Holaptilon tadovaniensis Mirzaee and Sadeghi, 2024

Mirzaee, Zohreh, Battiston, Roberto, Ballarin, Francesco, Sadeghi, Saber, Simoes, Marianna, Wiemers, Martin & Schmitt, Thomas, 2024, The Six Dwarfs of the Middle East: revision of the enigmatic praying mantis genus Holaptilon (Mantodea: Gonypetidae: Gonypetinae) with the description of four new species under integrative taxonomy, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 82, pp. 89-117 : 89

4.8. Holaptilon tadovaniensis Mirzaee and Sadeghi sp. nov.

Figure 9g, h

Material examined.

Holotype: 1♂, ethanol, Tadovan , Fars, Iran, 28.853N, 53.326E, 1050 m, 7/2018, leg. Mirzaee (SDEI) . - Paratypes: 1♂, 1♀, 2 nymphs, ethanol, Tadovan , Fars, Iran, 28.853N, 53.326E, 1050 m, 7/2018, leg. Mirzaee (ZMPC) .

Diagnosis.

Males of this species can be distinguished by short, finger-like afa, which is curved, and not narrowed towards apex, pba anteriad of afa almost wholly sclerotised, the posterior edge of vla oblique and truncated, but the truncation is not as clear cut as in H. iranicum sp. nov.

Description.

Males are much smaller and more delicate in appearance than females. Male and female apterous, body sandy brown in dorsal view, with some black spots mostly in the middle of body parts, and entirely blackened in ventral view (Fig. 2e, f ). Head: Wider than high, slightly wider than pronotum (Fig. 10f-h ). Pronotum: Almost flat, compact, wider than high in both sexes. Meso- and metanotum: roof-shaped and keeled in the midline (Fig. 11g, h ). Forelegs: Femora broad, dorsal edge lamellar, longer than wide, armed with 12 anteroventral spines in both males and females, with second longer than the others; 4 discoidal spines with the first shorter, the third much longer than the others, the second is a bit smaller than the third; 4 posteroventral spines, with almost all of them of the same size, the first two spines are close to each other but the third and fourth have a bit more distance between them; anterior genicular lobe and posterior genicular lobe with a spine; foretibia armed with 9-11 anteroventral spines in both sexes, elongating distally, and 12-13 posteroventral spines in both sexes, also elongating distally (Fig. 12b ). Abdomen: Slender but half as wide in male compared to female, the tergites keeled in midline, the ventral view completely black for both sexes; supra anal plate transverse, triangular; cerci with eight readily recognizable cercomeres, covered by long setae; last cercomere longer and narrower than the others; subgenital plate much longer than wide. Male genitalia: Ventral phallomere oval, moderately wide. afa short, finger-like, curved, not narrowed towards apex, pba anteriad of afa almost wholly sclerotised; posterior edge of vla oblique, the “truncation” not as clear-cut as in H. iranicum sp. nov. Apical process paa long, directed left side, with curved apex (Fig. 2e, f ). Ootheca: Unknown.

Measurements (in mm).

Body length: ♂ 13.0, ♀ 17.0; Head width: ♂ 3.2, ♀ 3.4; Head height: ♂ 1.5, ♀ 1.8; Pronotum length: ♂ 3.0, ♀ 3.0; Pronotum width: ♂ 2.5, ♀ 2.5; Forecoxa length: ♂ 3.0, ♀ 3.3; Forefemora length: ♂ 3.5, ♀ 3.5; Forefemora width: ♂ 1.8, ♀ 1.8.

Distribution.

South of Iran, Tadovan, Fars province (Fig. 6 : orange point).

Habitats.

High in the mountains, surrounded by an abundance of rocks and vegetation, with a permanent river (Fig. 7d ).

Conservation.

This species is known from a single locality. With no further data on distribution and population trends over time, this species can be addressed as Data Deficient.

Etymology.

