Paramantis prasina (Serville 1839)
A green or brown Mantid with four brownish callous spots (sometimes only 3) on the inner side of the fore coxae. Femora without black marks, spines black-tipped.
Length: 40-50 mm (male); 62-78 mm (female).
Saussure (1899) gives the following diagnosis: This species is excellently characterized among all species of the genus, firstly by their four reddish-brown polished calluses, which protrude flat-button-shaped on the inside of the coxae, and secondly especially through the elytra, which are leathery and opaque, but suddenly narrow and crystal clear at the rear edge. Strangely enough, the elytra are more leathery and opaque (coriaceus) in males than in females, which is not the case in any other species of mantids. Also, all the males we know are of reddish-brown color, while the females are, as usual, light green. In the male the marginal area is sometimes green, but sometimes also completely brown, like the rest of the elytra.
This species has also been described as Mantis emortualis by Saussure (1869, 1871) and Mantis callifera from Cape of Good Hope by Wood Manson: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/partpdf/245308.
Note: All species of Paramantis and several Mantis have the femora II und III without genicular spine projecting from genicular lobes of the femora and coxa I is decorated with 1-4 whitish, yellowish, brownish or black callous spots (rounded or ovale, somtimes outlined in black). And the ventral side of the coxae carry callous spots also in other genera such as Sphodomantris.
Original description (Mantis parasina) in:
Audinet-Serville J. G. 1839. Histoire naturelle des insectes. Orthoptères. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret; Paris.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/54314#page/225/mode/1up
Translated from French:
Female: She looks a lot like Mantis religiosa, but it is more slender in all its proportions, entirely of a tender green. Prothorax unicarinate in the middle, laterally marginate, very finely denticulated on the margin of its dilated part [...]. Elytra opaque elytra, apple green, with the entire posterior margin transparent and colorless; anterior margin narrow, barely a quarter of the total width of the elytron. Wings the length of the elytra, very transparent, the front margin and the tip tinged with greenish; sinus pronounced, and the veins whitish. Antennae and legs of the same colour as the body; anterior coxae without spines, having on their internal surface three or four calloused, brownish, rounded and shiny spots; inner surface of the anterior femora broadly bordered yellow at the bottom.
Type locality: Mauritius ('Ile-de-France')
(not 'Cape Provinces' as stated in Mantodea Species File)
Detailled description of the male by Saussure 1895:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21293#page/236/mode/1up
Male illustrated in Saussure 1871:
Distribution: Widely distributed in Subsaharan Africa (Angola, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo), Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius.
Photos of a living and voucher specimens (female) from Rwanda:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282355381_A_survey_of_the_praying_mantises_of_Rwanda_including_new_records_Insecta_Mantodea
https://specimens.mantodearesearch.com/specimens/662
iNat observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/208102985
References:
Saussure 1899. Orthoptera. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Reisen in Madagaskar und Ostafrika in den Jahren 1889-95 von Dr. A. Voeltzkow. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 21.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26416458#page/636/mode/1up
Saussure 1895. Histoire physique, naturelle, et politique de Madagascar 24
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21293#page/235/mode/1up
Figure 24: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/21293#page/297/mode/1up
Saussure 1869. Essai d'un Système des Mantides. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 3.
https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=seg-001%3A1869%3A3%3A%3A593
Saussure 1871. Mélanges orthoptérologiques. III Fascicule. Mantides. Mémoires de la
Société de Physique et dHistoire Naturelle de Genève 2.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/122147#page/259/mode/1up
Figure 37: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/122147#page/389/mode/1up
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