Ammoplanus (Ammoplanus) angularis, Gussakovskij, 1952

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 868-870

A. (Ammoplanus) angularis Gussakovskij

Ammoplanus angularis Gussakovskij, 1952: 222 . Tajikistan, Kondara Gorge and Yagnob Valley N of Dushanbe; syntypes, in ZMAS (not examined); and Uzbekistan: Kamashi NE of Guzar, LECTOTYPE female, designated by Marshakov (1976: 679); in ZMAS (examined).

[Ammoplanu s metatarsalis Gussakovskij, 1931: 441 , 449±451. Russia (Daghestan): Khodzhal- Makhi. According to Marshakov, 1978, the male syntype of metatarsalis belongs here (not the lectotype which belongs to marathroicus )].

Without explanation, but probably because the male types from Kondara were no more available, Marshakov (1976: 679) designated as lectoype of angularis a female from Kamashi. This designation is unfortunate, because the male would provide more reliable speci®c characters as it is apparently more recognizable. The Uzbekistan specimens were mentioned by Gussakovskij (p. 223) only as`also belonging to this species’ after he gave the data of the syntypes from Tajikistan .

Marshakov later stated (1978: 367) that the head ®gured by him earlier (1976: 669, ®gure 6) as of metatarsalis actually belonged to angularis , as a form with unusually large head. It came from Uzbekistan and has over two-thirds of pterostigma dark, whilst all other females from Uzbekistan have the pterostigma very pale. This does not agree with my observation. Marshakov found the darkening of pterostigma also in three males of metatarsalis (now 5 marathroicus ) and assumed that the reason for the dark pterostigma is their occurrence in alpine habitats (including Caucasus). The lower part of a female face from the Caucasus (?Daghestan) and from the Tajikistan is ®gured by Marshakov in the same paper, without other reference (1978: 366, ®gure 18, resp. 19). There is still some confusion as another syntype which I examined seems to belong rather to monticola . More material is needed for safe recognition of these species.

Diagnostic characters (see also Marshakov, 1978: 367, whose specimens have the head and mesoscutum mostly rather shiny, with sparse puncturation)

Male. Mandibles pale yellow but clypeus dark brown, not produced, its median tooth short and broad, in form of a large ¯at tubercle, with pair of long setae wide apart. Occipital carina weak, obliterated in middle dorsally. Antenna very long, middle ¯agellar segments each 1.7±1.8 times as long as broad. Propodeum with median carina straight and anteriorly strong, irregular coarse areolation and rugulose sculpture becoming ®ner towards the rounded and fairly shiny hind corners. Hind basitarsus broadly triangularly widened in middle on the inner side (expansion obtuse-angular on its top), but without unusual hairs or bristles. Sixth sternite posteriorly rising into a broad short plate bearing a broad brush of short hairs. Otherwise see Marshakov, 1976, 1978.

Female. Gussakovskij described both sexes of angularis but there is still some confusion about the true features of the female. After the examination of a male paralectotype and its return to ZMAS, St Petersburg, I received a female specimen from OLML (Linz) collected by J. Halada in May 1994 near Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It agrees very well with Marshakov’s ®gure 37 (1976: 671) of the head of angularis , hence it seems to belong to that species. However, in view of several misidenti®cations in the past (see above) and apparent yet not evaluated wide variation of some characters, the matter certainly needs more study.

Comment. Median part of clypeus has in male a low, ¯at, broadly triangular median tooth and just outside of the tooth it is about half as long as a torular diameter (middle of clypeus sometimes dark-coloured). This reminds us of gegen , monticola and some rjabovi in which the part of clypeus immediately outside of the median tooth is mostly nearly as long as one torular diameter.

Material examined. Uzbekistan ( Kashkadaran region ): Kamashi , 1 lparalectotype, 18 May 1931 ( Gussakovskij ; ZMAS); see also above under` Female’; Samarkan d district, 1m, 19± 21 May 1994 (Halada; OLML) .

Distribution. Caucasus, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia. Marshakov (1978: 367) mentioned angularis from the Central Aimak in Mongolia and (pp. 366, 367), without detailed data, also from the Caucasus (probably Daghestan) and Turkmenistan.