The specific name " Holaptilon tadovaniensis " refers to the locality where the new species was found.

Figures

Figure 2. Dorsal view and ventral view of male genitalia of different Holaptilon species: a, b H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c, d H. iranicum sp. nov.; e, f ventral view H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; g, h H. brevipugilis; i, j H. khozestani sp. nov.; k, l H. pusillulum; scale bar: 500 µm. afa = anterior process (left phallic complex: left phallomere). paa = apical process (left phallic complex: left phallomere). vla = the right-posterior ventral lobe (left phallic complex: " ventral phallomere "; with L 4 A sclerotization in ventral wall; with opening of ejaculatory duct in dorsal wall). pba = (left phallic complex: left phallomere), of afa plus the edge (between pouches pne and lve) from which they arise (with L 1 and L 2 sclerotizations). L 4 B = sclerite extending over the dorsal wall (left phallomere). L 4 A = sclerite extending over the ventral wall (left and " ventral " phallomere).

Figure 6. Current and historic records of Holaptilon species, visualisation with QGIS v. 3.22, Base map: ESRI Terrain map.

Figure 7. Examples of the habitats of Holaptilon species: a H. abdullahii sp. nov., Soroo, Busheher province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). b H. iranicum sp. nov., Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). c H. khozestani sp. nov., Malagha, Khozestan province (31.607 N, 49.998 E). d H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E).

Figure 9. Genus Holaptilon life habitus: a H. abdullahii sp. nov., paratype male from Soroo, Busheher province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). b H. abdullahii sp. nov., paratype female from Kangan, Busheher province (27.843 N, 52.064 E). c H. brevipugilis male and female from Arak (34.128 N, 50.07 E) (photo credit: Mahmood Kolnegari). d H. iranicum sp. nov., holotype male from Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). e H. iranicum sp. nov., paratype female from Arjan, Fars province (29.569 N, 51.947 E). f H. khozestani sp. nov., holotype male from Malagha, Khozestan province (31.607 N, 49.998 E). g H. khozestani sp. nov., paratype female from Dehdez, Khozestan province (31.733 N, 50.222 E). h H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., paratype female from Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E). i H. tadovaniensis sp. nov., holotype male from Tadovan, Fars (28.853 N, 53.326 E). j H. pusillulum male from Jerusalem, Israel (28.853 N, 53.326 E) (photo credit: More Yosef Avi). k H. pusillulum female from Jerusalem, Israel (31.737 N, 35.077 E) (photo credit: Chaym Turak).

Figure 10. Heads of different Holaptilon species: a male (Kangan), b female (Kangan) H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c female (Arjan), d male (Arjan), e female (Sahlak), f female (Yasuj) H. iranicum sp. nov.; g male (Tadovan), h female (Tadovan) H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; i female (Arak), j male (Mashhad), k female (Arak), l male (Arak) H. brevipugilis; m male (Dehdez), n male (Malagha), o male (Dehdez), p female (Dehdez) H. khozestani sp. nov.; scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 11. Posterior view of the thoraxes of different Holaptilon species: a male (Kangan) b female (Kangan) H. abdullahii sp. nov.; c female (Arjan), d male (Arjan), e female (Sahlak), f female (Yasuj) H. iranicum sp. nov.; g male (Tadovan), h female (Tadovan) H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; i female (Arak), j male (Mashhad), k female (Arak), l male (Arak) H. brevipugilis; m male (Dehdez), n male (Malagha), o male (Dehdez), p female (Dehdez) H. khozestani sp. nov.; scale bar: 2 mm; white arrows indicate the characters that were used in the previous studies as diagnostic characters.

Figure 12. Different types of spines of the foreleg of different Holaptilon species: a female H. iranicum sp. nov.; b female H. tadovaniensis sp. nov.; c male H. brevipugilis; d male H. khozestani sp. nov.; e male H. abdullahii sp. nov.; f female H. pusillulum; scale bar: 2 mm.