Metaphotina Piza, 1964

Ferraz, Bernardo R., Queiroga, Drielly, Souza-Dias, Pedro G. B. & Rivera, Julio, 2025, Taxonomic revision and natural history of Metaphotina Piza, 1964 (Mantodea, Acontistidae), Zootaxa 5646 (3), pp. 351-399 : 355-358

Metaphotina Piza, 1964

( Figs. 2 , 3 )

Metaphotina Piza, 1964:125 (original description; Type species: Metaphotina piracicabensis Piza, 1964 , by original designation). Terra, 1995: 23 (as synonym of Acontista ); Ehrmann, 2002:50 (as synonym of Acontiothespis ); Otte & Spearman, 2005:14, 442 (catalog, as synonym of Acontista ); Roy, 2006: 329 (as synonym of Acontista ); Rivera & Svenson, 2016: 642 (phylogenetics and systematics remarks); Schwarz & Roy, 2019:128 (taxonomic remarks); Rivera & Svenson, 2020:124 (as valid, rescued from synonymy with Acontista , redescription, checklist).

Diagnosis. Small, ranging from 14.18 to 22.6 mm ( Fig. 2 ). Males fully winged, wings largely hyaline but with brown markings of variable size on either the meso- or metathoracic wing. Females brachypterous, wings scale-like and not extending beyond abdominal TG3; metathoracic pair opaque and strongly pigmented in red/orange and black. The ventral phallomere of males with strongly sclerotized sdp that distally splits into two processes: one long, curved, and spiniform, the other broad and flattened.

Redescription. Small body size, ranging from 14.18 to 22.6 mm. Males typically emerald green, occasionally appearing brown or reddish. Females usually emerald green with multiple white markings, sometimes in shades of brown, reddish, yellowish and more rarely fully black or pink with traces of white; or combinations thereof.

Head triangular, wider than long, vertex convex to flattened, not exceeding or only slightly surpassing the imaginary line connecting the top of the compound eyes; compound eyes kidney-shaped and slightly protruding, outer margin evenly curved. Lower frons transversal and divided into three parts: central third elevated towards the base of the scape, upper margin moderately arched toward the central ocellus; flanking thirds rectangular. Antennal flagellum moniliform at its base for about 1/4 of the length, becoming filiform distally; sclerite robust, scape cylindrical, pedicel short and cylindrical, slightly longer than the ocelli.

Prothorax short and stout. Supracoxal dilatation broad and rounded. Prozona and proximal two-thirds of the metazona forming an oval outline, with the prozona exhibiting a well-marked expansion of the lateral margin, forming a ledge; metazona strongly constricted proximally; distal margin of metazona slightly curved upwards and elevated. Prothoracic coxae almost as long as the pronotum; prothoracic femur wide, well-developed, triangular, dorsal margin straight; tsg located between the DS and the first AvS; distance between the first and second PvS half the distance between any subsequent pair; ventral aspect of the prothoracic femur pilose between AvS and PvS; foretibial AvS perpendicular or inclined forward relative to the tibial margin, gradually increasing in size distally; the gap between two AvS about as long as a single AvS; foretibial PvS gradually increasing in size distally, strongly inclined forward and tightly arranged, leaving no space between any contiguous PvS; ventral aspect of the foretibia pilose between AvS and PvS; all femoral and tibial spines colored as the rest of legs, but with dark tips. Spination formula: F=3DS/11–13AvS/5PvS; T=10–12AvS/11–15PvS. Mesothoracic legs shorter than the metathoracic legs; tarsi bearing numerous bristles.

Male mesothoracic wings slightly longer than metathoracic wings. Mesothoracic wings hyaline, unpigmented or spotted, costal field densely reticulated with non-parallel veins, subopaque, sometimes the proximal third markedly greenish, membrane sometimes exhibit grayish tones, giving it a smoky appearance. Metathoracic wings hyaline, unpigmented or spotted, veins sometimes with a reddish tint.

Females brachypterous, with wings not extending beyond the TG3. Mesothoracic wings opaque, same color as the body, white stripes and/or a circular distal spot of varying intensities sometimes present. Metathoracic wings shorter than mesothoracic wings. Discoidal field and proximal portion of the anal field pigmented in red or orange, anal field mostly black with white crossveins and black to white longitudinal veins.

