Otomantis gracilis Lombardo & Stiewe & Ippolito & Marletta 2014, sp. n.
Creators: name: Lombardo, Francesco
name: Stiewe, Martin B. D.
name: Ippolito, Salvatrice
name: Marletta, Alessandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Hymenopodidae
Otomantis
Otomantis gracilis

description: Otomantis gracilis Lombardo & Ippolito sp. n.
(Figs 9D; 10D, H; 11D; 12G–H, O; 13)
Type material: Holotype 1♂ D. R. CONGO: Mayidi, 1942, Rév. P. Van Eyen, (MDAB); Paratypes: 1♂ Congo, Grand Bois, J.-P. Grillot, 24.05.72, Roy genitalia prep. 1859, (MNHN) D. R. Congo: 1♂ Lovanium, (Kinshasa), XII.1968, P. M. Elsen, Roy genitalia prep. 3134 (IICT).
Diagnosis. This species differs from all other species in the capirica group in its smaller size and the significantly reduced vertical process of vertex (Fig. 9D). The female is unknown for the species.
Male description.
General Coloration: Body ochre with scattered small dark spots; head ochre with dark spots on the vertex and near the eyes; legs ochre; abdomen dark brown dorsally.
Measurements (mm): TL 17; HW 3.8; PL 3.5; MPW 2.2; ML 1.9; SDW 2.1; CL 4.1; FL 4.7; MFW 2; WL 17.5 x 4.3.
Head (Fig. 9D): Transverse, vertex straight, vertical process of vertex reduced to a small spike; juxta-ocular tubercles conical; eyes oval, apical spine with rounded apex; antennae elongated; frontal shield transverse, pentagonal, 2.54 times wider than high, lateral margins straight, apex with a small rounded spike folded forward.
Thorax: Pronotum (Fig. 10D, H) rhomboidal, slender, 1.59 times longer than wide. Prozone elongated, disc with two flattened median tubercles, lateral margins with 4–5 dark small tubercles; metazone with a triangular depression behind supracoxal sulcus; lateral margins of supracoxal dilation form an obtuse angle.
Forelegs: Slender; coxae about 1.17 times longer than pronotum, anterior margin with 8–10 small dark spines; internal apical lobes divergent; anterior femora (Fig. 11D) flattened, 2.25 times longer than wide, dorsal margin toothed, curved and its widest part at the 2/3 from the base; spination formula F=4ES/11IS/4DS and T=10ES/9IS; external spines ochre with dark apex.
Meso and metathoracic legs: Femora slender with distal triangular lobes with rounded apex, lobes nearly same size on meso and metafemora, lateral margin broadened.
Wings: Hyaline, exceeding the apex of abdomen. Costal field of mesothoracic wings opaque, discoidal area hyaline with numerous scattered dark spots. Metathoracic wings hyaline.
Abdomen: Cylindrical; supra-anal plate triangular in shape, with rounded apex; subgenital plate longer than wide, not incised at apex and with two small styli. Cerci conical, shorter than in O. scutigera.
External genitalia: Ventral phallomere (Fig. 12O) similar to O. capirica, but with a smaller auriculated lamina. Left phallomere with dorsal lamina (dl) elongated (Fig. 12H), slightly wider at the base, ventral lamina (Fig. 12G, vl) more or less square, with a long arm on the anterior margin. Phalloid apophysis (af) well-developed, with two short apical processes.
Distribution. This species occurs in R. Congo (Fig. 13).
Etymology. Named in reference to its delicate appearance.
description: Published as part of Lombardo, Francesco, Stiewe, Martin B. D., Ippolito, Salvatrice & Marletta, Alessandro, 2014, A taxonomic revision of Otomantis Bolivar, 1890 (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae, Acromantinae) with description of five new species, pp. 169-193 in Zootaxa 3797 (1) on page 190, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3797.1.13, http://zenodo.org/record/4915425