Spathiomorpha Tobias, 1976

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, 2022, First record of the genus Spathiomorpha Tobias, 1976 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae Doryctinae) in the New World, with the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5162 (4), pp. 439-445 : 440-441

Genus Spathiomorpha Tobias, 1976

Spathiomorpha Tobias, 1976: 216 ; Belokobylskij, 1985: 389; 1996: 176; Papp, 1987:166; Belokobylskij et al., 2004: 96; Belokobylskij and Maeto, 2006: 747; 2009: 480; Belokobylskij and Austin, 2013: 346; Yu et al., 2016.

Type species. Spathiomorpha varinervis Tobias, 1976 , by original designation.

Re-description ( Figs 1 , 2 ). Head transverse. Ocelli arranged in obtuse triangle with base larger than ts sides. Frons not or only weakly concave. Eyes glabrous. Occipital carina complete, lower often fused with hypostomal carina upper base of mandible. Malar suture absent. Clypeal suture rather distinct and almost complete. Clypeus with distinct protruding flange along its lower margin. Hypoclypeal depression round. Postgenal bridge present but rather narrow. Palps usually long; maxillary palps 6-segmented, labial palps 4-segmented. Scape of antenna rather thick and short, without apical lobe and basal constriction. Flagellum weakly thickened, first flagellomere more or less longer than second.

Mesosoma. Neck of prothorax short; pronotal keel usually distinct and situated near middle. Mesonotum usually smooth or sparsely punctate, often highly and almost vertically elevated above pronotum. Median lobe of mesoscutum without anterolateral corners and usually without complete medial longitudinal furrow. Notauli complete and sculptured. Prescutellar depression relatively long, sculptured or almost smooth, always with median carina. Metanotum with short, subpointed or obtuse median tooth (lateral view). Precoxal sulcus distinct, medium length, almost straight, oblique, mostly crenulate. Prepectal carina distinct and complete. Propodeum with basolateral areas and areola deliniated by distinct carinae; lateral tubercles and propodeal bridge absent or sometimes present short and thick tubercles. Propodeal spiracles small and round. Rarely mesosoma partly reduced (micropterous species).

Wings. Pterostigma of fore wing wide. Radial vein (r) arising from or behind middle of pterostigma. Radial (marginal) cell not shortened. Both radiomedial veins (2-SR, r-m) present. Recurrent vein (m-cu) always antefurcal. Nervulus (cu-a) postfurcal. Discoidal (discal) cell petiolate, petiole (1-SR) short. Parallel vein (CU1a) not interstitial, arising from posterior third of distal margin of brachial (subdiscal) cell. Brachial (subdiscal) cell wide. Transverse anal veins (2A, a) absent. In hind wing, radial (marginal) cell almost parallel-sided, without additional transverse vein (r). Medial (basal) cell wide. Submedial (subbasal) cell long; first abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) about as long as second abscissa (1-M). Recurrent vein (m-cu) present and sclerotised.

Legs. Fore and middle tibiae with numerous and thick spines arranged in almost single vertical line. Hind coxa with distinct basoventral corner and tubercle. Hind femur relatively narrow. Hind basitarsus 0.7–0.9 × as long as second–fifth segments combined.

Metasoma. First tergite usually relatively long and narrow, petiolate; dorsope small; spiracular tubercles distinct and placed usually in basal third of tergite. Acrosternite of first segment 0.5–0.6 × as long as first tergite, its apical margin situated on or usually behind spiracles. Second suture usually absent or rarely fine; second and third tergites without furrows and areas. Only second tergite with separate laterotergites, usually completely smooth or sometimes shortly striate basally. Ovipositor shorter or longer than metasoma.

Diagnosis. This genus is morphologically and molecularly similar to the widely distributed genus Ontsira Cameron, 1900 from the tribe Doryctini ( Zaldivar-Riverón et al., 2008; Belokobylskij and Austin, 2013). It can be distinguished from the latter by having a petiolate first metasomal segment with distinctly elongated acrosternite (longer than half of tergite).

Also Spathiomorpha is similar by petiolate first segment with the genus Spathius Nees, 1819 from the tribe Spathiini , but distinctly differs from later in fore wing by the antefurcal position of recurrent vein (m-cu) to the first radiomedial vein (2-SR) (always postfurcal in Spathius ), the arising of parallel vein (CU1a) from the posterior fourth of the vein (3-CU1) closed brachial (subdiscal) cell distally (from or before middle of this vein in Spathius ), and in hind wing the long submedial (subbasal) cell with first abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) longer than second abscissa (1-M) (cell and abscissa short in Spathius ).

Composition. Spathiomorpha enderleini Belokobylskij, 1996 ( China: Taiwan); S. japonica Belokobylskij et Maeto, 2006 ( Japan) ; S. jenningsi Belokobylskij et Austin, 2013 ( Australia: New South Wales); S. longipalpis Belokobylskij, 1985 ( Russia: Far East, Korea), S. mexicana Belokobylskij et Zaldívar-Riverón , sp. nov. ( Mexico), S. tasmanica Belokobylskij, Iqbal et Austin, 2004 ( Australia: Tasmania), S. varinervis Tobias, 1976 (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Macedonia, Russia: North Caucasus, Serbia, Turkey) ( Tobias, 1976; Belokobylskij, 1985, Papp, 1987; Belokobylskij, 1996; Belokobylskij et al., 2004; Belokobylskij and Maeto, 2006; Yu et al., 2016).

Hosts. Unknown.

Distribution. Australasian, Oriental, Neotropical (first record) and Palaearctic regions.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Spathiomorpha mexicana sp. nov. (female, holotype) (A) Habitus, lateral view. (B) Head, dorsal view. (C) Head, front view. (D) Head, lateral view. (E) Basal segments of antenna. (F) Apical segments of antenna. (G) Mesosoma, dorsal view. (H) Mesosoma, lateral view. (I) Hind leg.

FIGURE 2. Spathiomorpha mexicana sp. nov. (female, holotype) (A) Wings. (B) Medial part of fore wing. (C) Petiole, lateral view. (D) Metasoma, dorsal view. (E) Metasoma, lateral view.