Hierodula tenuidentata Saussure, 1869

Liu, Qin-Peng, Liu, Zi-Jun, Wang, Guo-Li & Yin, Zi-Xu, 2021, Taxonomic revision of the praying mantis subfamily Hierodulinae of China (Mantodea: Mantidae), Zootaxa 4951 (3), pp. 401-433 : 413-415

Hierodula tenuidentata Saussure, 1869

( Figs. 5 , 13E–F , 15K–L )

Hierodula tenuidentata Saussure, 1869: 68 . Holotype (♀): India: cote de Malabar, MHNG.

Material examined. 1♂, CHINA, Xinjiang, Yining, Kaifa , 43°56’06’’N, 81°15’49’’E, alt. 635m, 3.vii.2018, leg. Tong Ge. 1♀, CHINA, Xinjiang, Yining, Jieliangzi , 43°57’53’’N, 81°05’51’’E, alt. 642m, 3.ix.2019, leg. Mr. Shao. New record for China .

Measurements [in mm, ♂ (n = 1), ♀ (n = 1)]. Body length, ♂ 65.0, ♀ 62.4. Pronotum length, ♂ 16.9, ♀ 20.9. Pronotum width, ♂ 6.7, ♀ 8.3. Forewing length, ♂ 44.7, ♀ 43.4.

Redescription. Male. Large-sized. Generally green. Head triangular, 1.2 times as wide as long. Compound eyes inverted drop-shaped. Ocelli small, widely spaced, with the median ocellus as the largest. Lower frons transverse, about 1.25 times as width as length, with its upper edge obtuse angle. Clypeus trapezoidal. Pronotum 2.53 times as long as its maximum width. Edges of the prozone and metazone completely smooth. Metazone 2.25 times as long as prozone. Lcs robust, abutting slightly reduced ics at the base. Pcpl transversal saddle-shaped. Fs entirely smooth, with a transverse dark-purple brand at the base. Forelegs. Length of forecoxa slightly shorter than that of metazone, with three to five dorsal spines widely spaced. Cxl well developed, convergent. The surface of fore femur entirely smooth. DS 1–4 th tan-coloured, and the 4 th coloured black at the tip. Genicular spur of fore femur reduced, quite small. Spination formula: F=4DS/15AvS/4PvS; T=13AvS/10PvS. Meso- and metathoracic legs slender, without expansion. Meso- and metatibia bear two tibial spurs and an apical triangular extension. Wings. Well developed, extending beyond the end of the abdomen. Forewing 3.9 times as long as its maximum width. Costal area green while discoidal area hyaline, with their veins chartreuse. Pterostigma drop-shaped, rounded at the base. Hindwing generally hyaline, triangular, 2 times as long as its maximum width. Abdomen slender, the apex of the abdomen was destroyed during the preparation of the genitalia and so the abdomen cannot be fully described.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 13E–F ). Left phallomere: sclerite L4B spoon-shaped, with left edge rounded. Sclerite L2 slender and elongate, nearly straight. Apical process paa with a strongly hooked apex. Afa following triangular sclerite L1, without sharp protrusion but the right side extends up. Ventral phallomere: Sclerite L4A is in the shape of an irregular rhomboid, with the right edge sclerotized for supporting. Sdpl pigmented and slender, bent at the base at approximately 70° in the sclerite’s plane and then nearly straight. Right phallomere: lobe fda triangular, tapers off apically. Pva and pia pigmented and sclerotized, claw-like.

Female. Large-sized, similar to male but more robust. Head triangular, nearly as long as wide. Compound eyes inverted drop-shaped. Ocelli hyaline, nearly equal in size. Pronotum 3.27 times as long as its maximum width. Sparse denticulations along the lateral edge of prozone, disappearing after supracoxal sulcus. Lcs robust and short, abutting slightly reduced ics at the base. Fs entirely smooth and flat, with a transverse dark-purple brand at the base. Forelegs. Forecoxa stubby, longer than metazone. AvfS unequal in size, arranged as follows: iIiIiIiIiIiIiiI(L)/ iIiIiIiiIiIiiI(R). Spination formula: F=4Ds/14–15AvS/4PvS; T=13–14AvS/10PvS. Meso- and metathoracic legs slender, without expansion. Meso- and metatibia bear two tibial spurs and an apical triangular extension. Wings. Well developed, extending beyond the end of the abdomen. Pterostigma ivory, short and rounded. Abdomen. The abdomen with six visible coxosternites, reaches the widest point at about coxosternites IV.

Ootheca ( Fig. 15K–L ) rectangular. As long as or slightly longer than its width. The attachment site is along the ventral surface. External wall soft, generally russet brown in colour, without or with very thin external coating outside. Emergence area are composed of multiple openings, which exhibit flexible opercula on. Opercula imbricate, all aligned to form two parallel rows.

Distribution. China (Xinjiang); Afghanistan; N India; Nepal; Pakistan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan.

Remarks. The relationship between H. tenuidentata and H. transcaucasica Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 is poorly defined. The original descriptions of these two species by Brunner (1878) and Saussure (1869) are quite brief. The differences between them are in the internal and discoidal spines of fore femora: entirely black on the inner side in H. transcaucasica and black only on the tip in H. tenuidentata ( Giglio-Tos 1912; Battiston & Massa 2008; Cianferoni et al. 2018). Schwarz et al. (2018a) indicated that Hierodula transcaucasica Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 may be a synonym of Hierodula tenuidentata . We are not in a position to resolve the issue here.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Hierodula tenuidentata. A–B. Female. A. Ventral view; B. Dorsal view. C–D. Male. C. Ventral view; D. dorsal view.

FIGURE 13. Male genitalia of Chinese Hierodulinae. A–B. Hierodula patellifera. C–D. Hierodula maculata. E–F. Hierodula tenuidentata. G–I. R. longipennis. G. Ventral phallomere; H. left phallomere; I. right phallomere. J–K. Rhombomantis fusca. L–M. Mekongomantis quinquespinosa.

FIGURE 15. Ootheca of Hierodulinae from China (except T–U. Hierodula membranacea from India). A–D. Rhombomantis fusca. E–H. R. longipennis. I–J. Hierodula patellifera (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan). K–L. Hierodula tenuidentata. M–N. Hierodula pistillinota. O. Hierodula maculata. P. Hierodula patellifera (Qingdao, Shandong). Q. Mekongomantis quinquespinosa. R–S. Hierodula confusa.