Propelma rhodendorfi Trjapitzin

Gibson, Gary A. P., 2013, The extinct Baltic amber genus Propelma Trjapitzin, a valid genus of Neanastatinae (Hymenoptera, Eupelmidae), ZooKeys 283, pp. 59-69 : 61-66

Propelma rhodendorfi Trjapitzin resurrected combination Figs 1-13

Propelma rhodendorfi Trjapitzin, 1963: 91-94. Holotype: female in Baltic amber. Label data: "Eupelmidae 364/360, Propelma rohdendorphi , Trjapitsyn 1963, Holotypus".

Eupelmus rhodendorfi Trjapitzin; Gibson, 1995. New combination by inference through synonymy of Propelma under Eupelmus .

Redescription.

Female (Fig. 1). Length (anterior margin of head to posterior margin of syntergum in lateral view) = 7.9 mm [7.5]. Body mostly bright shiny orange (a reflection artefact, original color apparently mostly or entirely dark based on some regions of the body such as part of tegula (Fig. 6: tgl) and gastral tergites (Figs 12, 13)).

Head in frontal view almost as wide as high, with ventral margin of torulus in line with lower orbits and with convex, dorsally tapered interantennal region separating distinct scrobes over at least ventral half of scrobal depression (Fig. 2); scrobal depression inverted U-shaped with minimum distance between lateral margin and inner orbit about 0.4 × maximum diameter of anterior ocellus, abruptly margined dorsolaterally to within about one maximum diameter of anterior ocellus where slight change in curvature differentiates more obscure dorsal margin from bare, similarly finely coriaceous, slightly concave region below anterior ocellus (Fig. 2) such that under some angles of view scrobal depression superficially appears to extend to ocellus; upper parascrobal re gion and frontovertex minutely coriaceous-granular with minute setiferous punctures; lower parascrobal region and gena more vertically coriaceous-alutaceous with short white setae similar to upper parascrobal region, frontovertex and interantennal region. Head in lateral view (Fig. 4) with vertex smoothly rounded into occiput; almost twice as high as maximum length at level of toruli; malar sulcus appearing bifurcate near lower orbit, delineating small triangular region below posteroventral orbit (Fig. 4: arrow) (see discussion); eye about 1.6 × as high as wide, superficially bare, but with very short, sparse setae. Head in dorsal view with minimum distance between inner orbits about 0.3 × width of head; anterior ocellus slightly transverse, with maximum diameter equal to distance between its outer margin and inner orbit, and slightly greater than maximum diameter of posterior ocellus (Fig. 2); POL: LOL: OOL: maximum diameter of anterior ocellus = 1.0: 0.8: 0.3: 1.0. Antenna (Figs 3, 4) with scape slightly widened distally, ventral margin straight; length of pedicel plus flagellum about 1.7 × width of head; flagellum and clava slender, of similar width throughout (Fig. 3); length of scape = 4.0 (approximate); length of pedicel = 2.0; funicle 8-segmented, with fu1 longer than wide, but much shorter than pedicel or fu2 (Figs 2, 3), relative lengths of funiculars = 0.7: 2.7: 2.2: 1.6: 1.1: 1.0: 0.9: 0.9; clava 3-segmented (Fig. 5), length = 1.5, basal clavomere slightly longer than cl2+cl3, separated from cl2 by distinct transverse suture (Figs 4, 5), but cl3 as tiny apical micropilose sensory region delineated by extremely fine, sinuate suture such that under some angles clava superficially 2-seg mented (Fig. 4) (relative length of clavomeres = 8:5:2); [length:width ratios of pedicel to clava = 30:9, 10:7, 40:8, 33:8, 23:8, 16:7, 15:8, 12:9, 12:9, 22:9]; flagellum with numerous multiporous plate sensilla in multiple rows per flagellomere and with very short, inconspicuous setae (Figs 4, 5).

