of few fused segments, last cercomere conical with rounded tip, considerably longer than wide. Subgenital plate distally with broadly-angled notch ( Fig. 5A ), styli triangular, short, almost as wide as long, with rounded apex.

GENITALIA. Ventral phallomere ( Fig. 5B–C ): guttiform; bl elongated, narrow, slightly sinuous proximally, pre-apically bent, tip well sclerotized; inner aspect of bl with a preapical irregularity (same is absent in paratype). Left phallomere ( Fig. 5B–C ): afa strongly reduced, consisting of small, blunt protuberance that is only slightly more sclerotized than surrounding regions (a well-developed, membranous lobe, can be observed anterior to afa); paa produced and robust, hammerhead-like, distal margins irregular.

Female

Unknown.

Differential diagnosis

The males of all species of Microphotina are similar in their external morphology. Most differential characters however are found within genital structures and appendages associated with the terminal abdominal segments. Microphotina cristalino sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners for its subgenital plate with a broadly-angled, distal notch. From all known species, M. cristalino sp. nov. seems aligned with M. panguanensis . Both species share fully hyaline and unpigmented wing membranes, and the distinctive hammerhead-like paa of the left phallomere. However, in the new species the paa has conspicuously irregular margins, unlike M. panguanensis . Furthermore, M. cristalino sp. nov. has a higher metazona / prozona ratio value range (2.66–2.9) compared to M. panguanensis (2.4–2.5), and cerci comprised of 12 cercomeres (13 in M. panguanensis ). The new species can be individually differentiated from its congeners as follows: i) from M. vitripennis for lacking a patch of setae on the ventral phallomere and a strongly reduced afa; ii) from M. viridescens for lacking green /yellowish pigmentation in the apex of the wings; iii) from M. viridula for having a hammerhead-like paa on its left phallomere.

Natural history and distribution

The new species was discovered during a praying mantis survey at RPPN Cristalino that yielded 231 specimens, representing at least 28 species in 25 genera. The two males of M. cristalino sp. nov. were obtained by light trapping and represented less than 1% of the total catch of the survey. Active search did not yield any specimen of Microphotina despite considerable collecting effort. Both males arrived at the trap between 3:00–5:00 a.m., during the new moon phase, 5-day apart. The holotype and the paratype lived for 18 and one day, respectively, after collection. Their cryptic behavior consists of pressing their body against a perching surface, forelegs positioned laterally, and head held in an almost prognathous position ( Fig. 6 ).

Figures

Fig. 3. Microphotina cristalino sp. nov.,♂, holotype (MPEG 05050654). A. Live specimen photographed in studio. B–C. Pinned specimen. B. Dorsal view. C. Ventral view. Scale bars = 5mm.

Fig. 4. Microphotina cristalino sp. nov., ♂, external morphology. A–B. Head, frontal view. A. Holotype (MPEG 05050654). B. Paratype (MPEG 05050655). C–E. Holotype, (MPEG 05050654), antenna, highlighting sectional variation of antennomeres. C. Basal section. D. Mid-section. E. Apex. F–G. Pronotum. F. Holotype (MPEG 05050654). G. Paratype (MPEG 05050655). H. Holotype (MPEG 05050654), left foreleg, showing spine configuration. Scale bars = 1mm.

Fig. 5. Microphotina cristalino sp. nov., ♂, holotype (MPEG 05050654), subgenital plate and genital structures. A. Subgenital plate. B. Genital complex in dorsal view detailing the hammerhead-shaped paa, and its irregular margins. C. Genital complex in ventral view.

Fig. 6. Microphotina cristalino sp. nov., ♂, holotype (MPEG 05050654), cryptic behavior. A. Lateral view showing head almost in prognathous position.B. Dorso-lateral view, with forelegs laterally coupled to pronotum. Photographed in studio.