RESUMO
A new species of praying mantis, Metaphotina austri sp. n., is described from the Caatinga biome in Brazil. The species can be easily distinguished from its congeners by its small body size and diagnostic characters found on the head, wings, and male genitalia. Distributional data compiled from specimen labels, historical literature, and the citizen science platform iNaturalist showed that M. austri sp. n. is mainly associated with the northernmost and driest region of the Caatinga, known as the Depresso Sertaneja Setentrional. Ecological and geographical data about the new species, as well as comments on the diversity of Mantodea in the Caatinga, are provided, highlighting the importance of crowdsourced data for a more comprehensive understanding of praying mantis species distribution and their natural history.
Assuntos
Ciência do Cidadão , Mantódeos , Animais , Masculino , Brasil , Ecossistema , Tamanho CorporalRESUMO
Brazil is one of the most diverse countries in the world, hosting more than 250 known species of mantids (Mantodea). Studying natural history collections is crucial to identify, describe new taxa and solve taxonomic issues, improving the knowledge about the biodiversity. Here we document the transference of the mantids collection from the Entomological Collection of Instituto Butantan (São Paulo, Brazil) to the Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and provide a morphological assessment on the 33 transferred mantids. We recognized 13 genera and 12 species, with diversified distribution in Brazil, although 6 specimens from 4 genera could not be identified at a specific level. The transference of this collection starts a new phase of restructuration and recognition of the Medical Entomology scope of the donor collection, aside from helping the rebuilt of the Entomological Collection of the Museu Nacional, lost in the 2018 fire, and allowing further researches within the group.