Dasypoda schwarzi Radchenko et Michez, 2022

Radchenko, Vladimir G., Ghisbain, Guillaume & Michez, Denis, 2022, A new bee species of the genus Dasypoda Latreille (Hymenoptera, Apoidea) from Northwest Africa with comparative remarks on the subgenus Microdasypoda Michez, Zootaxa 5188 (1), pp. 74-86 : 75-80

Dasypoda schwarzi Radchenko et Michez sp. nov.

Type material. Holotype ♂ with the printed label: " Tunesien, Thala 20 km S [35°23'N 8°41'E], 12.4.1981, leg. Max. Schwarz " ( MSAA).

Paratypes: 2 ♂ with the printed label: " Morocco, 40 km S Guercif [33°53'N 3°22'W], 15.- 17.5.1995, Ma. Halada lgt." ( UMONS); Tunesien, Thala 20 km S, 12.4.1981, leg. J. Gusenleitner ( OÖLM).

Etymology. The species is named after Maximilian Schwarz, an authority on bee systematics.

Subgeneric affinity. Dasypoda schwarzi sp. nov. can be regarded as a representative of the subgenus Microdasypoda Michez (in Michez et al. 2004b) due to the combination of its diagnostic features.

First, representatives of the subgenus Microdasypoda are characterized by a relatively small body size of approximately 7-12 mm (contrast Megadasypoda and many species of Dasypoda s.str. and Heterodasypoda which are significantly larger). Then, the subgenus is most significantly distinguished from all other Dasypoda subgenera by the structure of the male genitalia and S7: the gonostylus of Microdasypoda is either unilobed with one basal tooth, or bilobed without a membranous structure that connects these lobes (contrast Dasypoda s.str. in which the gonostylus is bilobed with such membranous structure, and Heterodasypoda and Megadasypoda in which it is trilobed), and the S7 does not bear latero-apical processes, which are characteristic of all other subgenera of Dasypoda .

The previously cited apomorphies of Microdasypoda should however always be regarded with a combination of other characters that are individually shared by other subgenera, but not all. First, the malar space of Microdasypoda is always much shorter than the pedicel (contrast most Megadasypoda) and their maxillary palpi and galea are of a sub-equal length (contrast Dasypoda s.str. and Megadasypoda). The nervulus (cu-v) of Microdasypoda is strongly antefurcal (contrast most Megadasypoda). The apex of S6 of Microdasypoda has a long, dense pubescence (contrast Dasypoda s.str. and Megadasypoda which have short, sparse ones). Microdasypoda lack lateral hooks at the basal half of S8 (contrast Dasypoda s.str. and some Megadasypoda). The external lobe of the gonostyle of Microdasypoda is not lanceolate (contrast Megadasypoda and some Heterodasypoda ), and the inner lobe of the gonostyle of Microdasypoda does not present a scaly surface (contrast Heterodasypoda in which this scaly surface is clearly visible).

The new species described in this work, Dasypoda schwarzi sp. nov., clearly corresponds to all the features that characterize the subgenus Microdasypoda .

Description. Male ( Figs 1, 2 ): Holotype. Body black, its length (vertex to T7) 11.9 mm (paratypes: 11.5 mm and 10.5 mm).

Head slightly wider than long ( Fig. 6 ): L = 2.9 mm (paratypes: 2.8 mm and 2.7 mm), W = 3.4 mm (paratypes: 3.2 and 3.1 mm, respectively); clypeus densely punctured by oblique downward hair-bearing punctures separated by 0.5–1 puncture diameter with abundant long, dense, white adjacent hair obscuring underlying surface, apex of clypeus with narrow depressed impunctate band. Paraocular area irregularly punctate, punctures separated by 1–3 puncture diameter. Paraocular and supraclypeal areas and basal part of frons with long erect pale-white plumose hairs, intermixed on upper part near vertex with dark brown hair. Genal area, apical parts of vertex, and occiput with long, erect pale-white pubescence intermixed with dark brown hair. Central part of frons with narrowly depressed, median stripe, upper part of frons medially polished, unpunctured; laterally irregularly, sparsely punctate and very weakly shagreened. Malar space narrow, 4 times as broad as long, (W = 0.43 mm, L = 0.11 mm) ( Fig. 4 ). Antennal scape anteriorly with long erect white hair. Flagellum moderately long, first flagellomere 1.7 times as long as its apex width and 1.25 times longer than second one ( Fig. 3 , 44 ). Labrum polished and shining, apical edge with long dense fringe of golden-yellow or pale-yellow thick hair. Glossa short: L = 0.65 mm, widened at base: W (at base) = 0.23 mm ( Fig. 5 ). 2 nd and 3 rd segments of labial palpi apically swollen. Galea weakly shagreened with very sparse and superficial punctation ( Fig. 9 ); maxillary palpi subequal in length with galea.