Pronotum uniformly sclerotized, dorsally convex in transverse plane and flat mediolongitudinally, hence without differentiated collar and neck (Fig. 7); more or less bell-shaped, sinuately narrowed anteriorly, with incurved posterior margin (Figs 2, 6) (holotype with pronotum rotated anteroventrally such that dorsal surface at obtuse angle relative to mesonotum (Fig. 7) and exposing convex, asetose, transverse anterior part of mesoscutum (Figs 6, 7: ams) between short lateral depression (Figs 2, 6: amd) posterior to each mesothoracic spiracle (Figs 2, 6: sp2), which accept dorsolateral angles of pronotum when this rotated horizontally in same plane as mesoscutum); finely coriaceous-granular to coriaceous-alutaceous with short black setae except for a line of longer setae along posterior margin. Mesoscutum slightly wider than long, with ridge-like medial elevation extending between exposed transverse anterior portion and transscutal articulation (Figs 6, 7), and with lateral lobes evenly convex; finely coriaceous, with short dark setae similar to pronotum. Mesoscutellar-axillar complex (Figs 6, 7, 9) with axillae transverse-triangular with contiguous inner angles, convex with abruptly angled, oblique, strongly crenulate posterior surfaces forming scutoscutellar sutures; mesoscutellum similarly convex as axillae, teardrop-shaped (cf. Gibson 2009, fig. 13), posteriorly tapered with apex curved down as short hook-like medial protrusion (Fig. 9: sc2h) over metascutellum (Fig. 9: sc3), apparently uniformly setose; axillula with dorsal margin carinate. Tegula (Fig. 6: tgl) triangular with almost truncate posterior margin. Prepectus (Fig. 8: pre) with lateral panel flat, anteriorly not protruding anterior of level of mesothoracic spiracle (Fig. 8: sp2), triangular, 1.4 × as long as high basally, with dorsal and ventral margins convergent to narrowly rounded posterior angle; finely coriaceous, bare. Acropleuron (Figs 7-9) extended posteriorly to metapleuron and anteroventral margin of metacoxa between meso- and metacoxa, without exposed mesepimeron; acropleural sulcus (Fig. 8: acs) horizontal ventrally to level about equal with apex of tegula, where curved dorsally as shallower, oblique groove to level of about middle of prepectus, bare, minutely meshlike coriaceous-reticulate within about anterior quarter but more minutely meshlike coriaceous mesally, finely meshlike coriaceous posteriorly, and more elongate striate-coriaceous posterodorsally (Figs 8, 9). Mesopectus (Fig. 8) uniformly setose below acropleural sulcus; posteriorly with small, depressed, triangular region (Fig. 8: mdr) between its posterodorsal margin, acropleural sulcus, and anterolateral margin of mesocoxa; ventrally with posterior margin transverse, abutting anterior margins of mesocoxae, with sulcate discrimen but without transepisternal sulcus. Metanotum (Figs 7, 9) composed of median, slightly raised, flat, strongly transverse metascutellum (Figs 7, 9: sc3) and metanotal lateral panels (Fig. 7: mlp), each lateral panel broadened laterally and differentiated by transverse crenulate groove into anterior metanotal trough (Fig. 7: mtt) and posterior metanotal scutellar arm (Fig. 7: mtsa); metascutellar arm with about inner half developed as carinate ridge along posterior margin of lateral panel, and with what appears as a fine, obliquely longitudinal sulcus (Fig. 9: left arrow) near middle of outer broadened part; posterior margin of metanotum between lateral panels raised slightly above anterior margin of propodeum. Metapleuron (Fig 8, 9) elongate-triangular with posterior margin straight and anterior margin slightly sinuate, uniformly setose with white setae similar to callus. Fore wing (Fig. 10) hyaline, uniformly setose with dark setae, without speculum or linea calva; cc: mv: stv: pmv = 9.4: 3.9: 1.1: 6.2 [smv/mv/stv/pmv =13/5.5/one-third mv/8.0]; stigmal vein apically curved, tapered into short uncus without differentiated stigma. Middle leg in holotype with mesocoxa rotated slightly anteriorly (Fig. 8), its posterior margin separated from anteroventral margin of metacoxa, with outer surface finely, obliquely striate, bare; mesotibia with row of at least eight short, black pegs anteroapically (Fig. 11: map) and with robust mesotibial spur (Fig. 11: msp) about 1.7 × as long as apical width of tibia; mesotarsus with line of setae (Fig. 11: mts) along posterior margin and line of short black pegs (Fig. 11: mtp) along anterior margin of basal four tarsomeres, and basitarsus in lateral view with maximum length slightly greater than combined length of remaining four tarsomeres (about 5:4). Hind leg with exterior surface of coxa completely, densely setose similar to metapleuron; tibia and tarsus not compressed. Propodeum (Fig. 9) with posterior margin broadly, shallowly incurved, with what appears as a fine longitudinal sulcus (Fig. 9: right arrow) mesad propodeal spiracle (Fig. 9: psp) in line with sulcus on metanotal scutellar arm, the putative sulcus (see discussion) thus differentiating medial plical region from callus; plical region strongly transverse, flat, asetose, and apparently very finely coriaceous; callus (Figs 8, 9) anteriorly setose to level of inner margin of propodeal spiracle and posteriorly setose to outer margin of spiracle, with white setae; spiracle (Figs 7, 9: psp) large, transverse-oval, with distance between anterior margin of spiracular rim and anterior margin of propodeum almost 3 × distance between posterior margin of rim and propodeum.

Metasoma (Fig. 12) about 0.9 × combined length of mesosoma and head; petiole (Fig. 9: ptl) a strongly transverse dorsal strip; in lateral view medial length of tergites from petiole to syntergum = 0.3: 5.2: 1.5: 2.0: 2.8: 3.1: 2.3: 0.8 [Mt2-syntergum = 43: 11: 16: 23: 29: 18: 3+4]; Mt2 to basal half of Mt6 comparatively sparsely setose with dark setae, but Mt7 and apical half of Mt6 (Fig. 13) more densely setose with longer dark setae, the setae longest in apical half of Mt7, and tergites dorsally very finely meshlike coriaceous; Mt7 with gastral spiracle (Fig. 13: gsp) cone-like protuberant anterolaterally; Mt8+Mt9 fused into syntergum (Fig. 13), but with transverse carina (Fig. 13: car) extending at least partly between cerci, the carina continuous along anterior and outer margins of cercus (Fig. 13: cer), with cercus at about mid-length of syntergum, and syntergum sparsely setose but with a few longer, more conspicuous dark setae along posteromesal margin; triangular membranous lobe (Fig. 13: mbl) extending from posterior margin of syntergum, but not extended into anal filament. Ovipositor sheaths tubular, conspicuously exerted, but of unknown length.