First assessment of the biodiversity of praying mantises (Insecta: Mantodea) in Cameroon with DNA barcoding.

Praying mantises are the apex insect predators in many ecosystems, nevertheless they receive relatively less recognition in biodiversity reviews. We report a first survey of diversity of praying mantises in Cameroon, which is situated in the Congo Basin region, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots. Combination of light trapping with manual collecting resulted in 495 specimens representing 62 species. A total of eight species are novel for the country, at least five species are likely undescribed. DNA barcodes of 72 specimens representing every collected species were obtained, curated, and submitted to NCBI database. For eight species, barcodes are published for the first time. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree was created using all available barcodes of Mantodea of Central African subregion. The results obtained during this study stress the importance of combining traditional and molecular approaches during biodiversity assessments of often neglected taxa, the latter aiding in uncovering new species, resolving unknown morphological divergencies and assigning conspecifics.

Functional morphology of the praying mantis male genitalia (Insecta: Mantodea).

Male genitalia in praying mantids are highly complex, but we know little of how they function. I combined the micro-computed tomography of a copulating pair of the European mantis (Mantis religiosa) with public videos of copulation in various species of Mantodea and an analysis of literature. The function of each major element is reviewed. Copulation is divided into three phases: opening, anchoring and deposition. The opening is achieved by pulling the female subgenital plate with the male apical process. Multiple cases of female cooperation or resistance were observed and one case of coercion by the male. In species with the reduced apical process, female cooperation is mandatory. The male subgenital plate may participate in the opening as an integral part of the genitalia. After the opening, the conformation of the genitalia drastically changes, revealing activity of the genital papilla. Tight grasp on female genitalia is maintained solely by the clamp on the right phallomere, despite the overall complexity and predictions of sexual conflict theory. Other prominent elements show rhythmic motions, but their functions are not entirely clear and evidently involve spermatophore deposition, female stimulation or rival sperm removal. The opening and anchoring are similar in Mantodea and Blattodea, but achieved with non-homologous elements.

First record of the genus Arria (Mantodea, Haaniidae, Arriini) from Thailand, with the description of a new species of moss-dwelling praying mantis.

Arria muscoamicta Unnahachote & Shcherbakov, sp. nov. is described based on a male from central Thailand. This is the first record of Arria Stål, 1877 from the country. The new species is closely allied to A. leigongshanensis (Ge & Shen, 2008) from China, differing by the absence of prozonal tubercles, the elongated pronotum, nine tibial anteroventral spines, and the truncated hindwings. The new species is a moss-camouflaging mantis living at high altitude. The taxonomic problems of the genus are briefly discussed.

A new genus and species of praying mantis (Insecta, Mantodea, Mantidae) from Indochina, with a key to Mantidae of South-East Asia.

Mekongomantis quinquespinosa gen. et sp. nov., a new Mantidae genus and species is described based on specimens from two localities-Lam Vien plateau in Vietnam and the environments of Umphang, Thailand. The new genus has five posteroventral spines on the forefemur, a feature previously unknown in any Mantidae (sensu stricto) genus. The rest of external morphology is similar to Tenodera Burmeister, 1838 and Mantis Linnaeus, 1758, while the characters of the male genitalia place the species more closely to Hierodula Burmeister, 1838 and Camelomantis Giglio-Tos, 1917. The discovery of such a large (>70 mm) genus level taxon exemplifies the poorly studied diversity of Mantodea in the rapidly deteriorating Greater Mekong area. To ease identification, we also provide a key to the Mantidae of South-East Asia.