Smicromyrme (Eremotilla) williamsi Terine & Girish Kumar, 2023

Terine, Joshua B. & Kumar, Girish P., 2023, A new species of the genus Smicromyrme THOMSON, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) from India, Zootaxa 5353 (1), pp. 82-88 : 83-87

Smicromyrme (Eremotilla) williamsi Terine & Girish Kumar , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–9 )

Diagnosis. Head predominantly black, behind eyes ferruginous emarginated medially. Mesosoma ferruginous. Legs predominantly black, femur and coxa ferruginous. T2 with a basal golden spot and wide apical band of golden setae.

Description. Holotype FEMALE ( Figs 1–6 ). Body length 9.05 mm. Coloration and setation. Head predominantly black, posteriorly with continuous ferruginous band behind the eyes, from upper vertex to occipital carina, extending acutely anterad towards central vertex and over gena and postgena. Mesosoma ferruginous. Legs predominantly black, procoxa and profemur black, meso and metacoxae ferruginous. Antenna black, scape mixed with black and ferruginous. Antennal tubercles dark brown. Mandible black, basally ferruginous. Clypeus fully ferruginous. Metasoma black except base of T1 and S1 ferruginous. S2–6 black. Frons and vertex with sparse golden and black setae intermixed, posterior rim of head with fringe of short golden setae. Gena with sparse white setae. Clypeus with tuft of golden and white setae. Scape with white setae and flagellomeres with short white setae. Dorsum of mesosoma covered with appressed black setae. Mesopleuron and metapleuron with white setae. T1 with sparse golden setae all over and apical fringe of golden setae. T2–6 with golden setae. T2 with basal spot and wide apical band of appressed golden setae. T4 and T5 with band of appressed golden setae. T2–6 laterally with long golden setae. S2–6 with apical fringe of sparse golden setae. S1 and S2 with sparse golden setae. S6 laterally with tuft of golden setae. Legs covered predominantly with intermixed white and black setae.

Structure and sculpture. Head. Oval in frontal view, not elongated behind eyes, longitudinal eye diameter 0.74 × minimum distance between eyes; eye not emarginated on the inner margin. Hypostomal carina not developed. Head punctate reticulate. Mandible apically acuminated, with two pre-apical weak denticles. Clypeus medially weakly emarginated. Ratios of pedicel length and F1–3 are 0.16: 0.26:0.22: 0.23.

Mesosoma. Maximal mesosomal width 1.15 × head width behind eye. Well developed arcuate scutellar scale, wider than long (Width = 6.5 × scutellar scale middle length). Mesosoma dorsum punctate reticulate as on head. Posterior propodeal face reticulate. Mesopleuron rugose. Metapleuron sparsely micro-punctate.

Legs. Mid and hind tibia with two rows of spines, four in each row.

Metasoma. T1 sessile, much narrower than T2. T2 maximal width 1.95 × T1 maximal width. T2 with golden lateral felt line. T6 with elongate pygidial plate, longitudinally striate, striae divergent. S1 with medial longitudinal ridge. S1–6 punctate, punctures on S2 larger than other sternal segments.

Paratype ♀ ( Figs 7–9 ). Similar to holotype except as follows: Body length 9.02 mm. Fore leg tarsal segments ferruginous. Apical band of T2 touching basal spot medially. Golden spots and bands of T2 , T4 and T5 pale than in holotype .

MALE. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype ♀, INDIA, Kerala, Palakkad district, Silent Valley National Park, Sairandri , 11.093°N, 76.446°E, 1038 m, 12.III.2021, A.P. Kamila, ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV. 23871 [ ZSIK] . Paratype ♀, same collection data as that of holotype, ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV. 23872 [ ZSIK] .

Distribution. India (Kerala).

Etymology. The name is dedicated to Dr Kevin A. Williams, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento, USA for his contribution to the taxonomic studies of Mutillidae . Treat as a noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Smicromyrme (Eremotilla) williamsi sp. nov., holotype, ♀. 1. Habitus, lateral view; 2. Head, frontal view; 3. Head and mesosoma, dorsal view; 4. Metasoma, dorsal view; 5. Metasoma, ventral view; 6. Pygidial plate.

FIGURES 7–9. Smicromyrme (Eremotilla) williamsi sp. nov., paratype, ♀. 7. Habitus, lateral view; 8. Habitus, dorsal view; 9. Habitus, ventral view.