A New Genus and Species of Mantophasmatidae (Insecta: Mantophasmatodea) from the Brandberg Massif, Namibia, with Notes on Behaviour
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27283566 A new genus and species of Mantophasmatidae (Insecta: Mantophasmatodea) from the Brandberg Massif, Namibia, with notes on behaviour Article · January 2003 Source: OAI CITATIONS READS 21 740 7 authors, including: Oliver Zompro Piotr Naskrecki Harvard University 58 PUBLICATIONS 617 CITATIONS 72 PUBLICATIONS 703 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Kathy Meakin Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust 8 PUBLICATIONS 111 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Bed Bugs Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus. Understand them, find them and get rid of them. View project All content following this page was uploaded by Oliver Zompro on 15 December 2015. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Cimbebasia 19: 13-24, 2003 13 A new genus and species of Mantophasmatidae (Insecta: Mantophasmatodea) from the Brandberg Massif, Namibia, with notes on behaviour Oliver Zompro1, Joachim Adis1, Philip E. Bragg2, Piotr Naskrecki3, Kathy Meakin4, Martin Wittneben5 &Victoria Saxe6 1Max-Planck-Institute for Limnology, Tropical Ecology Working Group, 24302 Plön, Germany; e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] 28 The Lane, Awsworth, Nottinghamshire, NG16 2QP, UK. 3Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA; e-mail: [email protected] 4The University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK; e-mail: [email protected] 5Institut für Ökologie und Evolutionsforschung IFOE, Universität Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany; e-mail: [email protected] 6P.O. Box 148, Woodacre, CA 94973, USA; website: www.victoria-saxe.com A new genus and species of Mantophasmatidae, namely: Tyrannophasma gladiator Zompro, gen. nov. sp. nov., is described and figured based on material from the Brandberg Massif, Omaruru District, Namibia. A key to fossil and extant genera of Mantophasmatodea and new observations on the bionomics and behaviour of T. gladiator sp. nov. and Mantophasma zephyra Zompro et al., 2002, are included. ‘Gladiator-bugs’ is here proposed as the vernacular name for the order Mantophasmatodea. A standardised set of defined measurements for the description of species is proposed. INTRODUCTION species Praedatophasma maraisi Zompro & Adis, 2002 in Zompro et al. 2002, was described from The first described representative of the insect or- southern Namibia. Unfortunately, the symbols der Mantophasmatodea was the fossil species for ‘male’ and ‘female’ were reversed in that pub- †Raptophasma kerneggeri Zompro, 2001, described lication. More recently, first records of three fur- from Baltic amber. This species was described as ther new species from South Africa have been pub- ‘Orthoptera incertae sedis’ in the original publica- lished (Picker et al. 2002). For a review of the his- tion, although taxonomic differences from known tory of the discovery vide Zompro & Zompro 2001. orders were discussed, and it was pointed out that A second new extant genus and species from Na- a new order was necessary to accommodate the mibia, collected on the Brandberg Massif on the described taxon, plus two extant species from edge of the Namib Desert, is here described. Namibia and Tanzania. This latter step was achieved in a subsequent publication, in which the Tyrannophasma gladiator sp. nov. described herein, order and the included taxa were named (vide Klass was the subject of numerous media reports in et al. 2002). The two extant species were named 2002 and represents the ‘Gladiator’ referred to in Mantophasma subsolana Zompro et al., 2002 (Tan- the press and figured on a Namibian stamp by zania), and M. zephyra Zompro et al., 2002 (Na- mibia) respectively. Helge Denker. Journalists and the general public frequently request a vernacular name for this group In the formal published description of the new of insects, and ‘Gladiator-bugs’ (German: ‘Gladi- order, the first described since 1915, Mantophas- ator-Schrecken’) is here proposed. Further infor- matodea Zompro et al., 2002 in Klass et al. 2002: mation on the insect and pictures of the order 1456, includes only a single family: Mantophas- Mantophasmatodea and the material discussed matidae (ibid), with the single genus Mantophasma here is available on the Internet (Adis & Hirschel (ibid). Some months later, a new genus and 2002a, 2002b; Zompro & Zompro 2001). 