Mesosoma: W (between tegulae) = 2.9 mm (paratypes: 2.9 mm and 2.7 mm). Scutum with hair-bearing punctation, punctures separated by 1–1.5 puncture diameters with exception of sparsely punctate (3–4 puncture diameters) central part ( Fig. 7 ); mesosoma ventrally covered with very long, erect white hair, laterally and dorsally with pale-yellow hair, on scutum intermixed with shorter dark brown hairs; scutellum and metanotum with rufous hair. Propodeal triangle finely shagreened, basally with narrow transverse rugosity; external margins well-defined by lateral lines ( Fig. 8 ). Propodeum laterally very weakly shagreened and sparsely punctured with long erect yellow hair. Wings hyaline with light brown tint; tegulae, venation and stigmata dark brown. Nervulus (cu-v) antefurcal. Legs with long pale-yellow pubescence, apart from greyish pubescence of inner side of tibiae and dense short ginger-yellow pubescence of inner side of metabasitarsus.

Metasoma ( Figs 10, 11 ): L = 5.8 mm (paratypes: 5.7 and 5.3 mm); W = 4.3 mm (paratypes: 4.3 mm and 3.8 mm, respectively). T1 basal part with oblique, moderately sparse punctation with long, semierect hair; separated by 1–3 puncture diameters; marginal part of T1 depressed, almost unpunctured and very thinly and densely transversely wrinkled with sparse superficial weakly noticeable punctation bearing short brown hair ( Fig. 12 ); narrow apical margin of all terga light, translucent. Basal parts of T2–T5 moderately dense punctured, punctures separated by 1–2 puncture diameter with long semi-adjacent yellow hair, underlying surface with sparse short brown hair. Apical margins of T2–T5 slightly depressed with entire bands of very short dense white hairs covered from above by apical parts of long yellow hair. Basal part of T6 densely punctate by hair-bearing puncture with semi-adjacent long yellow hair (in holotype specimen this pubescence erased), laterally with long erected pale-yellow hair intermixed with sparse brown hair; apical margin of this tergum polished, impunctate. Basal parts of sterna moderately sparse punctured (denser on S2–S4 and sparser on S5) by very small oblique hair-bearing punctures with very short dark brown hair; underlying surface weakly shagreen ( Fig. 13 ). Sternal margins with sparse, yellow hair fringes longer laterally and shorter centrally, narrowly interrupted at the centre of S1–S4, and widely on S5. Marginal parts of S1–S5 very sparse punctured, polished, its narrow apical margin light, translucent, on S2–S5 medially widely roundly notched. S6 marginal part medially with wide projection deeply triangularly emarginated on apex ( Figs 14, 15 ). S7 ( Fig. 17 ) latero-apically with short, weakly sclerotized semicircular projections bent towards inner side of sternum ( Fig. 18 ). S8 relatively short, stumpy, deeply semicircularly concave laterally before widened basal part ( Figs 19, 20 ); apex of S8 posterodorsal part with whole transverse carina not notched or emarginated in centre ( Fig. 16 ). Genitalia with bilobed gonostyli ( Figs 21–34 ). Inner lobe of gonostylus moderately wide and long, widened in a circular shape at apex and covered with sparse long setae on surface facing penis valves and on margins ( Figs 33, 34 , 85, 86 ); external lobe wide, its apex obliquely truncated ( Fig. 32 ), ventral part narrowly, triangularly elongated, inner surface with several hairs, each inserted into crater-like raised alveoli ( Figs 35–37 ).

Female unknown.

Distribution. Northwest Africa: Atlas Mountains area ( Morocco and Tunisia) ( Fig. 89 ).

Floral visitation. Pollen grains of the Malvaceae plant family were mainly found on the body of the paratype ( Fig. 38 ), and only a few grains of Asteraceae .

Species diagnosis. The main significant differences D. schwarzi sp. nov. from the other known species of Microdasypoda concern the structure of genitalia. Other Microdasypoda species have single-lobed gonostyli with a spine-like tooth on the inner basal part (in D. cingulata , D. crassicornis and D. iberica ; Figs 82–84 ) or bilobed gonostyli with a thickened internal lobe that has a very dense, long pubescence on surface facing penis valves (in D. brevicornis ; Figs 75, 80, 81 ). Unlike other representatives of this subgenus, the genitalia of D. schwarzi have bilobed gonostyli with the inner lobes that are laterally flattened and dorso-ventrally widened in a circular shape at the apical part, and with sparse setae on the surface facing penis valves ( Figs 85, 86 ).

By the structure of its genitals and sterna, D. schwarzi is most similar to D. brevicornis , sharing the same structure of S6, S7, dorso-apical part of S8, glossa and galea. In both species, unlike other Microdasypoda , the setae along the lower edge of the galea are longer in the apical half than in the basal half where they are very short and poorly visible ( Figs 9 , 39 ) ( Michez et al. 2004b indicated the absence of setae in the basal half of galea, probably due to the relatively lower resolution of optics used at that time).

