Pristaulacus ninae, Turrisi & Nobile, 2024

G. F, Turrisi & Nobile, Vittorio, 2024, New Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 (Hymenoptera, Evanioidea, Aulacidae) from India and Malaysia with a key to species and a revised checklist, European Journal of Taxonomy 930, pp. 1-19 : 8-14

Pristaulacus ninae sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C0727AA9-D0EA-4E97-AF90-E85584E26410

Figs 4–6 , Table 1

Type material

Diagnosis

Medium sized species, body length: 10.7 mm; forewing length: 8.0 mm; ovipositor length: 9.3 mm ( Fig. 4 ). Colour mostly black ( Fig. 4 ), legs partly dark reddish to orange, wings hyaline, forewing slightly infuscate at extreme apex, with a small basal mark and a very wide subquadrate substigmal light brown, basal part of metasoma dark reddish brown; setae almost entirely whitish; head 1.3 × as wide as long; gena, from above, well developed 0.9 × eye length), almost straight, not convergent and rounded posteriorly; anterior margin of mesonotum regularly rounded, pronotum with one stout, tooth-process on each lateroventral margin; ovipositor 1.2× forewing length.

Etymology

The specific epithet is a special dedication to V. Nobile’s late wife, Nina Spampinato , a noun in the genitive case.

Holotype

MALAYSIA • ♀; “ PAHANG F.M.S., Cameron Highlands. Ginting Kial 5000 ft: 23.5.1989 [perhaps 1899]/Ex F.M.S. Museum, B.M., 1955-354.”/ Pristaulacus ninae sp.n. ♀ Turrisi G.F. & Nobile V. Holotypus [red label]”; NHMUK.

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length: 10.7 mm; [antennae partly missing]; forewing length: 8.0 mm; ovipositor length: 9.3 mm.

COLOUR. Black, except: clypeus and mandible extensively dark reddish; maxillo-labial complex and A1–2 dark reddish brown; fore and mid trochanters and femurs, hind tibia and tarsus dark orange; fore and mid tibiae and tarsi (pretarsus darker) orange; coxae, hind trochanter and femur dark reddish; wings hyaline, forewing slightly infuscate at extreme apex, with weak irregular dark marks on basal cell and between subbasal and subdiscal 1 cells, and very wide subquadrate substigmal ligth brown spot; S1–3 and sides of T2 dark reddish brown; valvula 3 of ovipositor dark brown; setae: goldish on mandible, whitish otherwise ( Figs 4 , 6A, E ).

HEAD. Cuticle shiny; vertex with mixed fine to coarse, deep and dense punctures (distance between punctures 2.0 × puncture diameter); frons with coarse, deep and very dense punctures (distance between punctures 0.2–0.5 × puncture diameter), punctures moderately coarse on upper frons; clypeus with moderately coarse to coarse, deep and very dense punctures (distance between punctures 0.5× puncture diameter); gena with fine to moderately coarse, deep and dense punctures (distance between punctures 2.0–2.5× puncture diameter); malar area coarse, deep and very dense punctures (distance between punctures 0.2–0.5× puncture diameter); head width/length: 1.3 ( Fig. 5A ); malar distance/ eye height: 0.3; gena, from above, well developed (gena length/eye length: 0.9), almost straight, not convergent and rounded posteriorly; lower interocular distance/eye height: 1.2 ( Fig. 5B ); inner margin of eyes subparallel; eye height/eye width: 1.3 ( Fig. 5C ); POL:OOL: 0.7; ocellar area width/length: 1.9; occipital margin almost straigth; occipital carina moderately broad, lamelliform 0.40 × diameter of anterior ocellus; length/width A3: 7.0; length/width A4: 11.7; length/width A5: 10.3; A3/A4: 0.6; A3/ A5: 0.7; A4/A5: 1.1; [A14 missing]; setae: erect and scattered on vertex; erect and dense on upper frons; recumbent and dense on lower frons and clypeus; semierect, moderately dense and moderately long on gena (length of setae 0.8× diameter of anterior ocellus); recumbent and dense on malar area.

