Microphotina Beier 1935
Creators: name: Rivera, Julio
name: Hausherr, Nicolas
name: Lanna, Leonardo Moutinho
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Photinaidae
Microphotina

description: Key to males of Microphotina (sensu lato)
1. Ventral phallomere bearing elongated lateral patch of setae ventrally (Fig 4A); On left phallomere, afa large, strongly hook-like (Fig 4B.). Distributed in French Guiana and Northeastern Amazonia (Brazil: Amazonas, Pará)..... Microphotina vitripennis
- Ventral phallomere lacking elongated patch of setae ventrally; left phallomere with afa reduced, shaped differently from above.............................................................................................. 2
2. Left phallomere with afa distinctly unguiform (Fig. 4C). Distributed in Western Amazonia (Peru)................................................................................................... Microphotina panguanensis
- Left phallomere with afa not unguiform................................................................... 3
3. Subgenital plate between the styli even (Fig. 4D). Distributed in French Guiana ............... Microphotina viridescens
- Subgenital plate between styli notched (Fig. 4E–F).......................................................... 4
4. Distal notch of subgenital plate narrow, styli insertions outside of the notch (Fig. 4E). Distributed in French Guiana .......................................................................................... Microphotina viridula
- Distal notch of subgenital plate broad, styli insertions within the notch (Fig. 4F). Distributed in southern Amazonia (Brazil: Mato Grosso)...................................................................... Microphotina cristalino
Comparative taxonomy and systematics. The female of Microphotina superficially resembles that of Chromatophotina, but there are some evident differences between them. Relative to Chromatophotina, Microphotina has a more compact build, resulting in a relatively shorter and stouter body (Figs. 5B–E). This is exemplified by pronotal proportions: the ratio metazona/prozona is ≤ 2.6 in Microphotina, while in Chromatophotina it is ≥ 3. As in Chromatophotina, Microphotina also exhibits a whitish pigmentation along the sides of the pronotum, which stems from the whitish costal area of the mesothoracic wings, altogether forming a continuous stripe. However, in Microphotina, this stripe is only subtly visible near the base of the pronotum, whereas in Chromatophotina the same reaches as far as the supracoxal dilatation. Moreover, the costal area of the forewings is only partially whitish in Microphotina, whereas in Chromatophotina it is strikingly white throughout its entire extent.Another distinguishing feature is the strongly contrasting crossveins of the forewings of Microphotina, which stand out against the membrane. In contrast, Chromatophotina has the forewing membrane and crossveins concolorous.Additionally, the longitudinal veins of the forewings are more tightly arranged in Microphotina and subtend less complex reticulation, compared to Chromatophotina. Differences observed in the abdomen include the abdominal pleural membrane, which is pale pink in Microphotina but strikingly white in Chromatophotina. Lastly, Microphotina has shorter and conical monochromatic cerci, while in Chromatophotina the same are noticeably elongated, flattened, and in great part pigmented in a dark purplish color. Overall, Microphotina has a more compact body form compared to the more elongated Chromatophotina, akin to the difference between the sister genera Photina Burmeister, 1838 and Hicetia Saussure & Zehntner, 1894 (Photinaini), where Photina is the robust form and Hicetia the slender one. The ootheca of Microphotina closely resembles that of Chromatophotina, as well as Orthoderella Giglio-Tos, 1897, and Paraphotina Giglio-Tos, 1915, in the Orthoderellini (Fig. 2E). They all share a similar overall shape and structure, outer wall characteristics (coloration, smooth texture), and a curved, ridged emergence area ending in a short, blunt residual process.
In light of the new information, we present a key to distinguish between Microphotina and Chromatophotina:
description: Published as part of Rivera, Julio, Hausherr, Nicolas & Lanna, Leonardo Moutinho, 2025, Discovery and formal description of the female of Microphotina Beier, 1935 (Mantodea: Photinaidae), with an updated key to species and remarks on the role of Citizen Science in advancing Mantodea biodiversity studies, pp. 231-248 in Zootaxa 5621 (2) on pages 239-241, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5621.2.4, http://zenodo.org/record/15262552