Pristomerus protea, Rousse & Noort, 2015

Rousse, Pascal & Noort, Simon van, 2015, Revision of the Afrotropical species of Pristomerus (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), with descriptions of 31 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 124, pp. 1-129 : 80-82

Pristomerus protea sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1C2445B9-50D4-4C69-991D-8289D0F03DB3

Fig. 27

Diagnosis

Small; head and mesosoma black, metasoma mostly testaceous-brown with tergites 1–2 black; face and clypeus deeply and sparsely to densely punctate without granulate background sculpture; clypeus transverse; malar line very long; upper head punctate-granulate; ocelli exceptionally reduced; antenna with 26 flagellomeres, penultimate one shorter than wide; mesosoma entirely deeply and densely punctate except speculum ventrally smooth; propodeum with area superomedia shorter than wide and not laterally defined beyond anterior transverse carina; female femoral tooth absent; ovipositor moderately short, evenly up-curved and apically down-curved. Male unknown.

Differential diagnosis

Small and mostly black, highly atypical among Pristomerus because of the exceptionally reduced ocelli, the fore wing venation with the abscissa of M between rs-m and 2m-cu very short, and the ovipositor shape, evenly curved without the usual sinuous apex of most Pristomerus . It is only close to P. restio sp. nov., in which the face is lighter and more roughly punctate, and the area superomedia more slender.

Etymology

Refers to one of the most emblematic flowers of the Cape Floral Kingdom. Noun in apposition.

Type material

Holotype

SOUTH AFRICA: ♀, “ SOUTH AFRICA, W. Cape, Koeberg Nature Reserve, 33°37.622’S 18°24.259’E, 31 October 1997, S. van Noort, sweep, KO97–S22, West Coast Strandveld , SAM–HYM–P039304” ( SAMC).

Description

Female (holotype) B 5.2; A 2.9; F 3.3; CT 1.7; ML 0.9; POL 2.3; OOL 1.2; Fl n-1 0.9; ASM 0.8; OT 1.3; FFT 0.

COLOUR. Head and mesosoma black with mandible and a thin margin along posterior orbit yellowishtestaceous; metasoma testaceous-brown with tergites 1–2 mostly black and posterior margins of tergites yellow; antenna blackish; fore and mid legs yellow; hind leg testaceous with coxa and trochanter black; wings hyaline, venation pale yellowish with pterostigma basally whitish.

HEAD. Face deeply and densely punctate, inter-punctures spaces quite smooth; inner margins of eyes subparallel; clypeus transverse and sparsely punctate, ventral margin rather strongly convex; malar line very long; frons, vertex and temple sparsely punctate-granulate; ocelli strongly reduced, posterior ocelli remote from each other; occipital carina joining hypostomal carina distinctly above mandible base; antenna with 26 flagellomeres, flagellomere 1 distinctly longer than flagellomere 2, penultimate flagellomere slightly shorter than wide.

MESOSOMA. Mesosoma stout; entirely deeply and very densely punctate except ventral half of speculum smooth; area superomedia short, subquadrate, laterally not delimited beyond anterior transverse carina. Wings. Fore wing with 2m-cu subopposite 2rs-m, both separated by less than their own width. Legs. Female femoral tooth absent.

METASOMA. Metasoma coriaceous with tergite 2 and apical half of tergite 1 aciculate; thyridium small and subcircular; ovipositor moderately short, stout, basally evenly up-curved with apical third downcurved, apex slightly swollen and not sinuous.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

South Africa.

Comments

The affiliation of this species (and P.restio sp. nov.) to the genus Pristomerus is uncertain.Without associated males, however, we refrain from describing a new genus and keep them as extra-limital Pristomerus .

Figures

Fig. 27. Pristomerus protea sp. nov. Holotype, ♀. A. Habitus, lateral view (inset: data labels). B. Head, mesosoma, dorsal view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Propodeum, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view. F. Hind tibia, lateral view.