Aphelonyx kordestanica Melika, 2010

Melika, George, Pujade-Villar, Juli, Abe, Yoshihisa, Tang, Chang-Ti, Nicholls, James, Wachi, Nakatada, Ide, Tatsuya, Yang, Man-Miao, Pénzes, Zsolt, Csóka, György & Stone, Graham N., 2010, 2470, Zootaxa 2470, pp. 1-79 : 28-29

Aphelonyx kordestanica Melika , new species

Figs 189–193, 194–199

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: IRAN, Kordestan, Bane, ex Q. libani ; coll. M. Tavakoli, September 2006 . PARATYPE: 1 female with the same label as the holotype. The holotype and paratype females are deposited in PDL, Tanakajd, Hungary.

Etymology. The species is named after Kordestan (= Kurdistan) Province of Iran, the type locality.

Diagnosis. In A. kordestanica , the head and mesosoma are covered with sparse white setae, with the surface sculpture revealed; the mesoscutellum rounded, very dull rugose, without or with very few setae, the head and mesosoma uniformly reddish brown, without black marks. In A. cerricola and A. persica , the head and mesosoma have dense white setae, and the surface sculpture hidden; the mesoscutellum is slightly longer than broad, never dull rugose, with very dense white setae, with the coriaceous sculpture obscured; the head and especially the mesoscutum with some black marks.

Description. ASEXUAL FEMALE (holotype). Body, including antennae and legs, uniformly reddish brown, with slightly darker mesosoma, especially dorsally. Mesosoma and metasoma laterally with relatively dense setae; wing veins dark brown.

Head 2.3 times as broad as long dorsally; 1.4 times as broad as high in anterior view and equal or slightly broader than mesosoma (measuring without tegulae). Gena smooth, without setae, delicately alutaceous, strongly broadened behind eye, slightly broader than across diameter of eye. Malar space smooth, with very fine striae (often difficult to see), 0.4 times as long as height of eye, without malar sulcus. POL 1.2 times as long as OOL; OOL 2.7 times as long as diameter of lateral ocellus, 1.7 times as long as LOL; ocelli rounded. Transfacial distance 1.3 times as long as height of eye and 1.6 times as long as height of lower face (distance between antennal rim and ventral margin of clypeus); diameter of antennal socket 1.2 times as long as distance between sockets, distance between socket and eye margin nearly equal to diameter of socket. Lower face delicately coriaceous, with elevated rugose median area and relatively dense setae. Clypeus rectangular, flat, more than 2.0 times as broad as high, with elevated coriaceous central part, with deep anterior tentorial pits, distinct epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line; ventrally straight, narrowly emarginate, not incised medially, with long dense setae along ventral margin. Frons dull rugose, with rounded impressed area below median ocellus, with Y-like elevated area, extending downwards from two lateral ocelli and going in between antennal sockets; area above antennal socket aside of Y-like elevated part also impressed; vertex and occiput uniformly dull coriaceous; interocellar area elevated. Postocciput around occipital foramen impressed, coriaceous; posterior tentorial pits large, deep, elongate; hypostomal bridge 1.5 times as high as broad, lower part narrowed down to emarginate hypostomal carina; occipital foramen slightly shorter than height of hypostomal bridge, around 1.5 times shorter than height of oral foramen. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres, longer than head+mesosoma; pedicel slightly longer than broad, F1 nearly 6.0 times as long as pedicel, equal to length of F2, F2 1.3 times as long as F3, F3=F4, subsequent flagellomeres shorter, all further flagellomeres subsequently shorter, except F12 which longer than F11; placodeal sensilla absent on F1 – F3, few apically present on F4; F5 – F12 entirely covered by sensilla.

Mesosoma longer than high in lateral view, with uniform dense white setae. Pronotum coriaceous; with dense white setae and some irregular wrinkles, emarginate along lateral edge. Mesoscutum nearly as long as broad (width measured across basis of tegulae), with very few sparse white setae, dull coriaceous, with distinct strong rugae in internotauli area, more delicately coriaceous aside notauli and anteriorly; parapsidal signa smooth, shiny, broad; anteroadmedian signa delicately reticulate, extending to half length of mesoscutum; notaulus incomplete, superficial but well visible because of smooth bottom, extending to the most 2/3 length of mesoscutum; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad along tegula only. Transscutal articulation present, straight. Dorsoaxillar area with very dense setae, smooth. Mesoscutellum rounded, uniformly dull rugose, at least 1.5 times shorter than length of mesoscutum, strongly overhanging metanotum. Scutellar foveae absent, anteriorly mesoscutellum with transverse impressed area, with strong parallel rugae. Mesopleuron, including speculum, uniformly micropunctate, with dense white setae, narrowly impressed along posterior edge; mesopleural triangle delicately coriaceous. Metapleural sulcus reaching mesopleuron slightly above half height; preaxilla coriaceous; lateral axillar area with parallel wrinkles, without setae; axillar carina narrow, without longitudinal striae; axillula slightly ovate, smooth, with few short white setae and punctures; subaxillular bar narrow, smooth, shiny, in most posterior end 2.0 times shorter than height of metanotal trough. Metascutellum uniformly delicately coriaceous, shorter than height of smooth, shiny ventral impressed area; metanotal trough smooth, shiny, without setae. Lateral propodeal carinae absent, central propodeal area smooth, shiny, without setae; lateral propodeal area uniformly coriaceous, with very dense white setae; nucha very short, without longitudinal sulci. Forewing longer than body, with dark brown veins, margin without cilia; radial cell 4.3 times as long as broad, R1 running along wing margin and extending to 1/3 length of radial cell margin; Rs nearly reaching wing margin; areolet large, triangular, well-delimited by distinct veins; Rs+M distinct, nearly reaching basalis in lower third. Tarsal claws simple, without basal lobe.

Metasoma as long as head+mesosoma, higher than long in lateral view, smooth, shiny, all tergites laterally with dense white setae; prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium slender, needle-like, long, at least 5.4 times as long as broad ventrally, with sparse very short white setae, not extending beyond apex of spine.

Body length 3.9 – 4.6 mm (n=2).

Gall ( Figs 198 – 199). A spherical bud gall may be found singly or in groups of 2 – 3, never more, developing most commonly on lateral buds on young shoots. The gall is unilocular, when mature is up to 8 – 12 mm in diameter, reddish-brown, with smooth surface, without velvety pubescence and small bumps, as in A. persica . The gall is hollow, with a tough woody wall 1.2 – 1.5 mm thick. The interior space contains a single larval chamber, which in the mature gall is unattached to the gall wall, and free-rolling. Old galls persist on the host tree.

Biology. Only the asexual generation is known from galls on Quercus libani Olivier. The galls develop through the summer and mature in mid September – October. Adult wasps overwinter in the gall and emerge the following spring.

Distribution. Iran, Kordestan Province, Bane, Zagros Mountains.

Comments. DNA sequence for the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, place this species closer to A. persica than A. cerricola . Sequence for the nuclear 28S D2 region is identical to the two other Aphelonyx species (J. Nicholls and G.N. Stone , unpublished data).