MESOSOMA. Elongate, mesosoma length/mesosoma height: 2.1, coarsely sculptured, shiny ( Fig. 5D ); pronotum areolate rugose, anterior margin straight, without tooth-like processes, with one moderately developed, stout, straight, laterally forward and tooth-like process on each lateroventral margin, posterior margin sharply angulate without process ( Figs 5E , 6B ); propleuron polished and shiny with coarse, deep and very dense punctures (distance between punctures 0.5× puncture diameter), punctures coarser dorsally; prescutum triangular, well defined by raised carinae, with narrow base, very weakly concave, transverse-carinate; mesoscutum transverse-carinate; dorsally not prominent, weakly convex, anterior margin (lateral view) widely rounded, not overhanging pronotum; notauli well defined, moderately deep and wide, meeting each other at transscutal articulation; mesoscutellum not prominent, weakly convex, transverse-carinate, carinae strongly curved; mesopleuron areolate-rugose, a narrow part of the anterior subalar area foveolate; metanotum areolate-rugose; propodeum areolate-rugose, anterior margin longitudinally carinate; ventral parts of mesosoma transverse-carinate on anterior third, confusedcarinate otherwise; vein 2-rs+m very long ( Fig. 6A ); coxa I polished-punctate, with coarse, deep and very dense punctures (distance between punctures 0.5× puncture diameters); coxa II transverse-carinate on dorsal surface, transverse-carinulate-punctate on ventral surface, punctures moderately coarse to coarse, deep and moderately dense (distance between punctures 2.0–3.0 × puncture diameter); hind coxa elongate subcylindrical, length/width: 2.9 ( Fig. 6D ); hind coxal guide transverse, narrow, notch subterminal, narrow; inner and outer spurs of mid and hind tibiae subequal; hind basitarsus moderately slender, length/width: 9.6; hind basitarsus length 1.2× tarsomeres 2–5 length ( Fig. 6C ); tarsal claw with three tooth-like processes; setae: erect, short and scattered to moderately dense dorsally; semi erect to recumbent, moderately long to long and moderately dense to dense (pronotum) on sides and ventral surface; erect, long and moderately dense on hind surface of propodeum; erect, long and dense on propleuron (length of setae 0.7× fore pretarsus).

METASOMA. Pyriform (lateral view), sharply compressed laterally ( Fig. 6E ); metasoma 1.4 × mesosoma length; petiole elongate, length/width: 3.3; metasoma very finely microsculptured; metasomal segments 1+2 shiny, with very few, sparse, fine, superficial punctures; remaining segments shiny with fine, deep and moderately dense punctures on middle of tergites; S7 shiny with very coarse, elongate, deep and dense punctures; ovipositor 1.2× forewing length; setae: metasomal segments 1+2 almost glabrous; remaining tergites with recumbent, short and moderately dense setae on the medial part, sides with sparse setae; remaining sternites with semi erect short and moderately dense setae on the medial part, sides with sparse setae.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia (Pahang), known from type locality only.

Remarks

Pristaulacus ninae sp. nov. could be placed near to P. rufobalteatus Cameron, 1907 (see redescription in Chen et al. 2016) for the general appearance, the size and the rounded anterior lobe of the mesoscutum in lateral view. It is easily recognizable for the legs less extensively orange and darker (extensively orange and lighter in P. rufobalteatus ); shape of the head, with gena straight and weakly convergent posteriorly (regularly rounded and distinctly convergent posteriorly in P. rufobalteatus ); head with coarse and dense punctures, distance of punctures on frons 0.2–0.5 × puncture diameter (punctures fine to moderately coarse, distance of punctures on frons 1.0–1.5 × puncture diameter in P. rufobalteatus ); POL:OOL: 0.7 and ocellar area width/length: 1.9 (respectively 1.2 and 2.1 in P. rufobalteatus ); occipital margin almost straight (occipital margin distinctly concave in P. rufobalteatus ); hind coxa elongate subcylindrical, length/width about 2.9 (hind coxa moderately elongate, length/width about 2.5); tarsal claw with three tooth-like processes (four in P. rufobalteatus ); ovipositor less than 1.2× forewing length (1.3–1.4× in P. rufobalteatus ).

Pristaulacus leviceps Kieffer, 1912 was described as a subspecies of P. rufobalteatus but the type material was not found and its taxonomic status is currently uncertain. It is possibly a synonym of P. rufobalteatus Cameron, 1907 . According to the very poor description by Kieffer (1912), P. leviceps and P. ninae sp. nov. are clearly separated due to the impunctate head of the former species, whereas the head has coarse and dense to very dense punctures in the latter.