Male abdomen slender, cylindrical, slightly flattened dorsoventrally, all terga pigmented in crimson red; TG10 short and apically rounded; CS9 well-developed and spoon-shaped, longer than TG10 and bearing bristles; short cerci bearing numerous long bristles, styli absent. Female abdomen ovoid, robust, the first two segments reddish, remaining segments the same color as the body; abdomen medially expanded but tapering towards TG7–9; CS7 is broad, obtuse, with a central distal fold and a large number of distal bristles. Cerci shorter than in males, not extending beyond CS7.

Male genitalia with ventral phallomere well-developed, convex, rhomboidal in shape; sdp well-sclerotized, bifurcated, with a broad, flattened main projection (sometimes with a small distal hook) and a spiniform, long secondary projection. L4A medially divided by a central sigmoid outline from the top to the sdp; slight sclerotization on the left margin and a large membranous area on the right. The left phallomere square, L4B relatively well sclerotized compared to the rest of the genitalia, divided diagonally by a mostly smooth membranous region with tufts of spines posterior to afa and at loa. The afa well-sclerotized, with a relatively uniform prism-like appearance, the paa is short with a curved apex under the posterior bending of the left phallomere, which can be flattened or concave; loa simple, bearing many setae. The right phallomere with a projecting fda, with tufts of spines similar to left phallomere; R3 straight, elongated, with a globular and flattened apex, pva more developed than the pia, possibly overlapping the latter.

Female genitalia with hexagonal or lozenge CG8, median portion facing sbu well-sclerotized, apex projected, proximally with two projections or tubercles; spb smooth; cxal curved caudally reaching cxvl, the latter only presenting a few inconspicuous bristles at the end; cxdl membranous or strongly sclerotized; gpmo8 short in length but quite pronounced, smooth; gpal8 smooth; gl9 wide, smooth, with sparse bristles.

Oothecae guttiform (broad at the base and tapering distally), cylindrical to slightly flattened, featuring a filiform residual process of varying length. External coating yellowish-white and extensive, surrounding the entire ootheca. Fixed to supporting substrate by its proximal end.

Distribution. Northern Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (BA, CE, DF, GO, MA, MT, MS, MG, PA, PB, PR, PE, RN, RS, SP, TO), Paraguay, Uruguay.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Live specimens of Metaphotina bimaculata (A–F) and Metaphotina austri (G–J) retrieved from iNaturalist platform, license CC-BY-NC. Images may have been cropped and/or rotated for better observation. (A) Observation 163494503, by goncrisdi [GonzaloDias],Argentina, 06/May/2023.(B) Bernardo Ferraz, Brazil (MG).(C) Observation 199319301, by jcsullivan [John Sullivan], Bolívia, Jan/2024. (D) Observation 223539397, by lucas_fornero [Lucas Fornero], Argentina, 11/May/2024. (E) Bernardo Ferraz, Brazil (MG). (F) Observation 137464405, by entomofobia [Juan Zara], Argentina, 16/Apr/2022. (G) Observation 167907017, by fredericosonntag [Frederico Acaz Sonntag], Brazil (PB), 17/Jun/2023. (H) Observation 147265948, by offvinn, Brazil (CE) 15/Jan/2023. (I) Observation 137450242, by fredericosonntag [Frederico Acaz Sonntag], Brazil (PB), 26/Jan/2000. (J) Observation 62552485, by alenilson [Alenilson], Brazil (AL), 19/Aug/2020.

FIGURE 3. Type material of Metaphotina spp. (A) True holotype of A. bimaculata described by Saussure (1870), deposited at MNHN. (B) Illustration of the holotype of A. brevipennis Saussure, 1872 and a reference to it from the precedent page: “Fig. 20. Acontista brevipennis, Sauss. Femelle de grandeur naturelle.” (C) A. bimaculata cited in Saussure & Zehntner (1894), mislabeled as “syntypus” (Pfäuti & Hollier 2012), deposited at MHNG. (D) A. bimaculata specimen cited in Saussure (1871) and mislabeled as “Type”, deposited at MNHN (adapted from Rivera & Svenson 2020). (E) Holotype of M. piracicabensis, deposited at ESALQ. (F) M. piracicabensis labeled (incorrectly) as “allotype”, deposited at ESALQ. (G) Holotype of A. rehni, deposited at ANSP. Scale: 10 mm.