Mitochondrial Phylogenomics Suggests Complex Evolutionary Pattern of Pronotal Foliaceous Mimicry in Hierodulinae (Mantodea: Mantidae), with Description of a New Species of Rhombodera Burmeister, 1838 from China †

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Rampant morphological homoplasy in Mantodea has confused systematists for a long time. The leaf-like pronotum was long thought to be one of the key characteristics of Rhombodera in Hierodulinae. In this study, we describe a new species of Rhombodera and discuss the phylogeny as well as complex convergent evolution of leaf-like pronotum in Hierodulinae based on the combination of morphological and mitogenome data. The results reveal the unnatural grouping of the current classification in Hierodula and Rhombodera, rendering the well-developed lateral expansion invalid as the diagnosis of Rhombodera. Mapping the pronotal-foliaceous trait onto our phylogenetic tree show that the origin in multiple lineages of this trait in Hierodulinae may have adaptive significance. The congruent results of the group division between mitochondrial phylogenomics and morphology of male genitalia also highlight the capacity of the use of mitogenomes in resolving the derived mantodean phylogenetic relationship. ABSTRACT: Hierodulinae is a species-rich mantid subfamily, with some species bearing a notable leaf-like pronotum. However, the evolutionary pattern and taxonomic significance of the leaf-like pronotum are largely unknown. Here, we present a phylogenomic analysis of the Hierodulinae genera Rhombodera Burmeister, 1838, and Hierodula Burmeister, 1838 based on mitochondrial genomes. We also describe a new species, namely Rhombodera hyalina sp. nov. from Guangxi, China. Our phylogenetic result, together with the evidence from male genitalia, suggests the division of the Oriental Hierodula and Rhombodera complex into three clades. We find a complex pattern on the evolution of the leaf-like pronotum, which is present in at least five lineages, respectively, of the above three clades.