Key to Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900 of Indomalayan area

1. Occipital margin of head without a medial groove at most regularly concave ................................ 7

– Occipital margin of head with a more or less developed and shaped medial groove ....................... 2

2. Substigmal spot of fore wing small, mainly restricted to anterior third of cell SM1, occasionally overlapping slightly into adjacent cells; base of fore wing hyaline .................................................. 6

– Substigmal spot of fore wing wide, extending into adjacent cells (M, SM2 and D2), sometimes appearing as a stripe across most of all of fore wing; base of fore wing hyaline or with some dark spots or extensively infuscate ........................................................................................................... 3

3. Metasoma extensively reddish orange ................................................................................................

– Metasoma entirely blackish .............................................................................................................. 4

4. Hind tarsus yellowish orange ................................................. P. vietnamensis Turrisi & Smith, 2011

– Hind tarsus black .................................................................. P. thailandensis Turrisi & Smith, 2011

5. Pronotum with setae long and very dense (cuticle not clearly visible beneath) ................................. ............................................................................................... P. gusenleitneri Turrisi & Smith, 2011

– Pronotum with setae long and moderately dense (cuticle clearly visible beneath) ............................ .................................................................................................... P. watanabei Turrisi & Smith, 2011

6. Ovipositor very long, 2.7 × forewing length .................................. P. konishii Turrisi & Smith, 2011

– Ovipositor short, 1.1 × forewing length ........................................ P. sharkeyi Turrisi & Smith, 2011

7. Head and mesosoma blackish; mesosoma at least with mesoscutum transverse-carinate ................. …........................................................................................................................11

– Head and most or entirely mesosoma reddish or light orange; mesosoma almost entirely areolate-rugose ................................................................................................................................................ 8

8. Mesosoma entirely light orange ...................................................................................................... 10

– Mesosoma bicoloured, light orange with propodeum blackish ........................................................ 9

9. Wings uniformly darkly infuscate; ovipositor length 1.2–1.4 × forewing length ............................... ..................................................................................................... P. erythrocephalus Cameron, 1905

– Wings yellowish pigmented with several irregular dark marks basally, under stigma and distally; ovipositor length 1.0 × forewing length ..................................... P. exuberans Turrisi & Smith, 2020

10. Forewing with fasciate blackish-brown pattern: very broad substigmal spot and apex widely infuscate (♀); hind legs orange with tarsus blackish (♀); head with gena length less than eye length (gena length/eye length: 0.8) (♀; ♂); ovipositor length 1.4 × forewing length .................................. ........................................................................................................... P. luteus Smith & Turrisi, 2020

– Forewing without fasciate blackish-brown pattern: only moderately broad substigmal spot (at most also apicoventral margin blackish) (♀); hind legs almost entirely blackish hind legs orange with tarsus blackish (♀); head with gena well developed, length more than eye length (gena length/eye length: 1.1) (♀; ♂); ovipositor length 1.2 × forewing length ............ P. flavipennis ( Cameron, 1887)

11. Mesonotum (lateral view) sharply acute, overhanging pronotum .................................................. 22

– Mesonotum (lateral view) regularly rounded, not overhanging pronotum ..................................... 12

12. Metasoma blackish, at most basal segments blackish brown ......................................................... 19

– Metasoma extensively reddish orange ............................................................................................ 13

13. Mesosoma with long and dense setae obscuring sculpture beneath; head sharply transverse in dorsal view (length/width: 1.4) ................................................................. P. stigmaticus ( Westwood, 1868)

– Mesosoma with short and scattered to moderately dense setae, sculpture well visible beneath; head moderately transverse in dorsal view (length/width: 1.2) .............................................................. 14

14. Lateroventral margin of pronotum with two anterior and posterior tooth-like processes on each side, fore wing with basal half extensively infuscate and a very broad substigmal dark brown spot ..................................................................................................... P. leleji Turrisi & Nobile, 2016

– Lateroventral margin of pronotum with one anterior tooth-like processes on each side, fore wing with basal half not infuscate and a moderately to weak substigmal dark brown spot .................... 15

15. Setae of the body golden throughout; wings yellowish; ovipositor shorter than forewing (ovipositor length / forewing length: 0.9) .............................................. P. takakuwai Turrisi & Watanabe, 2011

– Setae of the body almost entirely whitish; wings hyaline; ovipositor longer than forewing (ovipositor length /forewing length: 1.1–1.4) ................................................................................................... 16

16. Ovipositor 1.1× forewing length ................................................. P. matteinii Turrisi & Smith, 2020

– Ovipositor 1.3–1.4 × forewing length ............................................................................................. 17

