Macroocula asirensis Gadallah & Soliman

Soliman, Ahmed M., Gadallah, Neveen S. & Dhafer, Hathal Mohammed Al, 2018, An illustrated key to the Saudi Arabian species of the genus Macroocula Panfilov, 1954, with the description of a new species and the previously unknown female of M. andreai Pagliano (Hymenoptera, Bradynobaenidae, Apterogyninae), ZooKeys 742, pp. 35-56 : 41-42

Macroocula asirensis Gadallah & Soliman sp. n. Figs 10 A–F, 11 A–C, 12H

Material examined.

Holotype ♂: Saudi Arabia, Saloos Al-Manzar, Wadi Baqrah (Asir) [18°47'30"N, 42°01'05"E, Alt. 422 m], light trap, 4.XI.2013, leg. Al Dhafer et al. [KSMA]. Paratypes 1♂: Saudi Arabia, Almagardah, Wadi Yebah (Asir) [19°16'16"N, 41°48'38"E, Alt. 402 m], light trap, 12.III.2012, leg. Abdeldayem M. & Eltorkey A. [KSMA]; 1♂: Saudi Arabia, Saloos Al-Manzar, Wadi Baqrah (Asir) [18°47'24"N, 41°58'18"E, Alt. 331 m], light trap, 13.III.2012, Abdeldayem M. & Eltorkey A. [EFC]; 1♂: Saudi Arabia, Wadi Targ (Asir) [19°37'22"N, 42°18'01"E, Alt. 1317 m], light trap, 14.III.2012, leg. Al Dhafer H. & Fadl H. [KSMA]; 1♂: Saudi Arabia, Almagardah, Wadi Yebah (Asir) [19°14'53"N, 41°47'15"E, Alt. 402 m], light trap, 11.X.2013, leg. Khan S. [KSMA].

Diagnosis.

Head, mesosoma and first metasomal segment yellow; mid trochanter with triangular protuberance, pointed apically; T2 gently sloping posteriorly, with longitudinally stretched, narrow punctures, the interspaces with long ridges; S1 transversely ridged; lateral bristles on S6 sparse, fine and pale in colour, hardly differentiated from adjacent pale setae; parameres without lateral flange, evenly rounded at the level of cuspis.

Description.

MALE (holotype). Body length 16.5 mm; fore wing length 12 mm.

Colour (Figs 10 A–F, 11C). Head including antenna and basal half of mandible, mesosoma and first and last visible (the 7th) metasomal segments yellow; remaining segments of metasoma brown to black, 6th and 7th segments yellowish; apical half of mandible and median terminal hook reddish-brown (chestnut); palpi and legs yellow; fore tibial spur yellow, mid and hind spurs waxy white; wings hyaline, fore wing with veins pale yellow and stigma reddish. Body including legs and scape of antenna densely clothed with long, erect to suberect pale setae; S2-S6 apically with fringe of long erect setae restricted to median third of the sternites; S6 laterally with sparse, fine, pale bristles.

Head (Fig. 10 A–D). Dorsally as wide as maximal width of mesosoma at mesopleuron; face and vertex finely sparsely punctate, except along inner ocular orbit punctures are denser; vertex slightly swollen postero-laterally; ocelli distinctly large; OOD about 0.4 × IOD; malar space distinctly short, about 0.3 × MOD; clypeus convex, with free margin straight; gena nearly smooth, with widely scattered punctures along the outer ocular orbit; mandible slender, pointed apically and edentate (simple); scape of antenna slightly shorter than wide; F1 5 × as long as wide, 1.2 × as long as F2; F3 as long as F2.

Mesosoma (Figs 10E, 11A). Pronotum foveate-reticulate dorsolaterally, with lateral face horizontally ridged; mesoscutum and scutellum sparsely punctate, punctures 1-2 diameters apart, denser at borders; mesoscutum with longitudinal median smooth stripe and complete notauli that are widely divergent anteriorly; tegula smooth; propodeum foveate-reticulate on dorsal and lateral faces, posterior face transversely ridged. Mesopleuron foveate-reticulate dorsally, sparsely punctate ventrally; metapleuron smooth below spiracle; metasternum with three longitudinal carinae "median carina is the strongest", bidentate in front of hind coxae, space between denticles U-shaped. Fore wing with brachial cell as long as wide, scarcely shorter than anterior vein of cubital cell; hind wings with 8 hamuli. Mid trochanter ventrally with well developed, triangular (pointed apically) protuberance, hind trochanter evenly arched, without a protuberance.

Metasoma (Figs 10F, 11B, C). T1 subcylindrical, distinctly longer than its maximal width (1.35 ×), irregularly rugose; T2 pear-shaped, slightly longer than its maximal width (1.12 ×), gently sloping posteriorly, with punctures strongly stretched (narrow), the interspaces with long ridges; T3 as T2, punctures 1-2 diameters apart on disc; T4-T7 punctulate; S1 transversely ridged; S2 medially depressed along basal two-thirds, laterally largely ellipsoid punctate; S3 sparsely punctate, with double row of punctures along posterior margin; S4-S6 finely punctate-subreticulate; S6 laterally with sparse, fine, pale bristles, hardly distinguished from adjacent pale setae.

Genitalia (Fig. 12H). Generally densely setose, gently widened medially, about 1.9 × as long as its maximal width; parameres finger-like on apical third, rounded at apex, as long as aedeagus, densely setose along its inner and outer sides as well as in the area surrounding volsella; cuspis of volsella in ventral view lobe-like, densely setose along its whole surface; digitus distinctly longer than cuspis and about 0.6 × as long as aedeagus, with scattered setae on outer face.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology.

The species epithet asirensis refers to Asir region where the specimens were collected.

Distribution.

Saudi Arabia (Asir region).

Remarks.

The new species, Macroocula asirensis sp. n., is very similar to M. savignyi (Klug) from which it differs mainly in the following aspects: head, mesosoma and first metasomal segment yellow (Fig. 10A) (in savignyi darker, ferruginous-red: Fig. 9A); protuberance on mid trochanter pointed apically (Fig. 10E) (blunt in savignyi : Fig. 9B); T2 gently sloping at posterior margin, with longitudinally stretched, narrow punctures, the interspaces with long ridges (Fig. 11B) (in savignyi , T2 abruptly sloping posteriorly, with normal punctures and short ridges in between: Fig. 9C); S1 transversely ridged (Fig. 11C) (foveate in savignyi : Fig. 9D); lateral bristles on S6 sparse, fine and pale in colour, hardly differentiated from adjacent pale setae (Fig. 10F) (in savignyi dense, stout and dark in colour “red”, distinctly differentiated from adjacent pale setae: Fig. 9E); parameres without lateral flange (Fig. 12H) (in savignyi parameres laterally with rounded flange at the level of cuspis: Fig. 12G); genitalia densely setose on parameres and cuspis (in savignyi setae noticeably less dense); digitus of volsella with scattered setae on outer face but still denser than in savignyi .