Research Article |
Corresponding author: Chun-Xiang Liu ( liucx@ioz.ac.cn ) Academic editor: Gavin Svenson
© 2020 Chao Wu, Chun-Xiang Liu.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Wu C, Liu C-X (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: 51-64. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.922.47987
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The genus Didymocorypha Wood-Mason, 1877 (Eremiaphilidae, Iridinae) has only been recorded in South Asia, including a sole species D. lanceolata (Fabricius). Here, we firstly extend its distribution to China, with description of one new species D. libaii sp. nov. Didymocorypha libaii sp. nov. lives in an area about 3000 meters above sea level on the southern slope of the Himalayas (Tibet in China), one of the highest-altitude inhabited areas of mantis in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the first recorded Oriental mantis species in which both sexes are wingless. Life history of the new species, necessary illustrations and ecological images are provided. The distribution of the new Didymocorypha species is discussed and mapped.
apterous mantis species, life history, new species, Oriental Region, taxonomy
The genus Didymocorypha was erected for a sole species D. ensifera Wood-Mason, 1877 from Sri Lanka with which Pyrgocotis gracilipes Stål, 1877 was synonymized (
Within the order Mantodea, brachypterous females are common. Apterous females are a rarity except in some families, for example Thespidae and Haaniidae. It is also rare that both sexes of a certain species are wingless. As far as we know, both sexes are apterous in three Old World mantis genera, Apteromantis Werner, 1931 (Amelidae), Geomantis Pantel, 1896 (Rivetinidae), Holaptilon Beier, 1964 (Gonypetidae), one African genus Apterocorypha Roy, 1966 (Hoplocoryphidae) and one North American genus Yersiniops Hebard, 1931 (Amelidae) (
When investigating fauna on the southern slope of the Himalayas in Tibet, China, we collected apterous adult specimens of Didymocorypha from Gyirong County at an altitude of 3000 meters in 2017. After dissecting the male specimens and comparing them with Indian samples of D. lanceolata, we thought that those wingless specimens should belong to a unique new species of Didymocorypha. The new species is the first recorded species of Didymocorypha from China, and the first recorded Oriental mantis species with wingless male and female adults. Didymocorypha is the second recorded genus of the family Eremiaphilidae from China. Here, we review the genus Didymocorypha, provide a redescription of the known species, and thoroughly describe the new species and its life history.
Classification system follows
The specimens were deposited in the following institutions or private collections.
CJZ Collection of Jia-Zhi Zhang, Shanghai, China
CWC Collection of Chao Wu, Beijing, China
Schizocephalus (Didymocorypha): Wood-Mason, 1877: 221.
Pyrgocotis: Stål, 1877: 14;
Didymocorypha: Wood-Mason, 1882: 24;
Schizocephalus (Didymocorypha) ensifera Wood-Mason, 1877 by original monotypy =Mantis lanceolata Fabricius, 1798.
Small-sized, slender (Figs
Abdomen long, narrow. Cerci well-developed, with each segment wide, flat, lanceolate (Fig.
(Fig.
Mantis lanceolata: Fabricius, 1798: 191.
Schizocephalus (Didymocorypha) ensifera Wood-Mason, 1877: 221–222.
Pyrgocotis gracilipes: Stål, 1877: 17;
Didymocorypha ensifera: Wood-Mason, 1882: 24;
Pyrgomantis lanceolata:
Didymocorypha lanceolata:
‘India orientali’ (
India • 5 ♂; Andhra Pradesh, Nellore District; 15.769N, 79.693E; 150 m; 10~25-IX-2012;
Male. Slim and slender, withered-grass-like (Fig.
External genitalia (Fig.
Female similar as male, but larger, stronger, and wingless.
Male measurements (Length in mm). Body: 34.60–35.05; head: 7.10–7.14; pronotum: 5.90–5.95; fore coxae: 2.90–2.95; fore femora: 3.18–3.22; fore tibiae: 2.39–2.41; middle femora: 3.57–3.60; hind femora: 6.65–6.70; forewing: 14.05–14.10; hind wing: 15.33–15.38; cercus: 8.70–8.75.
(Fig.
Male genitalia of Didymocorypha spp., Disarticulated genital complex, ventral view. A D. lanceolata (Fabricius) B, C D. libaii sp. nov. Abbreviations: L4A = sclerite extending over the ventral wall of left phallomere; L4B = sclerite extending over the dorsal wall of left phallomere; R3 = 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.
