Mantodea (Insecta) of Uruguay: diversity and distribution.

Praying mantises (Order Mantodea) are charismatic insects thanks to their diverse and peculiar appearance and surprising behaviors. However, studies on this order are scarce, particularly in the Southern Neotropical Region. Here we present the first catalogue of praying mantises from Uruguay. We revised Mantodea specimens deposited at Colección de Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias (FCE-MN), Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay. We recorded information about distribution and notes on the biology of the species. Nineteen species are reported for Uruguay, including new family, genera or species for the country. We report the presence of six taxa for first time: the family Mantoididae, genus Pseudovates, Musoniella and Metaphotina, the species Mantoida beieri, Eumusonia livida, Musoniella argentina, Metaphotina brevipennis, Parastagmatoptera theresopolitana and Pseudovates iheringi. We could confirm four species previously reported for the country, but eight species are based on dubious records or species and we cannot confirm their current occurrence in this work. More studies are needed in the country for further investigations of Mantodea in the country and the region.

Dry leaf or twig mantis? A new genus and species of Acanthopidae with sexually dimorphic cryptic strategies (Insecta: Mantodea).

Praying mantises (Mantodea) are distinct for their rich diversity of cryptic adaptations. Among the many strategies, dry-leaf mimicry have evolved multiple times in unrelated lineages from different zoogeographic regions, among them the Neotropical Acanthopidae. Here we describe Metacanthops fuscum n. gen. et n. sp. based on male and female specimens from the Brazilian Amazon. The recognition of this new acanthopid lineage revealed that Acanthops amazonica Beier, 1930 (currently assigned to Metilia Stål) is a member of Metacanthops and thus we transfer this species, now referable to as Metacanthops amazonica (Beier, 1930) n. comb., redescribe the holotype, and provide new data on its distribution in Brazil and French Guiana. Metacanthops is closely related to Metilia, from which its number of forefemoral posteroventral spines, head and compound eye shape, pronotal configuration, wings features, and the entirely brown habitus of males, can distinguish it. We highlight some aspects of sexual dimorphism in Metacanthops fuscum in relation to their dimorphic cryptic strategies, where males resemble a dry leaf and females a lichenous twig. We additionally establish five recently published names under genus Metilia as nomina nuda.

Review of Paraphotina (Mantodea: Photinaidae)

The number of studies on Neotropical mantises has been growing in recent years, and the systematics of Mantodea is now a dynamic field with noteworthy contributions. Several taxonomic revisions have been published recently. The taxonomy of Paraphotina Giglio-Tos, 1915 is reviewed as part of current studies on systematics of Neotropical Mantodea. Currently, Paraphotina contains four species from South America: P. caatingaensis (Menezes & Bravo, 2013) comb. nov., P. insolita (Rehn, 1941), P. occidentalis Lombardo, 1998 and P. reticulata (Saussure, 1871). Paraphotina venezuelana Beier, 1963 is a new junior synonym of P. insolita . Keys for the Paraphotina species are proposed. The distribution of Paraphotina species is apparently correlates with areas of endemism in the Amazonian and Cerrado regions.

Review of Paraphotina (Mantodea: Photinaidae)

The number of studies on Neotropical mantises has been growing in recent years, and the systematics of Mantodea is now a dynamic field with noteworthy contributions. Several taxonomic revisions have been published recently. The taxonomy of Paraphotina Giglio-Tos, 1915 is reviewed as part of current studies on systematics of Neotropical Mantodea. Currently, Paraphotina contains four species from South America: P. caatingaensis (Menezes & Bravo, 2013) comb. nov., P. insolita (Rehn, 1941), P. occidentalis Lombardo, 1998 and P. reticulata (Saussure, 1871). Paraphotina venezuelana Beier, 1963 is a new junior synonym of P. insolita . Keys for the Paraphotina species are proposed. The distribution of Paraphotina species is apparently correlates with areas of endemism in the Amazonian and Cerrado regions.(AU)

Intersexuality in the holotype of Photina gracilis (Mantodea: Mantidae: Photininae) and its taxonomic implications

Parasitism by horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) in Mantodea is well known, but only a few cases of intersexuality were reported in the literature. In the present study, intersexuality of the holotype of Photina gracilis Giglio-Tos, 1915 is documented as a possible consequence of nematomorph parasitism. Photina gracilis and Photina laevis Giglio-Tos, 1915 are established as new subjective junior synonyms of Photina vitrea (Burmeister, 1838). The female holotype of Mantis (Cardioptera) gymnopyga Burmeister, 1838, which was associated and synonymized with P. vitrea, is recognized as a member of the genus Coptopteryx and the combination Coptopteryx gymnopyga (Burmeister, 1838) is revalidated. The substitute name Photina gymnopyga (Burmeister, 1838), instead of Mantis (Photina) vitrea Burmeister, 1838 (nec Mantis vitrea Stoll, 1813), is discarded and established as a new synonym of Coptopteryx gymnopyga. The name vitrea Burmeister, 1838 must be maintained until ruling by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.(AU)

Intersexuality in the holotype of Photina gracilis (Mantodea: Mantidae: Photininae) and its taxonomic implications

Parasitism by horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) in Mantodea is well known, but only a few cases of intersexuality were reported in the literature. In the present study, intersexuality of the holotype of Photina gracilis Giglio-Tos, 1915 is documented as a possible consequence of nematomorph parasitism. Photina gracilis and Photina laevis Giglio-Tos, 1915 are established as new subjective junior synonyms of Photina vitrea (Burmeister, 1838). The female holotype of Mantis (Cardioptera) gymnopyga Burmeister, 1838, which was associated and synonymized with P. vitrea, is recognized as a member of the genus Coptopteryx and the combination Coptopteryx gymnopyga (Burmeister, 1838) is revalidated. The substitute name Photina gymnopyga (Burmeister, 1838), instead of Mantis (Photina) vitrea Burmeister, 1838 (nec Mantis vitrea Stoll, 1813), is discarded and established as a new synonym of Coptopteryx gymnopyga. The name vitrea Burmeister, 1838 must be maintained until ruling by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.