Odontophotopsis biramosa Schuster, 1952

Wilson, Joseph S., 2017, Nocturnal Velvet Ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) of Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, California with the description of three new species, Zootaxa 4319 (2), pp. 329-367 : 337

Odontophotopsis biramosa Schuster, 1952

Odontophotopsis (Odontophotopsis) biramosa Schuster, 1952 . Brooklyn Ent. Soc., 47: 43–47. ♂. Holotype data: California, Imperial County, Holtville ( NMNH).

Odontophotopsis (Odontophotopsis) biramosa Schuster, 1958 . Ent. Amer. (n. s.) 37: 56. ♂.

Diagnosis of male. This species has a tridentate mandible with an extremely large dorsal tooth that is separated from the lower portion of the mandibular apex by a deep, wide sinus, which makes the mandibular apices appear biramose (see Pitts et al. 2009: Fig. 29), and by the clypeus, which has a unique horseshoe-shaped tubercle posteromedially that overhangs the clypeus as a slight hood-like or nasutiform process. Also, this species has a single mesosternal process on each side of the midline, and has the cuspis being approximately half the free length of the paramere (see Pitts et al. 2009: Fig. 10 ).

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Holotype data: California, Imperial County, Holtville , 2.Jul.1929, P.W. Owens ( NMNH) . JTNP: 18–21.Jul.2012: 2 ♂ S3; 4 ♂ S5; 3 ♂ S7; 1 ♂ S11; 4 ♂ S13; 1 ♂ S18. 26–28.Aug.2012: 2 ♂ S7. 22– 24.Sep.2012: 3 ♂ S9; 5 ♂ S11; 6 ♂ S13. 26–28.Oct.2012: 1 ♂ S9.

Distribution. USA (Arizona, California, and Nevada).

Activity. This species is seemingly active throughout the season at JTNP.

Remarks. A more thorough taxonomic discussion of this species can be found in Pitts (2007). This species is currently placed in the O. setifera species-group with O. setifera based on mandibular morphology, but Pitts et al. (2010b) found these two species to not be closely related.

Although this species is found in the Mojave Desert (e.g. Boehme et al. 2012), this species seems to be more abundant in more southern areas of the Mojave Desert ( Table 2 & 3; e.g. Wilson et al. 2010; Pitts et al. 2009, 2010a) and south of the transition zone.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 12. Photomorphus schoenwerthi, sp. nov., 9. habitus; 10. head, frontal view; 11. mesosternum; and 12. pygidium.