Merismomorpha ulleungensis Tselikh, Rasplus & Ku, 2024

Tselikh, Ekaterina V., Rasplus, Jean-Yves, Lee, Jaehyeon, Dale-Skey, Natalie, Gupta, Ankita & Ku, Deok-Seo, 2024, A new species of Merismomorpha Girault, 1913 (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae) from the Palaearctic region, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97, pp. 937-944 : 937-944

Merismomorpha ulleungensis Tselikh, Rasplus & Ku sp. nov.

Figs 1–7

Description.

Female. Body length 1.50–1.90 mm. Fore wing length 1.20–1.40 mm.

Head black; antenna with scape yellowish-brown, pedicel and flagellum brown. Mesosoma and all coxae black; all femora brown; all tibiae and tarsi yellowish-brown. Fore wing hyaline, venation brown. Metasoma dark metallic bluish-green with diffuse violet iridescence; ovipositor sheath dark brown.

Head reticulate; clypeus and area above clypeus shallowly alutaceous. Mesosoma reticulate; lateral part of propodeum finely reticulate, nucha shallowly alutaceous. Petiole and gaster smooth and shiny.

Head in dorsal view 2.24–2.30 times as broad as long and 1.28–1.32 times as broad as mesoscutum; in frontal view 1.21–1.23 times as broad as high. Lower margin of clypeus angulate. POL 0.96–1.05 times OOL. Eye height 1.30 times eye length and 1.70–1.76 times as long as malar space. Distance between antennal toruli and lower margin of clypeus 1.45–1.57 times distance between antennal toruli and median ocellus. Antenna with scape 0.73–0.80 times as long as eye height and 0.95–1.07 times as long as eye length; pedicel 1.62–1.70 times as long as broad and 1.63–1.65 times as long as fu 1; combined length of pedicel and flagellum 0.82–0.84 times breadth of head; fu 1 – fu 5 wider than long; clava 2.20–2.40 times as long as broad.

Mesosoma 1.45–1.55 times as long as broad. Mesoscutellum 0.88–0.90 times as long as broad. Propodeum 0.87–0.93 times as long as mesoscutellum. Fore wing 2.15–2.20 times as long as maximum width; basal cell partly pilose; basal vein pilose; speculum closed; mv 1.32–1.40 times as long as pmv and 2.09–2.22 times as long as stv.

Gaster 1.65–2.20 times as long as broad, 0.95–0.96 times as long as mesosoma and 0.72–0.74 times as long as mesosoma and head. Petiole fusiform, 2.55–2.63 times as long as broad and longer than hind coxa. Mt 2 and Mt 3 posteriorly not emarginate. Ovipositor sheath projecting beyond apex of metasoma.

Comparative diagnosis.

The new species shares similarities with Merismomorpha minuta Sureshan, 2000 : clypeus with angulate lower margin (Figs 5 , 17 ), scape not reaching lower edge of median ocellus (Figs 5 , 17 ), fore wing with mv longer than pmv (Figs 3 , 16 ). However, M. ulleungensis has POL 0.96–1.05 times OOL (Fig. 6 ); the basal cell of fore wing is partly pilose; basal vein pilose, mv 1.32–1.40 times as long as pmv (Fig. 3 ), petiole longer than hind coxa (Fig. 4 ); whereas M. minuta has POL 1.30–1.40 times OOL (Fig. 15 ), basal cell and basal vein bare, mv 2.20–2.32 times as long as pmv (Fig. 16 ); petiole shorter than hind coxae (Fig. 14 ).

Etymology.

The species is named in honour of the type locality, Ulleung-do Island (adjective).

Material examined.

Holotype: South Korea • ♀; Ulleung-do, Ulleung-gun, Seo-myeon, Hakpo-ri , Malaise Trap, 37.5021918734491, 130.804925476545, 01–15. VIII. 2017, coll. D. S Ku; deposited in NIBR . Paratype: Russia • 1 ♀; Amur Prov., Chingan Reserve, 24 km W Archara Vill., Kleshinskoe Lake , 10–11. VIII. 2022, coll. O. Kosheleva; deposited in ZISP .

Male. Unknown.

Distribution.

Russian Far East, South Korea.

Figures

Figures 1–7. Merismomorpha ulleungensis Tselikh, Rasplus & Ku, sp. nov., holotype female 1 body, lateral view 2 metasoma, dorsal view 3 fore wing 4 petiole and hind coxa, lateral view 5 head and antenna, frontal view 6 head, dorsal view 7 mesosoma and propodeum, dorsal view.

Figures 14–17. Merismomorpha minuta Sureshan, 2000, holotype female (ZSIK) 14 body, lateral view 15 head and mesosoma, dorsal view 16 fore wing 17 head, frontal view.