Cycloneuroterus fortuitusus Tang & Melika

Tang, Chang-Ti, Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Yang, Man-Miao & Stone, Graham N, 2011, A new genus of oak gallwasps, Cycloneuroterus Melika & Tang, with the description of five new species from Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Zootaxa 3008, pp. 33-62 : 49-52

Cycloneuroterus fortuitusus Tang & Melika , new species

Figs 56–71

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: TAIWAN, Taitung County, Donghe Township, N 23° 3'36.57", E 121°18'32.53", ex Quercus glauca , leg. Chang-Ti Tang, 28.II.2010. adult em. 02.III.2010. PARATYPES: 1 female and 2 males: the female with the same label as the holotype; 2 male paratypes: TAIWAN, Taitung County, Donghe Township, N 23° 3'36.57", E 121°18'32.53", ex Q. glauca , leg. Chang-Ti Tang, 28.II.2010. adult em. 03.III.2010. The female holotype and 1 male paratype are deposited in NMNS, 1 female and 1 male paratypes in PDL.

Etymology. From the latin “ fortuitus ” that means “ accidentally ”. The name of the species reflects the accidental collection of shoots with cryptic galls inside, from which the species was reared.

Diagnosis. In C. fortuitusus , both females and males have the inner margins of compound eyes parallel, the lower face, frons, vertex and occiput are coriaceous, matt, never shiny; in contrast in both female and male C. lilungi and C. formosanus the inner margins of compound eyes converge ventrally, the lower face is alutaceous, only the median elevated area is delicately coriaceous, the frons, vertex and occiput are smooth or very delicately alutaceous, always shiny. Cycloneuroterus fortuitusus , together with two other new species described herein, C. lilungi and C. formosanus , has the head, mesosoma and metasoma dark brown to black.

terior view. 59–60, head, male: 59, anterior view, 60, dorsal view. 61–62, antenna: 61, female, 62, male.

Description. SEXUAL FEMALE. Head black, scape, pedicel, F1–F3 yellow, subsequent flagellomeres brown; mandibles, mouthparts, palpi labialis and maxillaris and legs yellow; mesosoma and metasoma black.

Head 2.0 times as broad as long from above, 1.2 times as broad as high and as broad as mesosoma in anterior view. Gena delicately alutaceous to smooth, very slightly broadened behind eye, 2.0 times as narrow as cross diameter of eye; malar area alutaceous, without striae, 0.3 times as long as height of eye. Inner margins of compound eyes parallel. POL 1.3 times as broad as OOL; OOL 2.1 times as long as length of lateral ocellus and 1.8 times as long as LOL; all ocelli ovate, elongated, of same size and shape. Transfacial distance 1.1 times as broad as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus equal to distance between them, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye 1.2 times as long as diameter of torulus; lower face coriaceous, with scattered white setae, median area elevated above lateral parts of lower face, coriaceous. Clypeus not elevated above lower face, trapezoid, flat, emarginate, with median incision ventrally, glabrous; anterior tentorial pit large, distinct, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, deep. Frons alutaceous, not shiny, interocellar area delicately coriaceous, with few white setae. Vertex and occiput delicately coriaceous. Postocciput and postgena alutaceous, matt, without setae, without parallel and longitudinal striae; area below posterior tentorial pit impressed. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres; longer than mesosoma+head; pedicel slightly longer than broad; F1 longer than scape and 2.1 times as long as pedicel; F2 slightly shorter than F1, F3=F4 and slightly shorter than F2, all subsequent flagellomeres shorter; F12 1.4 times as long as F11; placodeal sensilla on F2–F12, absent on F1.

