Cycloneuroterus longinuxus Tang & Melika

Tang, Chang-Ti, Melika, George, Nicholls, James A., Yang, Man-Miao & Stone, Graham N, 2011, A new genus of oak gallwasps, Cycloneuroterus Melika & Tang, with the description of five new species from Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini), Zootaxa 3008, pp. 33-62 : 41-44

Cycloneuroterus longinuxus Tang & Melika , new species

Figs 18–35

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: TAIWAN, Taitung County, Daren Forest Station, Daren Township, N 22°15'51.31", E 120°49'21.71", ex Quercus longinux , leg. Li-Rong Chiu and Liang-Fang Chang, 07.III.2010. adult em. 08.III.2010. PARATYPES: 5 females and 2 males: 3 female paratypes with the same labels as the holotype; 2 female paratypes: TAIWAN, Taitung County, Daren Forest Station, Daren Township, N 22°15'51.31", E 120°49'21.71", ex Q. longinux , leg. Li-Rong Chiu and Liang-Fang Chang, 07.III.2010. adult em. 10.III.2010; 2 male paratypes: TAIWAN, Taitung County, Daren Forest Station, Daren Township, N 22°15'51.31", E 120°49'21.71", ex Q. longinux , leg. Li-Rong Chiu and Liang-Fang Chang, 07.III.2010. adult em. 15.III.2010. The holotype female, and 3 female and 1 male paratypes are deposited in NMNS, 2 female and 1 male paratypes in PDL.

Etymology. The species is named after its host plant, Quercus longinux .

Diagnosis. In both female and male C. longinuxus the head and the metasoma are black or blackish brown, the mesosoma is light brown; in the female head, the POL is 0.8 times as broad as OOL; OOL is 3.0 times as long as the length of the lateral ocellus and 2.6 times as long as LOL, while in C. lirongchiuea , the head is dark brown to black, the mesosoma and metasoma are light brown, with 3rd and subsequent metasomal tergites slightly darker than 2nd metasomal tergite; in the female head, the POL is 1.6 times as broad as OOL; OOL is 2.7 times as long as the length of the lateral ocellus and 1.2 times as long as LOL. Three new species described herein, C. formosanus , C. fortuitusus and C. lilungi , have the head, mesosoma and metasoma dark brown to black, while in C. lirongchiuea and C. longinuxus the head is dark brown to black, while the mesosoma and/or metasoma are light brown.

Description. SEXUAL FEMALE. Head dark brown to black, with lighter lower face and gena; antennae, mandibles, mouthparts, palpi labialis and maxillaris light brown; mesosoma light brown to yellowish brown, metasoma dark brown to black; legs uniformly dirty yellowish.

Head 1.9 times as broad as long from above, 1.3 times as broad as high and as broad as mesosoma in anterior view. Gena delicately alutaceous, not broadened behind eye, 2.0 times as narrow as cross diameter of eye; malar area alutaceous, without striae, 0.2 times as long as height of eye. Compound eyes slightly converging ventrally. POL 0.8 times as broad as OOL; OOL 3.0 times as long as length of lateral ocellus and 2.6 times as long as LOL; all ocelli ovate, elongated, of same size and shape. Transfacial distance 1.3 times as broad as height of eye; diameter of antennal torulus equal to distance between them, distance between torulus and inner margin of eye 1.5 times as long as diameter of torulus; lower face alutaceous, with scattered white setae, without piliferous points; median area not elevated above lateral parts of lower face, smooth, shiny. Clypeus elevated above lower face, quadrangular, flat, emarginate, without median incision ventrally, glabrous; anterior tentorial pit small but distinct, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal line distinct, deep. Frons and interocellar area very delicately uniformly alutaceous, with few white setae. Vertex and occiput delicately alutaceous. Postocciput and postgena smooth, shiny, without setae, without or very few very delicate parallel and longitudinal striae, extend from occipital foramen and reaching upper level of hypostoma; area below posterior tentorial pit not impressed; height of occipital and oral foramen equal to height of postgenal bridge. Antenna with 12 flagellomeres; slightly longer than mesosoma; pedicel longer than broad; F1 length equal to length of scape, F2 and F3, 1.6 times as long as pedicel; F4 and subsequent flagellomeres nearly equal in length; F12 1.5 times as long as F11; placodeal sensilla on F2–F12, absent on F1.