Holotype. China • ♂; Tibet, Gyirong County; 28.404N, 85.332E; 3300 m; 20-VII-2017; Chao Wu leg.;
Holotype. Male. Slim (Figs
Head
: lanceolate. Paired juxtaocular bulges united into a conical extension with a complete median dorsal suture and a deep vertical ventral groove (Fig.
Thorax : pronotum longer than head, slender, about 3 times as long as wide. Prozona almost as wide as metazona. Mesothorax similar to metathorax, simple, nearly trapezoidal. Thorax with distinct medial keel. Wingless.
Prothoracic legs
: fore coxa smooth, unarmed, shorter than metazona; fore femur as long as coxa, with a strongly-developed genicular spur (Fig.
Meso- and metathoracic legs : slim without expansions and with one small femoral genicular spur and one obvious tibial spur. Tarsus much shorter than tibia; basal tarsomere short, less than total length of remaining segments. Metathoracic legs longer and stronger than mesolegs.
Abdomen
: almost as wide as pronotum. Each abdominal segment similar, nearly square; tergite 10 (Supra-anal plate) broad, widely trianglar. Cerci possessing 15 joints, with distal joints gradually becoming longer distad. Each of last 3 joints longer than wide (Fig.
External genitalia
(Fig.
Female. Similar to male, but distinctly larger and stronger (Figs
Measurements (Length in mm, Holotype in parentheses). Body: male 28.30–28.75 (28.45), female 32.50–35.15; head: male 5.85–5.95 (5.94), female 7.45–7.55; pronotum: male 5.35–5.39 (5.39), female 6.95–7.10; fore coxae: male 3.13–3.18 (3.15), female 4.11–4.20; fore femora: male 4.10–4.13 (4.11), female 4.62–4.80; fore tibiae: male 2.25–2.30 (2.27), female 2.85–3.02; middle femora: male 4.42–4.51 (4.45), female 5.70–5.79; hind femora: male 6.20–6.27 (6.25), female 7.43–7.52; cercus: male 5.45–5.50 (5.47), female 7.30–7.35.
The new species is distinguished from D. lanceolata by small body size, small and indistinct male ocelli, wingless male adults, comparatively large-sized genitalia, ventral phallomere without secondary distal process (sdp), additional obtuse tubercle on paa and different structure of afa (Fig.
(Figs
The new species often lives at the bottom of bushes in a variety of angiosperms (Figs
China (Tibet: Gyirong County).
The new species was named after Bai Li, who is a poet in the Tang dynasty of China and one of the most famous poets in Chinese history.
Didymocorypha libaii sp. nov., is the first mantis species recorded at altitudes of more than 3000 meters (Fig.
We suppose that the new species was isolated by the uplifted Himalayas and diverged from its congener. Its ancestral population adapted to the environment at high altitudes, and was restricted to a very narrow range. In addition, a few mantis species (of genera Arria Stål, 1877, Odontomantis Saussure, 1871 and Phyllothelys Wood-Mason, 1877) are also found at an altitude of about 2500 m in China (including high-altitude areas of the Himalayas) based on our collections, which we will report in other papers. There are a range of suitable environments on the southern slopes of the Himalayas in China and more discoveries will possibly be made in the future. The other recorded mantis species at high altitude include Pseudopogonogaster hebardi (Terra, 1982) from Ecuador at elevations 3500 m and Armene breviptera Lindt, 1963 from Badakhshan (West Pamir Mountains) at elevations 2300–2700 m. One ootheca of A. breviptera was even found at 3700 m (
We sincerely thank Mr Chang-Qing Chen (Tianjin), for his support and help in research. We thank Mr Xiao-Dong Yang (Yibin, Sichuan) and Mr Hao Huang (Qingdao, Shandong) for their close friendships with the first author during the Tibet investigation. Our thanks go to Mr Jin-Cheng Liu (Beijing) and Mr Jia-Zhi Zhang (Shanghai) for providing us valuable specimen and Mr Qin Yuan (Beijing) for loaning us some specimens. We also express our thanks to Reinhard Ehrmann (Karlsruhe, Germany) for his help in collecting literature and significant suggestion, and to Evgeny Shcherbakov (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia) for his careful reviews and valuable comments. The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31572308, 31750002).