Ammoplanellus (Ammoplanus) atlasensis, Boucïek, 2001

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 870-871

A. (Ammoplanus) atlasensis sp. n.

Male. Body length 3.0 mm. Black; face mask pale yellow, including triangles at eyes above clypeus and anterior parts of underside of head outside of oral fossa, then scapes, pronotal lobes above, mesal side of fore tibia and half of femur, all tarsi extensively pale from base, darker apically, also antennal ¯agellum pale brown beneath. Pterostigma yellowish brown but its anterior, outer and posterior borders dark brown.

Face (®gure 1) almost as in bischo (®gure 76). Median incision of clypeus at bottom narrower than distance between toruli. Eye almost parallel-sided, fully twice as long as broad, lower end almost truncate, not turning towards torulus; upper inner orbit deepened into a smooth groove. Underside of head depressed along median third in form of a shallow channel and its surface very ®nely reticulate but convex parts outside of the channel with distinct raised longitudinal striae. Oral fossa hardly as high (long) as its distance from foramen. Foraminal pit very large, anteriorly not delimited, occipital carina very distinct on sides but dorsally broadly interrupted; temples between sparse punctures very minutely striolate. Occipital carina dorsally very broadly interrupted. Antenna similar to bischo ; maximum breadth of scapus is not greater than length of pedicel, ¯agellar segments on dorsomesal side almost straight, on outer side distinctly convex, each with dense but very small placoid sensilla which make surface appear dull.

Mesosoma . Pronotal collar rounded, extremely ®nely rugulose, not depressed in middle, along hind margin with very ®ne carina in arch. Mesoscutum dull with very ®ne and shallow reticulation and very ®ne piliferous puncturation, this ®ner than in bischo ; anteriorly with ®ne submedian grooves about as apart as long. Hind basitarsus simple, half as long as whole tarsus.

Metasoma. Fourth sternite with hind margin moderately obtuse-angularly produced, its surface ¯at and slightly dull (®gure 2) owing to minute granulation (actually lowly raised ®ne reticulation), distinctly duller than sternite 3 which bears across middle several erect hairs. Sternite 5 longer than 4, ¯at, but posteriorly rising (curved ventrad) and narrowing to rounded apex; its surface also dull as on the fourth, bare, but side margins with a few setae. Aedeagus (®gure 2): gonostyle bare, ¯at, narrow triangular, ventral margin of triangle straight, dorsal side slightly and regularly curved; penis valves stout, long, almost parallel-sided but apex of either half triangularly expanded into a short angulate hook turning up and outwards.

Female. Not known.

Comment. This species is very similar to bischo but diOEers mainly by the form of the distal sternites and the aedeagus.

Material examined. Morocco ( High Atlas ): Asni Imlil SE of Marrakesh, HOLO- TYPE male, 23 May 1995 (A. Hauser; donated by Schmid-Egger to BMNH); Marrakesh, 1 lparatype, 15 April 1990 (M. Halada; OLML) .

Distribution. Morocco.

Etymology. Name derived from the Atlas Mountains, not from atlas, atlantis.