Astyliasula phyllopus De Haan 1842, n. comb.
Creators: name: Schwarz, Christian J.
name: Shcherbakov, Evgeny
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Mantodea
Hymenopodidae
Astyliasula
Astyliasula phyllopus

description: Astyliasula phyllopus (De Haan, 1842) n. comb.
(Figs 3–4, 9–11, 43, 54–59, 61)
Mantis (Oxypilus) phyllopus De Haan, 1842: 84 –85, pl. 16, fig. 7 (♂)
Paraoxypilus phyllopus (De Haan, 1842). In: Saussure 1871: 158.
Hestias phyllopus (De Haan, 1842). In: Wood-Mason 1879: 259.
Hestiasula sarawaca Westwood, 1889. In: Shelford 1903: 296, 302, fig. 2; Chopard 1938: 366, 419–420.
Pachymantis phyllopus (De Haan, 1842). In: Kirby 1904: 287; Werner 1916: 280 –281 Werner 1925: 485.
Pachymantis sarawaca (Westwood, 1889). In: Kirby 1904: 288 (partim); Werner 1916: 280 –281 (partim).
Hestiasula phyllopus (De Haan, 1842). In: Giglio-Tos 1927: 544; Werner 1930: 8; Werner 1933: 271; Beier 1929: 249; Beier 1934: 17; Beier 1937: 181; Loxton 1979: 108; Ehrmann 2002: 172, 395; Otte & Spearman 2005: 78; Schwarz & Konopik 2014: 140.
Material. 1 ♂, S Burma (= Myanmar), Tenasserim Province, Tenasserim, N 12.05° –E 99.01°, VII.1995, leg. H. Lehmann & S. Steinke (genitalia preparation Schwarz No. 224) (SMNK-03659; pinned); 1 ♂, NW Thailand, Chiang Mai Province, Chiang Dao, N 19.20° – E 98.54°, in the SE part of the Doi Chiang Dao NP, 6 km W Chiang Mai, 09.V.1987, B. Kobner leg. (SMNK genitalia No. 0 606151, preparation K. Schütte) (SMNK –03631; pinned); 1 ♂, S Thailand, Sura Thani (Ban Don), N 09.08° –E 99.19°, IX.1987, S. Steinke leg. (SMNK genitalia No. 0 606231, preparation K. Schütte) (SMNK-03633; pinned); 1 ♂, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Pahang, Fraser’s Hill, Silverpark, N 03˚42’54.81”–E 101˚44’07.65”, 1285 m, 22.III–01.IV.2013, A. Vishnyakov leg. (ES; pinned); 1 ♀, Malaysia, C Malay Pensinsula, Cameron Highlands, IV.2000, H. Beckmann leg. (SMNK –03637; pinned); 1 ♂, Brunei, Borneo, Ulu Temburong National Park, Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, II.2013, O. Konopik leg. (CS; pinned); 4 ♂♂, captive raised 2013, ex. Brunei, Borneo, Ulu Temburong National Park, Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, II.2013, O. Konopik leg., ded. D. Döpfner (CS; pinned); 2 ♀♀, captive raised 2013, ex. Brunei, Borneo, Ulu Temburong National Park, Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, II.2013, O. Konopik leg., ded. D. Döpfner (CS; pinned); 1 ♂, Malaysia, Borneo, Sabah, Keningau distr., Trus Madi Forest Reserve, 1200 m, 23.IV– 8.V.2006, A. Sochivko leg.; 1 ♂, same place, 5.–8.IV.2010, P. Udovichenko leg. (ES; pinned); 2 ♂♂, same place, but 1150 m, 28.III–10.IV.2011, P. Udovichenko leg. (ES; pinned); 3 ♂♂, same place, but 1160 m, 19.–20.III.2012, A. Klimenko leg. (ES; pinned); 13 ♂♂, same place, N 05°26’35”–E 116°27’5”, 1250 m, 22.–27.V.2014, E. Shcherbakov leg. (ES; ethanol); 1 ♂, Malaysia, Borneo, Sabah, Pensiangan distr., Pensiangan env., N 04°34.948’ – E 116°19.935’, 516 m, 27.V–2.VI.2014, E. Shcherbakov leg. (ES, ethanol); 1 ♂, Malaysia, Borneo, Sabah, Danum Valley Conservation Area, forest, 220–350 m, lux, 19:30 h, 07.XI.2003, J. Beck leg. (genitalia preparation Schwarz No. 46) (CS; pinned).
Distribution. Myanmar, Laos, Thailand (SMNK), Malay Peninsula (MNHN, SMNK; this work), Borneo (Schwarz & Konopik 2014, see also references therein), Sumatra (MNHN), Mentawai Islands (Ehrmann 2002), Java (type locality, De Haan 1842).
Measurements in mm. Male: body length 26.5–29.2; head width 4.5–5.0; pronotum length 4.2–4.7; pronotum width 3.2–3.9; metazona 2.1–2.3; fore coxa length 6.6–7.4; fore femur length 8.2–9.1; fore femur width 5.2–6.1; fore tibia length 5.8–6.6; hind femur length 5.3–5.9; tegmen length 26.5–28.9; tegmen width 6.7–7.9.
Female: body length 34.2–34.8; head width 5.2–5.9; pronotum length 6.4–6.6; pronotum width 4.8–5.2; metazona 3.2–3.4; fore coxa length 8.1–9.5; fore femur length 10.5–11.8; fore femur width 7.0–7.6; fore tibia length 7.5–8.4; hind femur length 6.9–7.2; tegmen length 19.9–21.6; tegmen width 7.1–8.1.
Variability. The ratio pronotum length/width is usually 1.20–1.26 in males and 1.29–1.33 in females, but in a male from Danum Valley with an unusually short pronotum this value is only 1.12. While the coxae of males are usually darker than those of females, continental specimens of both sexes are overall slightly larger and darker than Bornean representatives, and have very dark, almost blackish fore coxae (Fig. 9). This is also the case in the male specimens from Pensiangan and Danum Valley, but as a general rule specimens from Borneo have reddish fore coxae. More material is needed to determine the significance of this character.
Distribution and biology. A. phyllopus is listed here outside the Sunda Islands for the first time since Kirby (1904), who mentioned the species from Penang. Actually, this species is widely distributed over SE Asia, as evidenced by several specimens housed in the SMNK (pers. obs.) and the MNHN (R. Roy, pers. comm.).
On Borneo, A. phyllopus can be encountered at elevations of 0–1300 m in dipterocarp forests, but our data suggest it prefers higher elevations. Observations on Mt. Trus Madi show that A. phyllopus is attracted by light from 1:00 to 5:00 h. However, there seems to be some plasticity across habitats, since the Danum Valley specimen was captured at 19: 30 h.
Some life history information on this species is presented by Shelford (1903, as H. sarawaca). He describes and figures the cryptic attitude and impressive startling display of an adult female (see also Chopard 1938), and was the first to describe the ootheca.
description: Published as part of Schwarz, Christian J. & Shcherbakov, Evgeny, 2017, Revision of Hestiasulini Giglio-Tos, 1915 stat. rev. (Insecta: Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) of Borneo, with description of new taxa and comments on the taxonomy of the tribe, pp. 243-274 in Zootaxa 4291 (2) on pages 255-256, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4291.2.2, http://zenodo.org/record/829531