Dasypoda schwarzi can also be separated from D. brevicornis by the following features: the external lobe of the gonostyle in D. schwarzi with a strongly oblique apex ( Figs 21, 23 , 29, 32 ); the digitus of its volsella shorter and wider ( Fig. 28 ); the 1 st flagellomere relatively longer ( Figs 43, 44 ); the mandibular palpus with thicker segments ( Figs 5, 6, 9 ); the apical projection of the S6 with right angles on the outer edges (rather than rounded lateral corners as in D. brevicornis ) ( Figs 55, 59 ); the lateral margins of the S8 deeply semicircularly notched before the apodemes (straight-beveled lateral margins of S 8 in D. brevicornis ) ( Figs 65, 69 ); and the lower half of the face with light pubescence without dark brown or black hair (the latter being typical in D. brevicornis ).

Remarks on the comparative morphology of Microdasypoda . The use of modern optics with a higher resolution made it possible to refine the original diagnosis of the subgenus Microdasypoda Michez ( Michez et al. 2004b) . In particular, the outer lobe of the gonostyle may have a lanceolate shape (in D. crassicornis ), the S 7 in almost all species of the subgenus (with the exception of D. iberica ) has a very small almost non-chitinous lateroapical outgrowths ( Fig. 18 ); the dorso-apical part of S8 has an entire transverse carina or two partly or completely separated teeth ( Figs 70–74 ); the S6 apicoventrally may have not only brown pubescence (in most species), but can also present a complete silver-white pubescence (in D. iberica ; Fig. 53 ; Radchenko et al. 2019).

This updated clarification of the diagnostic characters of all species belonging to the subgenus Microdasypoda , as well as the detailed morphological characters of the male of D. iberica that was recently published ( Radchenko et al. 2019) made it possible to compose a corrected and updated key for the males.

Figures

FIGURES 1–13. Male of Dasypoda schwarzi sp. nov.: 1—Habitus, dorsal view; 2—Habitus, lateral view; 3—Pedicel and flagellum; 4—Malar area; 5—Glossa and labial palpi, dorsal view; 6—Head, frontal view; 7—Scutum; 8—Propodeum; 9— Galea and maxillar palpus, lateral view; 10—Metasoma, dorsal view; 11—Metasoma, ventral view; 12—Marginal part of 1st tergum; 13—Sternum 5. (1, 2, 7–13—holotype; 3–6—paratype).

FIGURES 39–49. Structure of Microdasypoda male galea (39–42, lateral view), glossa (45–49, ventral view), 1st and 2nd flagellomeres (43, 44, frontal view): 39, 43, 45—Dasypoda brevicornis; 40, 46—D. cingulata; 41, 47—D. crassicornis; 42, 48—D. iberica; 44, 49—D. schwarzi sp. nov.

FIGURES 14–25. Structure of Dasypoda schwarzi sp. nov. male sterna and genitalia. 14—Sternum 6; 15—Apical part of sternum 6; 16—Apical part of sternum 8; 17—Sternum 7; 18—Apical part of sternum 7; 19, 20—Sternum 8; 21–25—Genitalia. (14, 17, 19, 23—ventral, 15, 16, 20, 21— dorsal, 18—laterodorsal, 22—lateral, 24—dorsoapical, 25—ventro-apical view).

FIGURES 26–38. Structure of Dasypoda schwarzi sp. nov. male genitalia. 26–31—General view of genitalia, 32—Outer lobe of gonostylus; 33–34—Inner lobe of gonostylus; 35—Inner side of outer lobe of gonostylus; 36–37—part of the inner surface of outer lobe of gonostylus with highly elevated crater-like raised hair-bearing alveoli; 38—pollen grains of Malvaceae on genitalia. (26, 34—dorsal; 27, 35–37—dorso-lateral; 28—ventral; 29, 32—lateral; 30—apico-dorsal; 31—apico-ventral; 33— dorso-ventral view).

FIGURES 65–86. Structure of Microdasypoda male sternum 8 (65–69) and the apex of its posterodorsal part (70–74), genitalia (75–79) and its gonostylus (80–86): 65, 70, 75, 80, 81—Dasypoda brevicornis; 66, 71, 76, 82—D. cingulata; 67, 72, 77, 83—D. crassicornis; 68, 73, 78, 84—D. iberica; 69, 74, 79, 85, 86—D. schwarzi sp. nov. (65–69—ventral view; 70–74, 75–79, 82–84—dorsal view; 80–81, 85–86—laterodorsal view).

FIGURES 87–89. Distribution maps of Microdasypoda species: 87—Dasypoda crassicornis (blue dots) and D. brevicornis (green dots); 88—D. cingulata (yellow dots) and D. iberica (red dots); 89—D. schwarzi sp. nov. (orange dots).

FIGURES 50–64. Structure of Microdasypoda male sternum 6 (50–54) and its apex (55–59), sternum 7 (60–64): 50, 55, 60— Dasypoda brevicornis; 51, 56, 61—D. cingulata; 52, 57, 62—D. crassicornis; 53, 58, 63—D. iberica; 54, 59, 64—D. schwarzi sp. nov. (50–54, 56, 60–64—ventral view; 55, 57–59—dorsal view).