Liturgusa cayennensis Saussure, 1869

Svenson, Gavin J., 2014, Revision of the Neotropical bark mantis genus Liturgusa Saussure, 1869 (Insecta, Mantodea, Liturgusini), ZooKeys 390, pp. 1-214 : 28-33

Liturgusa cayennensis Saussure, 1869

Liturgousa cayennensis : Saussure 1869: 62; Brauer 1870: 92; Saussure 1871b: 101-102; Saussure and Zehntner 1894: 159-160; Westwood 1889: 5, 50; Scudder 1901: 159, 407; Kirby 1904: 271; Chopard 1911: 323; Chopard 1916: 164; Hebard 1919a: 31; Hebard 1924: 131; Hebard 1929: 399; Hebard 1933: 29; Rehn 1935: 198; Beebe et al. 1952: 246; Cerdá 1996: 75-76; Roy and Cuche 2008: 8, 21.

Liturgusa cayennensis : Hebard 1922: 337; Giglio-Tos 1927: 293; Beier 1935: 11; Jantsch 1991: 125; Terra 1995: 53; Jantsch 1999: 47-48; Salazar E. 2000: 67; Lombardo and Agabiti 2001: 90, 96; Salazar E. 2002: 124; Ehrmann 2002: 206; Agudelo 2004: 55, Table 3.1; Agudelo 2005: 3; Otte and Spearman 2005: 132; Agudelo et al. 2007: 116, 141.

Liturgousa cayennesis : Bruner 1906: 143.

Type.

Holotype Female. Muséum d’Histoire naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland

Type locality.

Cayenne. (French Guiana)

Material examined.

Liturgusa cayennensis Saussure, 1869.

Taxonomic history.

The oldest species described within the genus is also the type species for Liturgusa , designated by Kirby in 1904. Although the species was included in numerous taxonomic works, the species was likely confused with numerous others since some of these works focus on regions where Liturgusa cayennensis does not range. Therefore, it is impossible to tell what species they had misidentified as Liturgusa cayennensis . It was Rehn (1935) that first started to notice that Liturgusa cayennensis was more geographically restricted and that many previous records for the species in Central America were not correct. He noticed that it was being confused with Liturgusa maya most often. For Liturgusa , identification has always been a problem and most previous records of Liturgusa cayennensis should be viewed carefully and probably not included within distributional studies.

Diagnosis.

A short and stocky species with shortened, rounded forewings, a short and broad pronotum, and a broad abdomen. The forewings are usually asymmetrical in coloration, the darker being rust colored. Most similar to Liturgusa lichenalis , but lacking the prominent posterolateral tergal projections. Both Liturgusa guyana and Liturgusa neblina are similar, but both have a more pronounced constriction in the metazone of the pronotum. Finally, Liturgusa lichenalis is restricted to the western Amazon basin while Liturgusa cayennensis is found in central and eastern regions of the Amazon basin.

Description.

Male. (Fig. 3A) N=9: Body length 19.22-22.58 (20.93); forewing length 12.49-14.98 (13.61); hindwing length 10.26-11.37 (10.63); pronotum length 5.31-6.01 (5.60); prozone length 1.68-2.00 (1.79); pronotum width 2.38-2.70 (2.53); pronotum narrow width 1.77-1.98 (1.85); head width 4.84-5.39 (5.03); head vertex to clypeus 1.83-2.07 (1.96); frons width 1.67-1.87 (1.79); frons height 0.64-0.82 (0.72); prothoracic femur length 5.52-6.57 (6.00); mesothoracic femur length 7.14 -8.20 (7.43); mesothoracic tibia length 5.34-6.38 (5.70); mesothoracic tarsus length 4.33-5.71 (5.13); metathoracic femur length 6.75-8.36 (7.43); metathoracic tibia length 6.05-8.51 (7.49); metathoracic tarsus length 6.24-8.17 (7.10); pronotal elongation measure 0.30-0.34 (0.32); pronotal shape measure 0.44-0.46 (0.45); head shape measure 0.37-0.40 (0.39); frons shape measure 0.37-0.44 (0.40); anteroventral femoral spine count 12-16 (16); anteroventral tibial spine count 10; posteroventral tibial spine count 7.

