Creobroter apicalis Saussure, 1869 is documented in Sri Lanka for the first time. The species sampling occurrence (July-October) aligned closely with data reported in the database, GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility: www.gbif.org) indicating a strong coincidence between observed occurrences and documented records. A taxonomic key was developed to accurately distinguish C. apicalis from C. pictipennis, facilitating precise identification of these two mantid species based on morphological and diagnostic features (Fig. 3) critical for comparative analyses (Ghate et al. 2000). Key for C. apicalis and C. pictipennis 1. Males.............................................................................................. 2 - Females............................................................................................. 3 2. Male forewing with banding or basal spots......................................................... C. apicalis - Male forewing without banding or basal spots..................................................... C. pictipennis 3. Base of female hindwing mild red mixed pink, black; costal margin hindwing yellow, pink................... C. apicalis - Base of female hindwing green; costal margin without distinct hue.................................... C. pictipennis General description. Medium to large insects, greenish body, winged. Forewing with yellow band in the middle, bordered by two black semi-circular rings resembling an eye spot, enclosing black dots, typically two; costal and anal areas transparent, base with a yellow spot. Head trapezoidal with prominent lateral lobes; conical eyes with upward projection, black band having white tips, small mid-dorsal spine. Ocelli conspicuous. Antennae slender, filiform. Saddle-shaped pronotum, shorter than forecoxae, well-pronounced supra-coxal dilation, laterally denticulated prozona, spatulated central indistinct carina, pronounced metazonal constriction; forecoxae triangular dorsally, eight obtuse marginal spines, middorsal carina with spines, internal apical lobes convergent; femur longer than coxa with four external, four discoidal and 13 internal spines, of which six are longer, seven are shorter; fore tibia with 16 smaller depressed external spines, 14 longer, closely arranged internal spines and three distal genicular spines; Metatarsus as long as all other tarsal segments combined; Middle and hind femora twice as long as middle tibia; raptorial forelegs; semicircular distal ventral lobe, two genicular spines at the tibia-femur junction. Measurements of various phenotypic features given in Table 2, most female measurements and counts slightly greater than those of male (sexual dimorphism). Female phenotype (♀: RUH ENTM1). Forewing remigium with a green hue, featuring a central eye-like region comprising brown, yellow, and white shades alongside a yellow proximal area. Cross-venation notably dense, comprising more than four rows of cells across most regions. Proximally, the forewing vannus with a light pink coloration transitioning to a dark brown/black hue distally. Hind wing remigium with a dark pink band with a distinct apex, proximally displaying a pink tone shifting to dark brown towards the distal end. Partial overlapping between the dark pink and dark brown/black areas. Within the dark brown/black region, cross-veins surrounded by clear spaces. Male Phenotype (♂: RUH ENTM2). Male wings longer and with a less dense arrangement of cross-veins than those of female. Forewing remigium lacking the proximal yellow region observed in females. Forewing vannus with a faint trace of a light pink hue. On the hind wing, a light pink region present proximally, blending with a brownish tone; distal area lacking a distinctive black/brown coloration (Fig. 2). Mitochondrial COI Barcoding and Phylogenetic Analysis. The average intraspecific genetic divergences, calculated using the Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) method, ranged from 0.003 (for RUH ENTM1 and RUH ENTM2) to 0.015 (for C. apicalis and RUH ENTM1/M2). Hence, no significant genetic variation was discernible within the sampled individuals, assuming a 0.02 threshold for speciation in C. apicalis. In summary, the genetic variations between species, as indicated by sequence divergences in the mitochondrial COI barcoding gene, were greater than the divergences observed within species (Table 3). Moreover, the phylogenetically monophyletic clusters observed in Creobroter spp. underscore the taxonomic validity of identifying C. apicalis (Fig. 4).

Published as part of Gamage, L. M. P., Ranasinghe, R. A. N. M. & Chathuranga, W. G. D., 2024, First Record of Creobroter apicalis Saussure, 1869 (Mantodea: Hymenopodidae) in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka: Unveiling a New Geographic Record of Flower Mantis, pp. 127-135 in Zootaxa 5512 (1) on pages 131-132, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5512.1.11, http://zenodo.org/record/13848254