Odontacolus africanus, A. Valerio, Alejandro, Austin, Andrew D., Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2013

A. Valerio, Alejandro, Austin, Andrew D., Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2013, Systematics of Old World Odontacolus Kieffer s. l. (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae s. l.): parasitoids of spider eggs, ZooKeys 314, pp. 1-151 : 15-17

Odontacolus africanus sp. n. Figures 49, 66, 71-76, 295, 303, 307, 313, 319-320; Morphbank 31

Description.

Female. Body length: 1.51-1.85 mm (n=4). Antenna color: completely yellow. Body color: completely dark brown. Coxae color: yellow. Leg color (excluding coxae): yellow. Fore wing color: completely hyaline.

Head. Size of compound eye: approximately 1/2 × height of head. Head shape in lateral view: lower head elongate and broad at mouth, head appearing elongate and somewhat thin. Sculpture of antennal scrobe: largely smooth ventrally, sparsely granulate ventrally. Surface of torular triangle: slightly bulging. Development of central keel on frons: present, elongate (equal to or greater than 1/3 × height of frons), but not reaching anterior ocellus. Sculpture on upper frons below anterior ocellus: granulose throughout. Sculpture of malar space: granulose throughout; with fan-like striae, striae not extending into antennal scrobe. Furrow at lateral portion of antennal scrobe: absent. Mesal surface of vertex: flat to weakly convex. Size of lateral ocelli: large. Distance between lateral ocellus and occipital carina: 0.5 –1.2× maximum ocellar diameter. Lagrimal: absent or minute. Length of OOL: less than or equal to 1/3 × width of ocellus. Sculpture of vertex: granulate. Sculpture of occipital carina: largely simple, at most with sparse weak crenulae medially. Distance from occipital carina to orbital carina: at least 2 × width of occipital carina; slightly greater than width of occipital carina. Shape of occipital carina: simply arcuate medially. Sculpture of occiput: with weak, small granulae. Sculpture of gena: granulose.

Mesosoma. Dorsal mesosoma in lateral view: convex. Sculpture of pronotal cervical area: with small (at most as large as crenulae on anterior edge of mesoscutum), well-defined foveae. Sculpture of pronotal lateral area: largely smooth, dorsal margin with dense, weak punctulae. Netrion: present, smooth, linear. Notaulus: present, simple. Length of notaulus: approximately less than or equal to 1/3 of length of mesoscutum. Width of notaulus: narrow (notaulus width less than or equal to half the width of tegula). Sculpture of mesoscutum: anterior half coriaceous, otherwise densely granulose. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: with weak, fine, granulate sculpture. Mesoscutellar profile: mainly flat, anterior and posterior edge at same height or nearly so. Mesoscutellar shape: flat, not depressed. Lateral propodeal area: densely, finely rugulose. Shape of propodeal anterior spines: elongate, narrow, apex rounded. Sculpture of propodeum between anterior spines: smooth or largely smooth. Sculpture of ventral half of mesepisternum: weakly coriaceous. Sculpture of upper 1/4 of mesopleuron: with dense, well-defined longitudinally costate sculpture reaching just half of its width. Metapleuron sculpture: largely smooth except lower half with longitudinal carinae.

Wings. Stigmal vein: present, elongate, narrow. Campaniform sensilla at distal area of stigmal vein: present.

Metasoma. Shape of T1 horn: broad, short. Sculpture of upper portion of T1 horn: longitudinally carinate. Sculpture of posterior portion of T1 horn: longitudinally carinate. Lateral carinae on T2: present, poorly defined. Sculpture of T2: largely weakly coriaceous mixed with longitudinal costae, meson coriaceous. Sculpture of T3: anterior two-thirds longitudinally costate, otherwise coriaceous. Sculpture of S3-S6: mainly smooth, with sparse, setigerous punctulae. S2 anterior carina: present, cristate, interrupted medially.

Male. Body length: 1.36 - 1.60 mm (n=3). Body color: head, mesoscutum, edges of T1-T2, T4-T6 dark brown, reminder of terga light honey yellow as remainder of mesosoma. Sculpture of antennal scrobe: upper half with transverse carinae mixed with granulae, remainder of scrobe smooth. Shape and size of anterior ocellus: large, oblong in shape. Vertex posterior area sculpture: densely granulose. Occipital carina dorsal area: cristate, conspicuously present. Netrion: well-defined, suboval. Sculpture of mesepisternum: absent (smooth). Sculpture of pronotal lateral areas: with thin, longitudinal carinae. Length of fore wing stigmal vein: conspicuously elongate. Angle of stigmal vein in relation to anterior margin of fore wing: at an angle of approximately 45° with respect to anterior margin of wing. Sculpture of T2: mesal area with weal longitudinal carinae, remainder of tergum with longitudinal carinae mixed with coriaceous sculpture.

Diagnosis.

Odontacolus africanus is very similar to Odontacolus anningae , but the latter species can be identified by the body being completely yellow and the mesal area of T2 with a conspicuous smooth area, and the remainder of the tergum with thin, somewhat sparse, well-defined, longitudinal costae throughout their length, and without coriaceous sculpture in the background.

Etymology.

This species is named in reference to its broad distribution across southern and east Africa.

Link to distribution map.

32

Material examined.

Holotype female: SOUTH AFRICA: KwaZulu-Natal Prov., Eshowe, VI-1926, R. E. Turner, OSUC 238419 (deposited in BMNH). Paratypes: (88 females, 3 males) CAMEROON: 1 female, OSUC 238442 (BMNH). CONGO: 1 female, OSUC 381663 (OSUC). GUINEA: 1 female, OSUC 238724 (CNCI). KENYA: 64 females, 2 males, OSUC 321891 (BMNH); OSUC 238444, 238447, 238519, 238550, 238572, 238576-238577, 238723, 238725, 238729, 238732-238733, 238735-238737, 238739, 238741-238742, 238747-238750, 238752-238755, 238758-238764, 321886 (CNCI); OSUC 238522, 238555, 238565, 238567-238568, 238573, 238582, 238722, 238726, 238730, 238738, 238757 (NMKE); OSUC 238520, 238740, 238745, 238751 (OSUC); OSUC 238438, 238514, 238727, 238731, 238734, 238743, 238746, 238765-238766, 267295-267297, 381662 (USNM); OSUC 238744, 412089 (WINC). MADAGASCAR: 12 females, 1 male, OSUC 238436-238437, 321888 (BMNH); CASENT 2042644-2042645, 2134801, 2134824, 2135994, 2137871, 2137902 (CASC); CASENT 2042643, 2079135, 2135721 (OSUC). MOZAMBIQUE: 1 female, OSUC 339606 (CNCI). SOUTH AFRICA: 4 females, OSUC 321889-321890 (BMNH); OSUC 238720-238721 (CNCI). UGANDA: 2 females, OSUC 238427, 238446 (CNCI). ZIMBABWE: 2 females, OSUC 238425, 238439 (CNCI).

Comments.

The holotype has the posterior right leg detached from the body and glued to the triangle; the right side wings are detached and in a gelatin capsule; the left antenna is missing. Most of the paratypes are in perfect condition.

In some female specimens the color pattern differs from that described above, the metasoma is a slightly lighter tone of dark brown compared to the head or the mesosoma (i.e. OSUC 238763). Additionally, the mesal area of T2 normally is covered by fine, dense, longitudinal costae (as in the holotype) but some specimens exhibit a smooth area with weak coriaceous sculpture in the background (in the absence of longitudinal costae), or a narrow smooth area with the lateral areas of the tergite with weak, longitudinal costae mixed with weak coriaceous sculpture in the background.