Taxonomic review of Pseudomiopteryx Saussure, 1870 (Mantodea: Thespidae: Pseudomiopteryginae)

Abstract

Abstract The identification of species in many genera of Neotropical Mantodea is a difficult task because of a lack of revisionary works with keys and illustrations of male genitalia. One of these genera is Pseudomiopteryx Saussure, 1870, which is known to be composed of 10 species and one subspecies of small (19–25 mm) brownish praying mantises that live in the leaf litter of tropical forests of Central America, the Amazon, and the Andean tropics. The genus is revised and the known valid species are redescribed based mainly on type-material. The results yield 11 valid species, including a new species from Costa Rica: Pseudomiopteryx riverai sp. n. Pseudomiopteryx amazonensis Toledo-Piza, 1968 is a junior synonym of Pseudomiopteryx guyanensis Chopard, 1911, and the subspecies Pseudomiopteryx bogotensis gorgonae Ariza & Salazar, 2005 was raised to species level. A syntype specimen of Pseudomiopteryx decipiens, Pseudomiopteryx guyanensis, and Pseudomiopteryx infuscata Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 was herein designated as the lectotype. New information on geographical distributions and natural history were given, and descriptions of the female, ootheca, and first instar nymph of Pseudomiopteryx spinifrons were presented. The geographical distributions of some species are extended. A key to males of all species is given, as well as detailed figures of male genitalia.