Head (Fig. 40A): Transverse, the juxta-ocular protuberances small, but pronounced, the apex in the lateral half; the vertex is straight, even with the dorsal margin of the eyes. Frontal suture with a medial carina forming a continuous arc, most pronounced medially, the region just ventral depressed. Ocelli small and protruding on small cuticular mounds, but the region between all three slightly raised; the lateral ocelli oriented outward. The carina on the frons pronounced, the medial region just ventral to the carina depressed. Clypeus transverse, the upper margin convex, the lower margin slightly concave; the central carina strongly pronounced and straight. Antennae pale at the base, the flagellum fading to dark brown just slightly distal to the base. Black band extending straight over the medial carina of the frontal suture, the medial portion of the carina pale; a branch of the black band extends ventro-laterally between the eye and antennal insertion at a forty five degree angle; a branch of the black band extends dorsal-medially from the lateral region of the main transverse band and terminating near the ventral terminus of the parietal suture. Lower region of frons darkened; the clypeus is pale; the mandibles and labrum mostly pale, but with some brown marks; the vertex and juxta-ocular protuberances pale and brown; the area immediately adjacent to lateral ocelli black. Palpi are pale.

Pronotum (Fig. 47A): Short and squat with a moderately defined supra-coxal bulge; dorsal surface entirely smooth. Prozone squat with margins gradually tapering anteriorly to a rounded anterior margin; the lateral margins smooth. Metazone with concave lateral margins, tapering posteriorly until about two thirds distance from supra-coxal bulge then widening gradually to the posterior margin; margins smooth; posterior margin with a slight medial emargination; the dorsal surface of the posterior third of the metazone depressed; two small and elongate bulges present on the dorsal surface near the posterior margin and positioned laterally. Pale with strong black marks across the surface, two prominent black marks laterally just posterior to the supra-coxal sulcus.

Prothoracic Legs: Femur squat and robust with a near straight dorsal margin; strongly defined pale to dark banding on posterior (external) surface; anterior (internal) surface with a very thin black band running medially from the base to terminus, a black mark dorsal to the band at the midpoint, and a dark mark dorsal to the band near the femoral brush; the ventral surface pale. Posterior surface of femur with few tubercles. A shallow femoral pit to accommodate terminal posteroventral tibial spine positioned medial to and exactly between the first two proximal posteroventral spines, but slightly distal to the most distal discoidal spine; pit is pigmented darkly. Posterior prothoracic femoral genicular spine slightly smaller than posteroventral spines, originating distal to the beginning of the genicular lobe. Prothoracic tibial posteroventral spines with the first (proximal) smallest and the fourth through sixth of similar length, the second and third are slightly longer. Prothoracic coxae smooth, the anterior surface with a very small, black mark medially in the proximal half as well as a very small black spot medially towards the distal terminus.

Meso- and Metathoracic Legs: Femora with ventral (posterior) carina; dorsal (anterior) carina pronounced. Mesotarsi with first segment as long as the remaining segments combined.

Wings: Forewings mottled with brown, pale and greenish coloration; the costal region without strongly defined banding, green and brown proximally with some low contrasting bands developing distally; veins are brown with cells being dark brown or light brown; two pale spots are positioned in the proximal quarter of the discoidal region just posterior to the first radial vein; a large pale spot is positioned centrally. Forewings often, but not always asymmetrically colored; one being mottled as described the other is darkened significantly with a black or rust tone, the mottled pattern still visible; extending just beyond or as long as the abdomen. Hindwings opaque brown, the discoidal region more pale proximally; the costal region light brown proximally, darkening distally; the terminus of the discoidal region projecting beyond the distal margin of anal region, the wing appearing slightly elongate.

