Pseudomantoida extendidera, Schubnel & Nel, 2019
|
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.4202/app.00628.2019 |
|
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A33A879A-3134-FFD8-9118-734B99B0FB43 |
|
treatment provided by |
Felipe |
|
scientific name |
Pseudomantoida extendidera |
| status |
sp. nov. |
Pseudomantoida extendidera sp. nov.
Fig. 5 View Fig .
ZooBank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:365BADE6-6E90-4154-9A7F-C3B3D6396747
Etymology: From Latin extend, extend and Greek δέρη, neck; in reference to the extension of the pronotum above the forewings.
Holotype: MNHN-F.A71141 (PA 2378 2/2, the number in the working collection), an adult male with preserved head, prothorax, and fore legs in a hyaline piece of amber.
Type locality: Le Quesnoy, Chevrière, region of Creil, Oise department, France.
Type horizon: Lowermost Eocene, Sparnacian, level MP7 of the mammal fauna of Dormaal.
Material.—We tentatively attribute MNHN-F.A71140 to this taxon, but with doubt ( Fig. 6 View Fig ).
spines; fore tibia with one posteroventral spine in apical position, at least seven anteroventral spines and one apical spur ( Fig. 5 View Fig ).
Diagnosis.— Small mantises with short and bulky pronotum and fore legs, typical of Mantoididae ; fore femorae with three posteroventral spines (0–2 or 4 in other Mantoididae , see Agudelo 2014). Lateral margin of pronotum rounded with an extension above bases of forewings.
Description.— Head 3.3 mm long, 3.8 mm wide, approximately as long as wide, triangular with vertex rounded; eyes globular protruding; three large ocelli (probably a male); clypeus without a ridge; antennae long and filiform, third antennomere 2.5 times as long as fourth.
Pronotum: 2.8 mm long, short, as long as wide; saddle-shaped, i.e., with lateral parts bent ventrad; metazona (1.8 mm) two times as long as prozona, but with a long extension above wings, measuring half of its length; outer margin of pronotum raised, forming a lateral carina without spines; lateral margin forming a soft angle in prozona and slightly S-shaped in metazona; central carina on all the length; ventral cervix not visible; scutellum not visible.
Legs: Fore coxae without spines; fore femora 3.8 mm long, thick and short, with a big carina on all length of its dorsal margin and a smaller carina close to the posteroventral raw of spines; three posteroventral spines, at least five same sized anteroventral spines and three discoidal Remarks.— The head shape of Pseudomantoida gen. nov. is quite similar to that of Mantoida , more globular than in other “more derived” Mantodea ( Wieland 2013: fig. 70). The clypeus has no ridge, as in Chaeteessa , Metallyticus , and Mantoida ( Wieland 2013: 44, 52). Also the very long antennae, probably longer than the body, is a character of Mantoida and Chaeteessa . The short prothorax of Pseudomantoida is shared by “ Mantoida , Chaeteessa , Metallyticus , Amorphoscelinae, and Perlamantinae, in which the pronotum is almost square”, suggesting that this last character is homoplastic ( Wieland 2013: 50). All these characters are currently considered as symplesiomorphies of the mantodean crown-group.
The pronotum of Pseudomantoida is saddle-shaped, as in Mantoida and Paramantoida , even its lateral parts are more bent ventrad than in these extant taxa ( Fig. 5 View Fig ; Agudelo 2014). The fore tibia has only one posteroventral spine, which is a character only present in the Mantoididae , Amorphocelidae, and few other taxa. Generally the mantises have such spines more numerous. These characters could be putative synapomorphies of the Mantoididae . This fossil has also an apical claw on fore tibiae, and prominent ocelli, characters shared by the Mantoididae but not the Chaeteessidae (Agudelo 2014) . Lastly, Pseudomantoida differs from Ambermantis Grimaldi, 2003 (type genus of the Cretaceous family Ambermantidae Grimaldi, 2003 , a taxon sister group of the “Eumantodea” sensu Grimaldi 2003], crown-group of the Mantodea ) in the shorter legs, the S-shaped posterior margin metazona, and different number of spines on fore femora. This last genus shares with Pseudomantoida a metazona nearly two times as long as prozona, with a long extension above wings, and outer margin of pronotum forming a lateral carina without spines. Notice that the forewing venation of Ambermantis is very similar to those of the extant Mantoididae , especially the anterior branch of the vein AA2 posteriorly pectinate with many branches (see Agudelo 2014). This character could represent a potential synapomorphy of the Ambermantidae with the Mantoididae .
Pseudomantoida extendidera appears to be very similar in size to the extant Paramantoida amazonica Agudelo, 2014 (head width 3.8–3.9 mm, prozona length 0.8–1.0 mm) (Agudelo 2014).Therefore,the total length of Pseudomantoida extendidera was probably also similar, i.e., 18–20 mm long.
Mantoida matthiasglinki Zompro, 2005 is currently considered to belong to the genus Mantoida and therefore to the Mantoididae . However, it has many characters strongly different from those of other Mantoididae (extant Mantoida and Paramantoida , and Pseudomantoida ): cursorials legs are longer than those of Mantoididae (e.g., hind femorae as long as abdomen while they are clearly shorter in Mantoida and Paramantoida ); fore legs also longer than those of Mantoididae , and with large spines on femoral and tibial posterioventral spines (small or reduced in Mantoididae ). These characters would justify the attribution of this species to another family. The long legs and spines, associated with the very short pronotum, are also known in the Cretaceous Ambermantidae ( Ambermantis ) ( Grimaldi 2003), which are very similar to M. matthiasglinki in their general habitus. However, the anal veins seem to be different; M. matthiasglinki has discoidal spines while these seem to be absent in Ambermantis . The long legs and spines present in both taxa can result from an adaptation to a particular life style, viz. fast-running predation on small preys. Notwithstanding, M. matthiasglinki needs a revision. Currently it cannot be accurately assigned to a precise family of mantises. Therefore, Pseudomantoida extendidera is the only one known fossil Mantoididae , thus of great interest for date calibration.
Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Only type locality.
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.