Odontophotopsis quadrispinosa Schuster, 1958

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 : 345

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.2.4
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1Ecf4C4A-09Ca-42B4-A105-67Dec7863Fe5
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6032614
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/ED726D24-FFBB-FFDA-FF5F-FBACFE993B5F
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Odontophotopsis quadrispinosa Schuster, 1958
status

Treatment

Odontophotopsis quadrispinosa Schuster, 1958 . Ent. Amer. 37: 51. ♂. Neotype data: California, Palm Springs ( UMSP).

Diagnosis of male. This species can be recognized by having the marginal cell much shorter than the stigma as measured along the costal vein, and two pairs of mesosternal processes forming a square, with the anterior pair much more obvious than the posterior pair. Also, the mandibles are deeply emarginate along the ventral margin, but the mandible narrows towards the apex (see Pitts 2007: Fig. 67). Genitalia are illustrated by Pitts et al. (2009: Fig. 18 View FIGURES 13 – 18 ).

Female. Unknown.

Material examined. Neotype data: California, Palm Springs, 1 May 1933, At light, Theo. Zschokke ( UMSP) . JTNP: 18–21.Jul.2012: 2 ♂ T; 6 ♂ S3; 1 ♂ S11; 2 ♂ S18. 26–28.Aug.2012: 2 ♂ N3; 7 ♂ S1; 9 ♂ S3; 5 ♂ S5; 10 ♂ S7; 9 ♂ S9; 12 ♂ S11; 4 ♂ S13; 1 ♂ S18. 22–24.Sep.2012: 1 ♂ N3; 11 ♂ S3; 6 ♂ S5; 10 ♂ S7; 17 ♂ S9; 11 ♂ S11; 2 ♂ S18.

Distribution. USA (Arizona, California, and Nevada) and northern Mexico (Baja California and Sonora).

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

Remarks. This species is rare throughout its range and the taxonomy of this species is discussed in Pitts et al. (2009). This species can be difficult to identify, because the mesosternal processes are weak and sometimes difficult to observe. As such, this species could be confused as a species of Sphaeropthalma , but the genitalia are distinct. This species is typically rare throughout its range, but seems to be locally abundant at times ( Table 2 & 3; e.g. Pitts et al. 2009, 2010a) and was collected in this study south of the transition zone. This species is placed in its own species-group.