Redescription of Stagmomantis hebardi (Mantodea: Mantidae), with the description of the female
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2026.97.5764Keywords:
External morphology, Internal genitalia, Mantids, Taxonomic descriptionAbstract
The genus Stagmomantis Saussure, 1869 comprises a group of New World mantids whose taxonomic delimitation and composition have been challenging due to complex morphological variation. Stagmomantis hebardi Rehn, 1935, a species distributed in the Neotropical region and the Mexican Transition Zone, was originally described based on both a female and a male specimen. However, the female was subsequently recognized as belonging to a different species within the subgenus Auromantis. In this study, we provide the redescription of the male and the description of the female of S. hebardi. Descriptions are based on external morphology and both sexes internal genitalia characters. The conspecificity of the male and female is supported by molecular evidence provided in previous studies and further validated by biological observations from captive rearing. The corkscrew-like pda (posterior process of the ventral phallomere) in the male genitalia and the lobe-like structure between the fifth and sixth tergites in the female abdomen are diagnostic characters that distinguish this species from others of the genus Stagmomantis.
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