Research Article Journal of Orthoptera Research 2024, 33(2): 229-232 The family Angelidae (Insecta, Mantodea) in Mexico and Central America, new records and two new synonyms MANUEL DE LUNA!, ERICK HERNANDEZ-BALTAZAR?2, IKER CuBILLos MACciAs? 1 Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Aut6noma de Nuevo Leon, San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico. 2 Instituto de Ciencias Bioldgicas, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico. 3 Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Universidad Sim6n Bolivar, Ciudad de México, Mexico. Corresponding author: Erick Hernandez-Baltazar (kcireherbal@gmail.com) Academic editor: Matan Shelomi | Received 27 October 2023 | Accepted 23 January 2024 | Published 15 July 2024 https://zoobank. org/0CB3A939-AB03-4678-AF68-08EFOF742E37 Citation: de Luna M, Hernandez-Baltazar E, Cubillos Macias I (2024) The family Angelidae (Insecta, Mantodea) in Mexico and Central America, new records and two new synonyms. Journal of Orthoptera Research 33(2): 229-232. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.33.114799 Abstract The stick-like mantis Angela miranda Saussure, 1871 (Mantodea, Angelidae) is newly recorded for the state of Chiapas in Mexico as well as for the department of Izabal in Guatemala, and the female is newly de- scribed. A re-examination of material from the Coleccién Nacional de In- sectos (CNIN) of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México (UNAM) labeled as Angela miranda and recorded from Tabasco, Mexico, was con- ducted, revealing that they were misidentified, belonging instead to the genus Phasmomantis Saussure, 1869 (Mantidae: Stagmomantinae). Finally, Angela perpulchra Westwood, 1889 and Angela championi Saussure & Zehnt- ner, 1894 are hereby relegated as junior synonyms of Angela miranda. Keywords Angela championi, Angela miranda, Angela perpulchra, natural history collec- tions, taxonomy Introduction The family Angelidae Beier, 1935 includes medium- to large- sized mantises (60-141 mm) that have very elongated stick-like bodies (Figs 1-3), brachypterous wings in both sexes (Figs 1, 3), and laterally flattened cerci (Figs 1A, 2, 3C). This family contains a single genus, Angela Audinet-Serville, 1839, with 16 species (Otte et al. 2024) that are endemic to the New World, being found from Mexico throughout Central America, northern South America, and the island of Trinidad. Females exhibit a wide range of in- traspecific variation and thus are difficult to delimitate between species. On the other hand, the color and pattern of the hindwings of the males are easily distinguished, which facilitates species’ de- limitation (Rivera and Svenson 2016, 2020). Notably, Angela miranda Saussure, 1871 was described from Mexico without specifying a locality (Saussure 1871), and many years later, de Luna and Hernandez-Baltazar (2020) mention it for the state of Tabasco in the most recent checklist of North American mantises. This erroneous mention was based on online records from the Coleccién Nacional de Insectos (CNIN) of the Universidad Na- cional Aut6noma de México (UNAM) (Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, 2006), the largest and most important ento- mological collection in the country. During a brief visit to the CNIN- UNAM, the first and third authors had the challenging opportunity to sort through all the specimens of Mantodea deposited there. In this study, the findings relevant to the family Angelidae are presented. Methods During a visit to the CNIN-UNAM in June 2023, the first and third authors sorted the 1238 pinned specimens of mantises (In- secta: Dictyoptera: Mantodea) deposited there. Three large, brown- colored mantises with the label “Angela miranda” were examined; these were identified to family and genus levels as Phasmomantis Saussure, 1869 (Mantidae) using keys from de Luna and Hernan- dez-Baltazar (2020). These specimens came from Pantanos de Centla in the state of Tabasco and were registered online as Angela miranda (de Luna and Hernandez-Baltazar 2020). A single male specimen of Angela miranda (Fig. 1A, C) from Agua Azul Chiapas from this collection was identified at the level of family and genus using the aforementioned keys (de Luna and Hernandez-Baltazar 2020) and one hindwing was dissected, extended, and mounted on a card (Fig. 1C). It was then identified to species level by comparing the pattern on its hindwing with the original description of Saus- sure (1871), the keys and figures of Saussure and Zehntner (1893- 1899), and photographs of the hindwings of the holotype (Fig. 3A) and two non-types (Fig. 3B-C) deposited at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris (MNHN) as well as with another non- type specimen deposited at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Genéve (MHNG) attributed to Angela miranda in Rivera and Sven- son (2020). A specimen identified as Angela sp. (Fig. 1B) deposited in the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) from Guatemala was revised from photographs and also identified as this species. Copyright de Luna et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, dis- tribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. JOURNAL OF ORTHOPTERA RESEARCH 2024, 33(2) 230 Results Mantodea: Angelidae Angela miranda Saussure, 1871 Figs 1-3 Type material.—Holotype: MEXICO e 3; “Mexique”; pinned with one tegmina and hindwing extended, damaged (Fig. 3A), MNHN [examined]. The specimen exhibits the distinctive patterning un- der discussion, but it is remarkable for having its membrane red- dish-pink instead of yellow. Additional material examined.—COSTA RICA ¢ 1 9; Heredia; pinned with one tegmina and hindwing extended (Fig. 3C), MNHN. GUATEMALA e 1 3; Semuc, Sierra de Santa Cruz, depart- ment of Izabal; 1 January 1991; leg. J. Monzon; pinned with wings extended (Fig. 1B), UVG. MEXICO e 1 3; Agua Azul, state of Chia- pas; 1 May 1978; leg. E. Barrera; pinned vertically, with tegmina and hindwings folded (Fig. 1A); one hindwing dissected, spread, and mounted on a card (Fig. 1C); CNIN-UNAM e 1 3; unknown label (Fig. 3B); MNHN e¢ 1 @; unlabeled; pinned with both teg- mina and hindwings extended; MHNG. Diagnosis.—According to the descriptions, keys, and illustrations of Saussure and Zehntner (1893-1899), Rivera and Svenson (2016, 2020), and de Luna and Hernandez-Baltazar (2020), the body of Angela is very slender and stick-like (Figs 1-3). This char- M. DE LUNA, E. HERNANDEZ-BALTAZAR AND I. CUBILLOS MACIAS acteristic distinguishes it from most North American mantises, except for the only species of Coptopterygidae in the region as well as most Thespidae. Angela differs from all the North American mantises by its laterally flattened cerci (Figs 1A, 2, 3C); this char- acter is also present at the nymphal stage, making it very easy to differentiate it, even from other stick-like mantises. Both sexes are brachypterous, with the females having shorter wings and being flightless (Fig. 3C) while the males have larger wings (Figs 1A, B, 2, 3A, B) and are capable of flight. This differs from Coptopterygi- dae as the populations of its only North American representative are made up entirely of parthenogenetic brachypterous females. Another difference between the two is found in the antennae, as these are filiform in Angelidae (Figs 1A, B, 2, 3B) and thickened in Coptopterygidae. The genus Angela does not have evident jux- taocular bulges (Fig. 1A), which are found in all Thespidae of the region, and lacks dorsal spines in their foretibiae (Figs 1A, B, 2, 3B), which are present in most Thespidae. Another difference is that female Thespidae are apterous. The coloration and consistent patterning of the hindwings of the male of Angela miranda make it easily distinguishable from those of male congenerics (Figs 1-3A, B): the inner and dorsal margins, as well as the center, are typically opaque and light yel- low. This appears to be the most common chromatic form, al- though some specimens exhibit reddish-colored hindwings, as seen in the holotype of Angela miranda (Fig. 3A), or in which the yellow is replaced by white. An irregular black spot is present in the distal third of the hindwing connected to the posterior mar- gin. The posterior margin is black and extends all the way up to Fig. 1. Angela miranda. A. Lateral aspect of male specimen deposited at the CNIN-UNAM, from Chiapas, Mexico. Scale bar: 1 cm. Photo by Manuel de Luna. B. Dorsal aspect of male specimen deposited at the UVG. Mounted with both tegmina and hindwings extended and missing the abdominal apex and a few legs. Photo by Dr. Jiichiro Yoshimoto. C. Dorsal aspect of hindwing of male specimen deposited at the CNIN-UNAM. Photo by Iker Cubillos Macias. JOURNAL OF ORTHOPTERA IRESEARCH 2024, 33(2) M. DE LUNA, E. HERNANDEZ-BALTAZAR AND I. CUBILLOS MACIAS 231 Fig. 2. Illustration of Angela perpulchra taken from Saussure and Zehntner (1893-1899). oT a ry es = = — omen Bel ’ : \ Cs" ele - 7 ae Ge dpulchea. Weld MMMM t—t—t~S sk \2] a = Brot anh — - =< 2 — — . ’