Mesosoma 1.3 times as long as high from lateral view. Pronotum smooth, shiny, very short dorsally, without parallel striae laterally, with few white setae; foveolate along anterior rim; propleuron alutaceous, shiny, with smooth area centrally. Mesoscutum smooth, shiny, with few white setae; slightly longer than broad. Notauli, anterior parallel and parapsidal lines absent, even rows of setae do not indicate them; median mesoscutal line absent; parascutal carina broad, extending to point where notaulus usually reaches pronotum. Mesoscutellum quadrangular, longer than broad, with parallel sides, rounded posteriorly, smooth, shiny, with very few setae, slightly overhanging metanotum; emarginate and impressed along lateral and posterior margins. Scutellar foveae absent, only a semilunar transverse depression present anteriorly, with smooth glabrous bottom. Mesopleuron and speculum smooth, shiny, without setae, impressed along acetabular carina. Metascutellum smooth, shiny, metanotal trough smooth, shiny, with few short white setae; ventral impressed area as high as height of metascutellum, smooth, without striae; central propodeal area broad, smooth, shiny, with few delicate, longitudinal and mainly parallel wrinkles, lateral propodeal carinae strong, high, strongly curved outwards in their middle; lateral propodeal area smooth, shiny with dense setae and piliferous points. Nucha without irregular rugae.

Radial cell 5.0 times as long as broad; Rs+M distinct on 3/4 of distance to basalis and its projection reaching basalis in lower half of its height.

Metasoma as long as head + mesosoma, slightly longer than high in lateral view; 2nd metasomal tergite occupying 1/3 or slightly more of metasoma length in dorsal view (always less than half length), with very few white setae laterally, all subsequent tergites without setae, smooth, shiny. Ventral spine of hypopygium short, prominent part nearly 3.0 times as long as broad in ventral view, with sparse, white subapical setae, not extending beyond apex of spine. Body length 1.3–1.5 mm (n=6).

MALE. Body length 1.2–1.4 mm (n=2), similar to female but compound eyes slightly larger, with less convergence ventrally, antenna with 13 flagellomeres, slightly longer than body length, F1 curved and swollen apically, slightly longer than F2, 1.7 times as long as pedicel; F13 shorter than F12; placodeal sensilla on all flagellomeres.

Gall ( Figs 34–35 ). The gall is a multilocular cluster of many small spherical swellings extending to both sides of the leaf blade. Gall tissue is juicy and soft until the adults emerge and coloured the same as the leaf. Viewed from the upper side, the swollen section of leaf is 6–10mm in width and 12mm long. After the emergence of adults the gall liginifies, hardens, and turns brownish.

Biology. Only the sexual generation of this species is known, inducing juicy integral leaf galls on Q. longinux . Mature galls were collected in early March, adults emerged under laboratory conditions immediately after collecting.

Distribution. Currently known only from Taiwan: Taitung County, Daren Forest Station, Daren Township ( Fig. 108 ). Quercus longinux is known only from Taiwan ( Govaerts & Frodin 1998), so it is possible that this gallwasp species is endemic to Taiwan; however, further sampling throughout the Oriental region is necessary to establish the distribution of this species.

Figures

FIGURES 108. Collection sites of Cycloneuroterus species in Taiwan indicated by numbers (figure from http: // www. google. com / earth /,): C. formosanus (No. 1, N 24 ° 11 ' 34.69 ", E 120 ° 47 ' 58.89 "; No. 2, N 24 ° 9 ' 45.18 ", E 120 ° 57 ' 35.17 "; No 3, N 23 ° 55 ' 55.64 ", E 120 ° 53 ' 38.51 "), C. fortuitusus (No. 4; N 23 ° 3 ' 36.57 ", E 121 ° 18 ' 32.53 "), C. lirongchiuea (No. 5; N 22 ° 19 ' 31.22 ", E 120 ° 51 ' 57.15 "), C. longinuxus (No. 6; N 22 ° 15 ' 51.31 ", E 120 ° 49 ' 21.71 "), C. lilungi (No. 7; N 22 ° 9 ' 58.62 ", E 120 ° 43 ' 47.60 ").

FIGURES 18 – 25. Cycloneuroterus longinuxus, new species: 18 – 21, head, female: 18, anterior view, 19, dorsal view, 20, posterior view, 21, lateral view. 22 – 23, head, male: 22, anterior view, 23, dorsal view. 24 – 25, antenna: 24, female, 25, male.

FIGURES 26 – 31. Cycloneuroterus longinuxus, new species, female: 26, mesosoma, lateral view, 27, propleuron, anterior view, 28, mesoscutum, dorsal view, 29, mesoscutellum, dorsal view, 30, metascutellum and propodeum, posterodorsal view, 31, forewing.

FIGURES 32 – 35. Cycloneuroterus longinuxus, new species: 32 – 33, metasoma: 32, female, 33, male. 34 – 35, gall (photos by Chang-Ti Tang).