A new genus and species (Cornucollis gen. n. masoalensis sp. n.) of praying mantis from northern Madagascar (Mantodea, Iridopterygidae, Tropidomantinae)

• DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.556.6906
• Publication Date: 2016-01-21T17:22:07Z
• Authors: Sydney K. Brannoch; Gavin J. Svenson
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; Cornucollis; Insecta; Arthropoda; Humbertiella; Tropidomantinae; Mantodea; Nephrozoa; Protostomia; Basal; Iridopterygidae; Carbotriplurida; Circumscriptional names of the taxon under; 01 natural sciences; MantodeaAnimalia; Madagascar; Animalia; Bilateria; Polyneoptera; Taxonomy; new species; Pterygota; masoalensis; Cornucollis masoalensis; Cohort; IridopterygidaeCephalornis; Circumscriptional names; Afrotropical; Boltonocostidae; Notchia; Circumscriptional name; Ecdysozoa; Coelenterata; Research Article

An examination of Malagasy specimens accessed within the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France, produced a praying mantis (Insecta: Mantodea) of an undescribed genus and species. An investigation of the internal and external morphology, in addition to its collection locality, revealed that this specimen belongs to the Iridopterygidae subfamily Tropidomantinae. Furthermore, the specimen's unique combination of characters justified the creation of a new genus. Geographic distributional records and external morphological character evidence are presented for Cornucollis gen. n. masoalensis sp. n. We provide a dichotomous key of the Tropidomantinae and Nilomantinae genera distributed within Madagascar. High-resolution images, illustrations of morphological characters, natural history information, and measurement data are presented.