Andrena (incertae sedis) nitidicollis Morawitz, 1876

Wood, Thomas J. & Monfared, Alireza, 2022, A revision of the Andrena (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) fauna of Iran, with the description of 16 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 843, pp. 1-136 : 100-101

127. Andrena (incertae sedis) nitidicollis Morawitz, 1876 *

Figs 169–174

Material examined

IRAN • 1 ♀; 10 km SW of Rayen / Kerman [ Kūh-e Hazār mountain , 29.518° N, 57.271° E]; 2350 m a.s.l.; 25 May 1978; K. Warncke leg.; OÖLM .

Remarks

Andrena nitidicollis is an obscure species that was previously known only from desert habitat in southern Kazakhstan. Its phylogenetic affinities are not clear, being placed in the Graecandrena Warncke, 1968 by Gusenleitner & Schwarz (2002), but not by Osytshnjuk et al. (2008). Due to the rarity of this taxon, it is illustrated here ( Figs 169–174 ).

Through its combination of small body size ( Fig. 169 ), shiny scutum with short, semi-squamous hairs ( Fig. 171 ), orange hind tibiae, thick white tergal hairbands ( Fig. 173–174 ), and predominantly smooth propodeal triangle ( Fig. 172 ), A. nitidicollis can be compared to two sets of species in two subgenera: 1) A. (Aciandrena) pavonia Warncke, 1974 , A. ( Aciandrena ) palmyriae Wood, 2021, and A. ( Aciandrena ) xera Pisanty, 2022 and 2) A. (Graecandrena) schwarzi Warncke, 1975 . In group 1, the propodeal triangle is entirely shagreened, leading to placement in the subgenus Aciandrena , whereas in group 2, the propodeal triangle has basal rugae, which along with the male genitalia leads to placement in subgenus Graecandrena . The propodeal triangle of the Iranian specimen has a narrow area with basal rugae, making it somewhat intermediate and resulting in its incertae sedis placement in the absence of genetic data.

Comparison with photographs of the type of A. nitidicollis ( Astafurova et al. 2022) shows that the Iranian specimen is conspecific due to the combination of its completely smooth scutum (completely shagreened in A. pavonia , partially shagreened in A. xera), its truncate labral process that lacks an apical notch (deeply notched in A. palmyriae), scutum with sparse punctures centrally, separated by>2 puncture diameters (separated by 1–2 puncture diameters in A. schwarzi ), broad facial foveae that occupy almost the entire space between the compound eye and the lateral ocellus (occupying ½ to ¾ of this space in all other species), and finally and most importantly, the relatively strongly and deeply punctate lateral parts of T3–4, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameters (punctures weaker, sparser, or absent in all other species). Its presence in Iran is reminiscent of A. longiceps , which has a predominantly Central Asian distribution, but which was recently recorded in Iran for the first time ( Radchenko et al. 2021).

Distribution

Iran *, Kazakhstan.

Figures

Figs 169–174. Andrena nitidicollis Morawitz, 1876, ♀ (OÖLM). 169. Profile. 170. Face. 171. Scutum. 172. Propodeum. 173. Terga. 174. Terga, detail.