14 Cimbebasia 19, 2003 Figure 1. Diagrammatic proposed standardised measurements for Mantophasmatodea. Letter codes: a = total length; b = length of notum; c = width of notum; d = height of head; e = length of head; f = width of head; g = width over eyes; h = width between eyes; i = height of eye; j = length of eye; k = length between eye and anterior margin of pronotum; l = length of femur; m = length of tibia; n = length of tarsus. MATERIAL & METHODS Figure 1, a) is taken from the most anterior point of the tubercle between the antennae (here termed Most of the material used in this study was col- ‘frontal tubercle’) and the middle of the posterior lected alive on the Brandberg Massif, Namibia, margin of the tenth tergite. and was kept in criation chambers at Plön, Ger- many prior to subsequent preservation in 96% Head: The length of the head (Figure 1, e) is defin- ethanol. Further material of Mantophasma zephyra, ed as the length from the posterior margin of the on which behavioural studies were based, was head to the tip of the frontal tubercle. The width found to occur in more humid conditions than over the eyes (Figure 1, g) is taken from the most the Brandberg species described herein, and was exterior point of the eyes, while the width of the obtained from the Erongo Mountains, Namibia. head (Figure 1, f) is measured at the posterior margin of the genae seen from dorsal aspect di- Examination was undertaken using a Zeiss- rectly behind the eyes. The height of the head (Fig- Citoval-2 stereoscope microscope. Illustrations ure 1, d) is measured from the middle of the ven- were completed using a drawing-tube attached to tral margin of the labrum to the most dorsal point the same microscope. V. Saxe prepared the habi- of the frontal tubercle. The height of the eye (Fig- tus illustrations. Photographs were taken by at- ure 1, i) is measured at the longest distance from taching a Pentax-Super-A camera. Measurements the dorsal to the ventral margin of the eye. The were taken using a Russian-made MBC-9 stere- length (Figure 1, j) is taken in a right angle at the oscope and a special scale ocular. middle of the previous axis. The width between the eyes (Figure 1, h) is measured dorsally at an Measurements (vide Figure 1): It seems helpful to imaginary line directly behind the bases of the an- propose standard measurements that are recom- tennae. To describe the dimension of the eyes, mended for the descriptions of species of Manto- their length should be compared to the length of phasmatodea. Measurements are taken at least to the longitudinal length of the vertex between the a tenth of a millimetre. The total length (vide eyes and the anterior margin of the pronotum. Zompro et al. – New genus & species of Mantophasmatidae 15 The length of the antennae is taken from the most Australian Capital Territory, Australia; MHNG = basal point of the scapus to the apex of the termi- Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzer- nal antennomere. It is recommended that the land; MZSP = Museu de Zoologia da Universidade number of the antennomeres be included in the de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; NMNW = description. Namibian National Insect Collection, National Mu- seum of Namibia, Windhoek; UMO = Hope Thorax: The length of the pronotum, mesonotum Entomological Collections, Oxford University and metanotum is taken at the middle of the nota, Museum of Natural History, Oxford, UK; while the width is taken at the widest part in a UPLBMNH = Museum of Natural History, Uni- right angle to the longitudinal axis. versity of the Philippines, Los Baños, Philippines; ZMUC = Zoological Museum, University of Co- Extremities: It is recommended that the length of penhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; ZMUK = the extremities should be provided for all three Zoologisches Museum der Christian Albrechts- pairs of legs. The length of the coxa is defined as Universität, Kiel, Germany. the length at the exterior edge. The reason for this is that this edge is also visible in dried specimens SYSTEMATICS without them being softened. The length of the femur (Figure 1, l) is defined as the length of a Mantophasmatodea Zompro, Klass, Kristensen dorso-median line from the most basal part of & Adis, 2002 in Klass et al. 2002: 1456. the basal margin to the most basal part of the im- Mantophasmatidae Zompro, Klass, Kristensen pression between the antero-lateral spines of the & Adis, 2002 in Klass et al. 2002: 1456. femur. Tibia length (Figure 1, m) is measured in dorsal aspect from the middle of the impression KEY TO FOSSIL & EXTANT GENERA OF marking the knee to the apex of the tibia. The MANTOPHASMATODEA length of the tarsus (Figure 1, n) is taken from the most basal part of the first tarsomere to an imagina- 1. Profemora with spines ventro-laterally (Fig- ry line between the apices of both claws when the ure 4) ............................................................... 2 whole tarsus is pressed flat. The arolium has a - Profemora without spines ventro-laterally .... tendency for shrinkage, especially in dried speci- ..................................... †Raptophasma Zompro mens, and is, therefore, not suitable for measure- 2. Eyes large, smallest diameter longer than ments. shortest distance of vertex behind eyes; body spinose ........................................................... 3 Abdomen: As the demarcations of the sclerotised - Eyes smaller, smallest diameter shorter than parts and the inter-segmental membranes are of- shortest distance of vertex behind eyes; body ten difficult to discern in preserved specimens, it is not spinose ........ Mantophasma Zompro et al. more applicable to describe the relations of the 3.