17. Occipital carina narrow, rim-like, 0.3 × diameter of an ocellus; metasoma blackish with side of tergites and sternites dark brown ................................................... P. perfidus Turrisi & Smith, 2020

– Occipital carina moderately broad, lamelliform, 0.5× diameter of an ocellus; metasoma extensively reddish orange ................................................................................................................................. 18

18. Head distinctly narrowing behind eyes; ovipositor 1.3–1.4 × forewing length .................................. ....................................................................................................... P. rufobalteatus ( Cameron, 1907)

– Head paralleling behind eyes; ovipositor 1.0 × forewing length ................ P. karinulus Smith, 2001

19. Pronotum with lateroventral margin bearing two anterior forwarded tooth-like processes on each side; forewing with a fasciate pattern: basally extensively infuscate, with brownish spot on cells B (except extreme apex), SB and SD1, a wide subrectangular dark brown substigmal spot and apex widely infuscate .............................................................................. P. fasciatipennis Cameron, 1906

– Pronotum with lateroventral margin bearing one anterior forwarded tooth-like processes on each side; forewing without a fasciate pattern, only a more or less wide dark brown substigmal spot ..... ......................................................................................................................................................... 20

20. Hind coxa elongate (length/width: 2.9); hind basitarsus longer than tarsomeres 2–5 combined (length basitarsus/length tarsomeres 2–5: 1.2); tarsal claws with three tooth-like processes P. ninae sp. nov.

– Hind coxa moderately elongate (length/width: 2.0–2.5); hind basitarsus as long as tarsomeres 2–5 combined; tarsal claws with four tooth-like processes ................................................................... 21

21. Antenna length 0.8 × forewing length; legs mostly dark reddish to dark brown, fore and mid tibiae and tarsi reddish orange ............................................................................................ P. iuliae sp. nov.

– Antenna length 0.6× forewing length; legs except coxae, hind trochanter, and hind femur dark reddish brown .................................................................................. P. nilgira Smith & Turrisi, 2020

22. Forewing infuscate on proximal half, distal half nearly hyaline; mesonotum with anterolateral lobes weakly projecting forward, projecting upward in lateral view; mesosoma with relatively sparse setae which do not obscure sculpture ................................................................. P. krombeini Smith, 1997

– Forewing almost entirely hyaline with a more or less broad substigmal dark spot; mesonotum with anterolateral lobes sharply projecting forward, not projecting upward in lateral view; mesosoma with dense setae partly obscuring sculpture ................................................................................... 23

23. Head widely rounded behind eyes; A1 blackish; pronotum with high, sharp carina close to and paralleling anterior margin; anterolateral lobes of mesonotum prominent, depression in-between very deep; ovipositor longer than forewing .................................... P. singara Smith & Turrisi, 2020

– Head more or less strongly narrowing behind eyes; A1 reddish orange; pronotum with high, sharp carina close to and paralleling anterior margin; anterolateral lobes of mesonotum moderately developed, depression in-between shallow: ovipositor length subequal forewing length .............. 24

24. Head width/length: 1.6; mesosoma middle lobe with 10–11 complete cross carinae; substigmal spot very small, about 0.5× as broad as stigma length, reaching the anterior margin of cell SM2; fore and mid legs reddish orange ........................................................................ P. signatus ( Shuckard, 1841)

– Head width/length: at most 1.4; mesosoma middle lobe with 5–6 complete cross carinae; substigmal spot very broad, more than or equal stigma length, reaching the posterior margin of cell SM2; fore and mid legs dark brown to blackish .............................................................................................. 25

25. Head weakly narrowing behind eyes; fore and mid legs blackish ............... P. nigripes Kieffer, 1911

– Head strongly narrowing behind eyes; fore and mid legs dark brownish .......................................... ........................................................................................................... P. iridipennis ( Cameron, 1900)

Figures

Fig. 4. Pristaulacus ninae sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHMUK), habitus, lateral view.

Fig. 5. Pristaulacus ninae sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHMUK). A. Head, dorsal view. B. Head, frontal view. C. Head, lateral view. D. Mesosoma, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view.

Fig. 6. Pristaulacus ninae sp. nov., holotype, ♀ (NHMUK). A. Wings. B. Pronotum, lateral view. C. Hind tarsus. D. Hind coxae, ventral view. E. Metasoma, lateral view.