Gonatocerus (Lymaenon) novickyi Soyka, 1946

Triapitsyn, Serguei V., 2013, Review of Gonatocerus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) in the Palaearctic region, with notes on extralimital distributions, Zootaxa 3644 (1), pp. 1-178 : 104-106

Gonatocerus (Lymaenon) novickyi Soyka, 1946

( Figs 172–175 )

Gonatocerus novickyi Soyka 1946: 38 .

Type locality: “Ziklake” near Sankt Andrä am Zicksee and Neusiedler See, Burgenland, Austria [that most likely is Zicksee near Sankt Andrä am Zicksee because Zicklacke is near Illmitz and Neusiedler See].

Lymaenon fossarum Hincks 1952: 64–66 .

Holotype female [ MMUE] (not examined). Type locality: Walker Butts Bank Dyke, Spurn, East Riding of Yorkshire Co., England, UK. Synonymized under G. novickyi by Matthews 1986: 227.

Gonatocerus fossarum (Hincks) : Graham 1982: 224 (comments on possible conspecificity with G. oxypygus Foerster and G. novickyi ).

Gonatocerus novickyi Soyka : Hellén 1974: 12 (diagnosis, distribution); Matthews 1986: 227 –228 (synonymy, diagnosis); Pricop 2010c: 78 –80 (record from Romania, distribution, diagnosis, illustrations).

Gonatocerus novicki [sic] Soyka: Pricop 2010c: 79 (misspelled).

Type material examined. Presumed ( Matthews 1986) holotype female [ NHMW] on slide ( Fig. 172 ) labeled: 1. “ Gonatocerus Ƥ novickyi Soyka Type”; 2. [red] “Type”; 3. [Soyka’s slide number] “806”; 4. “St. Andrä, Ziklake Neusiedlersee 11 Aug.1942 lg. Novicky coll Soyka In Canadab. 1942”. The specimen is complete, uncleared, and mounted laterally.

Soyka (1946) described this species from a single female collected by S. Novicky on 11.viii.1942, but I found 3 females in NHMW and also 1 female in EMEC, all with the same label data. Although two of the specimens in NHMW are identically labeled as “Type” on red labels, only one (on slide # 806) is also labeled so in W. Soyka’s handwriting on the white label, so Matthews (1986), who examined just this specimen sent to him on loan, called it the holotype although it is impossible to decide which of these two specimens was the true holotype. Unfortunately, ICZN does not have a provision for such situation (Doug Yanega, personal communication). The other specimens have no type status although it is almost equally possible that the female on Soyka’s slide # 805 was the actual holotype.

Material examined. AUSTRIA. BURGENLAND, Zicksee, 11.viii.1942, S. Novicky: [2 Ƥ, NHMW] (one of them, on slide # 805, was labeled by Soyka as “Type”); [1 Ƥ, EMEC] (labeled by Soyka as “co-type”). DENMARK. HOVEDSTADEN, Amager Island, 26.vii.1940, J.P. Kryger [1 Ƥ, ZMUC]. Locality unclear (“ Orences Str. [and]”), 24.vii.1946, O. Bakkendorf [1 Ƥ, ZMUC]. KYRGYZSTAN. NARYN, Alabuga River, 25 km W of Baetov , 41°17’47’’N 74°39’20’’E, 1700 m, 29.viii.1998, C.H. Dietrich [1 Ƥ, UCRC].

Distribution. PALAEARCTIC: Austria, Denmark *, Finland ( Hellén 1974), Kyrgyzstan *, Romania ( Pricop 2010c), Russia ( Hellén 1974), and UK ( England). Incorrectly listed from Germany by Pricop (2010c).

Redescription. FEMALE. Body length 1255–1385 µm. Body mostly brown or dark brown except pronotum, side lobes of mesoscutum posteriorly, and base of gaster light brown; scape and pedicel mostly light brown, flagellum brown; legs light brown to brown.

Antenna ( Fig. 173 ) with radicle about 0.3× total length of scape, rest of scape 3.1–3.5× as long as wide, striate; pedicel longer than F1; all funicle segments notably longer than wide, F1 the shortest and F5 the longest, F1–F4 shorter than F5–F8; mps on F5 (1 or 2), F6 (normally 1, sometimes 0 on one antenna), F7 (2), and F8 (2 or 3); clava with 10 mps, 3.2–3.5× as long as wide, shorter than combined length of F6–F8 and a little longer than combined length of F7 and F8.

Propodeum with submedian lines wide apart. Fore wing ( Fig. 175 ) 4.2–4.6× as long as wide; longest marginal seta 0.38–0.42× maximum wing width. Fore wing disc slightly infumate, partially setose behind apex of submarginal vein and setose behind and beyond marginal vein. Hind wing 26–29× as long as wide; disc slightly infumate apically, unevenly setose; longest marginal seta 3.3–3.7× maximum wing width.

Gaster ( Fig. 174 ) much longer than mesosoma. Petiole strap-like, about 3× as wide as long. Ovipositor occupying entire length of gaster, exserted beyond its apex by 0.2–0.22× own length, 2.6–3.0× length of mesotibia.

Measurements of the presumed holotype (µm). Body: 1310; head: 160; mesosoma 375; petiole 21; gaster 836; ovipositor 1015. Antenna: scape minus radicle 130; pedicel 61; F1 39; F2 48; F3 52; F4 61; F5 74; F6 65; F7 68; F8 61; clava 168. Fore wing 1298:283; longest marginal seta 109. Hind wing 1027:39; longest marginal seta 130. Mesotibia 350.

MALE. Unknown.

Diagnosis. Gonatocerus novickyi is characterized by the female antenna ( Fig. 173 ) normally with mps on F5–F8, the fore wing 4.2–4.6× as long as wide with the disc partially setose behind the apex of the submarginal vein ( Fig. 175 ), and the ovipositor ( Fig. 174 ) 2.6–3.0× length of mesotibia. It differs from G. kalika by having the area between the marginal vein and the cubital row of setae on the fore wing disc evenly setose, without a bare area (with a small bare area in G. kalika ), and from G. acuminatus , which has a distinct such bare area, also by the fore wing at least 4.2× as long as wide (at most 2.9× as long as wide in G. acuminatus ).

Hosts. Unknown.

Comments. I agree with the synonymy of Lymaenon fossarum under G. novickyi by Matthews (1986) because, among other matching features, in the original description of L. fossarum Hincks (1952) mentioned and illustrated the characteristic body color of G. novickyi , and the antennal clava of the female antenna in L. fossarum is a little longer than the combined length of F7 and F8.

Figures

FIGURES 172 – 175. Gonatocerus (Lymaenon) novickyi Ƥ (172 – 174 — presumed holotype; 175 — non-type specimen from the type locality): 172, slide; 173, antenna; 174, gaster; 175, fore wing.