Révision du genre Belomantis Giglio-Tos, 1914 (Mantodea, Toxoderidae)

Résumé En Fr

Revision of the genus Belomantis Giglio-Tos, 1914 (Mantodea, Toxoderidae). In 1914, the genus Belomantis was created by Ermanno Giglio-Tos with the type species B. helenae on the basis of a pair from Northern Rhodesia (today Zambia) deposited in the Zoological Museum of Naples. In this description he also mentions a female of the same species from Atakpame, Togo, from the Berlin collection, which during our research turned out to be a new species. We also uncovered that the original types are most likely lost as it was not possible to detect the specimens in the Naples Museum, which suffered the loss of several specimens by destruction during the World Wars. Therefore, we are designing a neotype for Belomantis helenae, now deposited in the collection of Vienna. Since the first description of Giglio-Tos, various authors frequently mixed up Belomantis and Calamothespis Werner, 1907, which is the most closely related genus. Specimens of one genus were often wrongly attributed to the other. Belomantis and Calamothespis belong to the tribe Calamothespini Giglio-Tos, 1914. Belomantis can be distinguished from Calamothespis by the very elongated last segment of the cerci, its elongated apical lobes of mid femora, and a different male genitalia structure, especially in the phalloid apophysis. Furthermore, Belomantis is featuring more anterior fore tibiae spines and a stronger pattern on the fore and hind wings. Up to now, Belomantis was considered monospecific but after an examination of all available specimens we found two further new species : Belomantis mirei n. sp. (Cameroon) and B. occidentalis n. sp. (Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo), described, pictured and illustrated in this work. French and English keys to the species are provided.

Le genre Belomantis Giglio-Tos, 1914, considéré jusqu’à présent comme monospécifique, fait l’objet de la description de deux nouvelles espèces, B. mirei n. sp. du Cameroun, et B. occidentalis n. sp. d’Afrique occidentale (Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso et Togo), tandis qu’un néotype est désigné pour son espèce-type, B. helenae Giglio-Tos, 1914, d’Afrique orientale (Zambie et Katanga).