Mesosoma longer than high in lateral view. Pronotum smooth, shiny, very short dorsally, with short parallel striae posterolaterally, with few white setae; foveolate along anterior rim; propleuron alutaceous, shiny, with smooth area centrally. Mesoscutum smooth, shiny, with few white setae; slightly longer than broad (largest width measured across mesoscutum on the level of the base of tegulae). Notauli and parapsidal lines absent, anterior parallel lines indicated by short rows of white setae; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, extending to the point where notaulus usually reach pronotum. Mesoscutellum trapezoid, longer than broad, narrower anteriorly than posteriorly, smooth, shiny, with very few setae and with delicately alutaceous center of disk, slightly overhanging metanotum; emarginate and impressed along lateral and posterior margins. Scutellar foveae absent, only a semilunar transverse depression present anteriorly, with smooth glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron and speculum smooth, shiny, with few white setae posteroventrally, impressed and foveolate along acetabular carina, with some parallel transverse wrinkles in median part only. Metascutellum delicately coriaceous, metanotal trough smooth, shiny, with few short white setae; ventral impressed area lower than height of metascutellum, smooth, without striae; central propodeal area broad, smooth, shiny, with very few delicate, irregular wrinkles, lateral propodeal carinae strong, high, strongly curved outwards in the posterior half; lateral propodeal area smooth, shiny with dense setae and piliferous points. Nucha without irregular rugae.

Radial cell 4.5 times as long as broad; Rs+M distinct on 3/4 of distance to basalis and its projection reaching basalis in lower 1/3 of its height.

Metasoma slightly longer than head + mesosoma, as long as high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergite occupying slightly more than 1/3 of metasoma length in dorsal view (always less than half length), with very few white setae laterally, all subsequent tergites without setae, smooth, shiny. Ventral spine of hypopygium short, prominent part nearly as long as broad in ventral view, with sparse, white subapical setae, not extending beyond apex of spine. Body length 2.1 mm (n=2).

MALE. Body length 2.0 mm (n=2), similar to female but compound eyes and ocelli slightly larger, antenna with 13 flagellomeres, as long as body length, F1 curved and swollen apically, as long as F2 or very slightly longer, slightly longer than pedicel+scape; F13 equal F12; placodeal sensilla on all flagellomeres.

Gall ( Fig. 71 ). The gall is cryptic, occuring at the base of a newly grown shoot that is still covered by many bud scales. The gall causes a slight swelling at the base of the young shoot; unless the bud scales are removed, it is hard to detect the presence of the gall. The gall is 3mm in height and 1.5mm in diameter. Sometimes two galls occur together at the base of the same young shoot.

Biology. Only the sexual generation of this species is known, inducing integral swelling-like galls in the leaf petiole on Q. glauca . Mature galls were collected in late February, adults emerged under laboratory conditions in early March.

Distribution. Currently known only from Taiwan: Taitung County, Donghe Township ( Fig. 108 ). It is possible that this species is also distributed on the Asian continent where Q. glauca occurs (Himalaya to Japan and Vietnam; Govaerts & Frodin 1998). Further research is necessary to confirm the full distribution of this species.

Comments. The gall of C. fortuitusus resembles the gall morphotypes of indet. cynipids showed on pictures C–053 and/or C–054 in Yukawa & Masuda (1996) and if so, then the species may well also occur in Japan.

Figures

FIGURES 108. Collection sites of Cycloneuroterus species in Taiwan indicated by numbers (figure from http: // www. google. com / earth /,): C. formosanus (No. 1, N 24 ° 11 ' 34.69 ", E 120 ° 47 ' 58.89 "; No. 2, N 24 ° 9 ' 45.18 ", E 120 ° 57 ' 35.17 "; No 3, N 23 ° 55 ' 55.64 ", E 120 ° 53 ' 38.51 "), C. fortuitusus (No. 4; N 23 ° 3 ' 36.57 ", E 121 ° 18 ' 32.53 "), C. lirongchiuea (No. 5; N 22 ° 19 ' 31.22 ", E 120 ° 51 ' 57.15 "), C. longinuxus (No. 6; N 22 ° 15 ' 51.31 ", E 120 ° 49 ' 21.71 "), C. lilungi (No. 7; N 22 ° 9 ' 58.62 ", E 120 ° 43 ' 47.60 ").

FIGURES 56 – 62. Cycloneuroterus fortuitusus, new species: 56 – 58, head, female: 56, anterior view, 57, dorsal view, 58, pos-

FIGURES 63 – 67. Cycloneuroterus fortuitusus, new species, female: 63, mesosoma, lateral view, 64, mesoscutum, dorsal view, 65, mesoscutellum, dorsal view, 66, pronotum and propleuron, anterior view, 67, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 68 – 71. Cycloneuroterus fortuitusus, new species, female: 68, metasoma, female, lateral view, 69 – 70, ventral spine of hypopygium: 69, lateral view, 70, ventral view. 71, gall (photo by Chang-Ti Tang).