Abdomen: Broad, widening until the fifth tergite before a gradual posterior narrowing; a smooth, brown and black colored dorsal surface. Tergites without posterolateral tergal projections. Supra-anal plate slightly transverse, a rounded terminus. Subgenital plate irregularly rounded and without styli.

Genital Complex (Fig. 51A.1-A.2): The main body of ventral left sclerite (L4A) with rounded terminus, but with a short, laterally positioned distal process (pda) that is rounded and sometimes projecting at an angle towards the medial axis of the L4A that can create a strongly angled transition from the terminal margin of the L4A to the medial margin of the pda; sometimes a depression on the lateral half is present. The apofisis falloid (afa) of the main body of dorsal left sclerite (L4B) short, broad and tapering to a point and heavily sclerotized, often curved; the apical process (paa) short, cylindrical and curved, the terminus a rounded end. The right dorsal phallomere (fda) of the first sclerite of right phallomere (R1) tapers to a rounded, membranous terminus; the ventral plate (pia) long with a rough surface, but mostly lacking strongly defined grooves though sometimes present; the ventral process (pva) smooth and tapering to a point distally, one edge straight and the other convex, tooth-like in appearance.

Redescription.

Female. (Figs 3B, 4A) N=13: Body length 14.64-32.95 (28.65); forewing length 17.01-20.50 (19.21); hindwing length 14.50-16.43 (15.64); pronotum length 7.03-8.11 (7.70); prozone length 2.23-2.63 (2.46); pronotum width 3.32-4.14 (3.63); pronotum narrow width 2.30-3.09 (2.60); head width 6.40-7.13 (6.81); head vertex to clypeus 2.74-3.10 (2.93); frons width 2.46-2.92 (2.73); frons height 0.98-1.14 (1.07); prothoracic femur length 7.46-9.15 (8.29); mesothoracic femur length 8.41-9.91 (9.12); mesothoracic tibia length 5.34-7.81 (7.05); mesothoracic tarsus length 5.10-7.06 (6.46); metathoracic femur length 8.62-9.78 (9.18); metathoracic tibia length 9.45-10.86 (9.97); metathoracic tarsus length 8.37-9.57 (9.13); pronotal elongation measure 0.31-0.33 (0.32); pronotal shape measure 0.45-0.52 (0.47); head shape measure 0.42-0.44 (0.43); frons shape measure 0.36-0.43 (0.39); anteroventral femoral spine count 15-16 (16); anteroventral tibial spine count 10; posteroventral tibial spine count 7.

Head (Fig. 40B): As long as wide, the juxta-ocular protuberances very large, the apex in the middle; the vertex is straight, well above the dorsal margin of the eyes.

Pronotum (Fig. 47B): Dorsal surface entirely smooth except from a rough texture in the posterior quarter, no defined tubercles. Metazone with very few, small tubercles centrally located.

Prothoracic Legs: A shallow femoral pit to accommodate terminal posteroventral tibial spine positioned medial to and exactly between the first two proximal posteroventral spines, and in line with the most distal discoidal spine. Prothoracic tibial posteroventral spines with the first (proximal) smallest and the fourth through sixth of similar length, the second and third are slightly longer (the second much longer than the third). Posterior prothoracic femoral genicular spine much smaller than posteroventral spines, originating distal to the beginning of the genicular lobe.

Meso- and Metathoracic Legs: Femora with expanded ventral (posterior) carina, almost a lamellar expansion; dorsal (anterior) carina very pronounced.

Wings: Forewings with a widened costal region. Forewings extending to the tip of the abdomen or shorter (depends largely on preservation of specimen). Hindwings pale along the anterior margin and the distal terminus of the discoidal region; the discoidal region broadened.

Abdomen: Broad, widening from first segment until the beginning of the distal half (segment 5) when the lateral margins narrow gradually to the terminus, the middle being the broadest region. Tergites without posterolateral tergal projections. Supra-anal plate slightly transverse, and evenly rounded lobe.