Abstract
The Neotropical genus Parastagmatoptera Saussure includes medium-sized species distributed in tropical and subtropical areas of Central and Southern America. Thirteen nominal species have been so far described (Agudelo et al. 2007), with most species currently known from few specimens, often of one sex only. Beier (1963) described Parastagmatoptera abnormis Beier, 1963 based on a single male specimen from Surinam. Unfortunately, Beier’s original description lacks enough details to allow an accurate literature-based identification and, since its original description, no additional specimens ascribable to P. abnormis have been recorded.
References
Agudelo, A.A., Lombardo, F. & Jantsch, L.J. (2007) Checklist of the Neotropical mantids (Insecta, Dictyoptera, Mantodea). Biota Colombiana, 8(2), 105–158.
Beier, M. (1963) Neue und bemerkenswerte Mantiden verschiedener Herkunft. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, 106, 1–11.
Béthoux, O. (2010) Alteration of sex-related developmental modules: A case of “feminized” male wing morphology in Creobroter gemmatus (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae). European Journal Entomology, 107, 133–135.
Ehrmann, R. (2002) Gottesanbeterinnen der Welt. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag, 519 pp.
La Greca, M. (1954) Sulla struttura morfologica dell'apparato copulatore dei Mantoidei. Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Scienze e Lettere “S. Chiara” di Napoli, 4, 1–28.
McKeever, S., Brickle, D.S. & Hagan, D.V. (1997) Mouthparts, antennae and genitalia of intersex Culicoides stellifer parasitized by mermithid nematodes. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 11, 217–222.
Rempel, J.G. (1940) Intersexuality in Chironomidae induced by nematode parasitism. Journal of Experimental Zoology, 84, 261–289.
Roy, R. (2003) A propos de deux males parasites de Prohierodula Bolivar, 1908 (Dictyoptera, Mantidae). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, 108, 181–183.
Schmidt-Rhaesa, A. & Ehrmann, R. (2001) Horsehair worms (Nematomorpha) as parasites of praying mantids with a discussion of their life cycle. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 240, 167–179.
Schmidt-Rhaesa, A. & Yadav, A.K. (2004) On the occurrence of Chordodes cf. furnessi (Nematomorpha) from praying mantis in India, and a note on Indian nematomorph species. Current Science, 86, 1023–1027.
Serville, J.G.A. (1839) Histoire naturelle des Insects Orthoptères. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris, 776 pp.
Snodgrass, R.E. (1935) Principles of Insect Morphology. Mc Graw Hill Book Company, New York, 667 pp.
Wülker, W. (1975) Parasite-induced castration and intersexuality in insects. In: Reinboth, R. (Ed), Intersexuality in the animal kingdom. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 121–134.