Pseudophotopsis aurea (Klug, 1829)

Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; 33A, B

Mutilla aurea Klug, 1829: [18], (♀), "Ex Habissinia et Arabia deserta" (Ethiopia and Arabia).

Mutilla kassalina Magretti, 1898: 42, (♂ holotype), “Kassala” (Sudan). Junior subjective synonym of Mutilla aurea Klug, 1829 according to Lelej and van Harten 2006: 7.

Pseudophotopsis kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, 1920: 99, (♂ holotype), “Arafali” (Eritrea). Invalidly considered a junior subjective synonym of Mutilla aurea Klug, 1829 according to Lo Cascio et al. 2012: 527, although this is an unavailable name according to Article 45.6.4 of ICZN.

Pseudophotopsis continua subsp. arabica Hammer, 1962: 2, (♀ holotype), "Sufean, Lahej, Aden" (Yemen). Junior subjective synonym of Mutilla aurea Klug, 1829 according to Lelej and van Harten 2006: 7.

Diagnosis.

Male (Figs 3 - 5; 10A-C; 33A, B). Body length 12.3-18 mm. Head and mesosoma including tegula dark red (Figs 3C, D; 4A, C, D); antennal flagellomeres blackish-brown, at most F11 pale at the tip (Fig. 4B); posterior metasomal segments (4th to 7th) more or less brownish-yellow, distinctly contrasting with darkened anterior segments (Fig. 5B, C). First metasomal segment and S2 (except posteriorly) clothed with long white setae, remaining metasoma densely clothed with golden setae (Figs 5B, C; 10B, C); T1 with apical fringe of sparse white setae, T2-T6 and S2-S6 with apical fringes of dense golden setae (Figs 5B, C; 10B, C). POD 1.5-1.85 × OOD (Fig. 3D); distance between apex of lower mandibular tooth and upper mandibular ridge slightly longer than mandibular height at base (1.08-1.15 ×) (Fig. 4A); T1 rather sparsely foveate (Fig. 5B); metanotal horns well developed (1.7-1.8 × as long as wide), distinctly diverging toward the apex (Fig. 4C); fore wing wholly deeply infumate in most specimens, with dark brown veins (Fig. 5A), with 3rd abscissa of Rs distinctly longer than crossvein r-rs (usually 1.3-1.4 ×, in few specimens reaches 2 ×) (Fig. 5A). Cuspis of volsella narrow apically, digitate (Fig. 33B); parapenial lobe subrounded, with broadly rounded apex (Fig. 33A); genital ventral lobe, rounded apically, with outer margin slightly concave (Fig. 33B).

Female (Figs 6 - 9). Body length 15.5-17 mm. Propodeum, T2 and T3 with yellowish-white to golden setae (Fig. 6A); T1-T5 and S2-S5 with apical fringes of compact golden setae (Figs 8D; 9C). Vertex with distinct anterior and posterior ocelli (Fig. 7A); distance between apex of mandibular lower tooth and upper mandibular ridge nearly as long as mandibular height at base; interspaces between foveae or punctures on frons, vertex and mesosomal dorsum irregularly coarsely tuberculate (Figs 7A, B, D; 8A); propodeal dorsal face distinctly widened laterally, sharply declivitous posteriorly (truncate), 0.50-0.55 × as long as maximal width (Figs 7D; 8A); meso- and metapleura punctate (Fig. 8A); mid and hind tibiae with strong prolongation at their apices (Fig. 8B, C); hind tibia without a groove on inner face (Fig. 8C); T6 with oval-shaped pygidial area, finely rugose on disc and obliquely striate laterally (Fig. 9B).

Remarks.

Examination of Pseudophotopsis kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, 1920 (Fig. 10A-D), through a series of photos taken of the “type” specimen kept in MSNG, confirm synonymizing of this form with P. aurea (Klug) as proposed by Lo Cascio et al. (2012), and contributes to reinforcing the identity of the new P. subaurea described here. On the other hand, the same authors (2012) considered this form as unavailable infrasubspecific name according to the article 45.6.4 of ICZN, where Bischoff (1920) specified it as a form, but specified other taxa in the genus (e.g. Pseudophotopsis maura) as subspecies, showing that he considered Pseudophotopsis semiaurata to be infrasubspecific.

Material examined.

1♂ (Eritrea, Arafali), Leg. Magretti P. [ “Holotype” of P. kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, MSNG] ; 1♂ (WY1), 11.x.2013, LT, leg. Rasool I. [KSMA]; 1♂ (WBQ), 04.xi.2013, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 2♂ (SH5), 2♂ (SH6), 2♂ (SH7), 1♂ (SH8), 21.iv.2014, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH5), 6♂ (SH8), 3.vi.2014, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♀ (SH5), 1♀ (SH8), 5.vi.2014, PT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (GR1), 1♂ (GR2), 8.vi.2014, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (GR2), 26.viii.2014, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (WR2), 20.x.2014, LT, leg. Al-Harbi M. & Rasool I. [KSMA]; 1♂ (WN2), 10.xii.2014, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH5), 2♂ (SH6), 2♂ (SH7), 3.vi.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH8), 27.vii.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (GR3), 2♂ (GR4), 31.vii.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♀ (GR2), 31.vii.2015, PT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH2), 1♂ (SH3), 1♂ (SH7), 2.ix.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 2♂ (SH2), 12.xi.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH5), 1♂ (SH6), 15.xi.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♀ (SH1), 15.xi.2015, HP, leg. AMS [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH1), 14.xi.2015, LT, leg. Ahmed M. Soliman (AMS) [KSMA]; 1♂ (SH3), 18.xi.2015, LT, leg. Al-Dhafer et al. [KSMA]; 1♂ & 1♀ (SH4), 24.iii.2017, LT for ♂ and HP for ♀, leg. AMS [KSMA]; 1♂ (WM1), 4.iv.2017, LT, leg. AMS [KSMA]; 1♂ ( Al-Sajid), 28.iv.2017, LT, leg. Abu-Elghiet U. & El-Sheikh T. [KSMA] ; 1♀ ( Al-Huseis), 28.iv.2017, PT, leg. Abu-Elghiet U. & El-Sheikh T. [KSMA] ; 1♀ ( Al-Mashoor), 29.iv.2017, PT, leg. Abu-Elghiet U. & El-Sheikh T. [KSMA] ; 1♀ (WRY), 7.iv.2019, HP, leg. AMS [KSMA]; 1♂ (WM2), 11.iv.2019, LT, leg. AMS [KSMA]; 1♂ (WK), 12.iv.2019, LT, leg. AMS [KSMA].

Distribution in the Arabian Peninsula.

Sana’a, Socotra and Ta’izz provinces (Yemen) (Lelej and van Harten 2006; Lo Cascio et al. 2012; Madl 2018); Al-Baha, Asir, Jazan, and Makkah regions (southwestern Saudi Arabia) (Fig. 1).

Global distribution.

Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen (Gadallah et al. 2020).