Phasgonophora baiocchii Soliman & Gul sp. nov.

Figs 3A-E, 4A-E, 5A-D, 6A-C

Type material.

Holotype ♀: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Ad Diriyah, Al Uyaynah, Wadi Al Hesiyah (40 NW of Riyadh) [24°55'22.44"N, 46°12'15.13"E, Alt. 790 m], 8.IV.2017, reared from Anthaxia sp. ( Buprestidae), e.l. Acacia, leg. D. Baiocchi [KSMA]; Paratype 1♂, same data as for holotype [KSMA].

Diagnosis.

Body mostly red; fore wing hyaline with white setation (Fig. 4C); setation on body and wings sparse and short (Figs 3A-C, E, 4C); flagellomeres moderately long (Fig. 3D); clava 1-segmented in both sexes (Figs 3D, 6B); mesoscutellum moderately convex, truncate anteriorly ((Fig. 4A); propodeal spiracular tooth absent (Figs 4A, 6C); fore wing setation sparse and very short, distributed on both sides without line of setae on Rs (Fig. 4C); Gt1 dorsally smooth (Fig. 5A); syntergum 0.276 × as long as mesotibia (Fig. 5A, B).

Etymology.

This species is dedicated to Daniele Baiocchi, who reared this species from Anthaxia spp. ( Buprestidae) infesting Acacia sp. ( Fabaceae).

Condition of holotype.

Specimen glued on rectangular card, metasoma glued separately. Head and mesosoma partly covered with a thin artifactual layer in bottom of areoles, appearing artificially dull rather than glossy by places; second to fifth terga with sides wide apart from each other, probably resulting from immersion in some medium.

Description of holotype

♀: Body length 5.0 mm. Colour. Body reddish brown; antennal scape and pedicel, anellus and basal half of F1 reddish (Fig. 3D), the rest of flagellum dark brown, almost black (Fig. 3D); mandibular teeth black (Fig. 3B); palpi brown; mesoscutellum apically and metanotum dark (Fig. 3E); wings hyaline (Fig. 4C), SMV testaceous, MGV, STV and PMV dark brown (Fig. 4C); tegula brownish; all legs reddish, but tarsi testaceous; metafemur with black teeth on ventral margin (Fig. 4E); metasoma reddish brown (Fig. 5A, B), tip of ovipositor sheaths black (Fig. 5B).

Head (Fig. 3A-C). Slightly wider than maximal width of mesosoma; with sparse, short and thin setae; vertex and frons densely punctured (Fig. 3A, B), lower face and especially gena sparsely punctured, with interspaces as large as punctures on its mesal surface; lower face and frons strongly convex, without preorbital ridges (Fig. 3B); both mandibles 3-toothed, teeth of same length, somewhat blunt at apex (Fig. 3B); clypeus roundly protruding at free margin (Fig. 3B); tentorial pits well visible (Fig. 3B); genal carina strongly raised (Fig. 3C); scrobal cavity completely transversely strigose, reaching median ocellus (Fig. 3B); lateral margins of depression slightly converging dorsally; interantennal projection as wide as diameter of antennal torulus, subtriangular, and with punctulate front surface, with sharp carina above it, 0.33 × as long as scape (Fig. 3B); occiput vertically strigulose behind ocellar triangle, punctured laterally (Fig. 3A).

Antenna (Fig. 3D). Apex of scape reaching level of median ocellus; pedicel 1.58 × as long as wide, without basal bottle neck; anellus hardly transverse, tapering basally; flagellomeres pubescent, bearing numerous, not raised, multiporous plate sensilla in several intricate rows; F1 somewhat tapering basally, 1.59 × as long as wide, slightly longer than each of F2 and F3; clava 1-segmented, conical, not much longer than F7 and very narrowly truncate at apex.

Mesosoma (Figs 3E, 4A, B). Slightly convex in lateral view (Fig. 4B), pronotum and mesonotum bearing short thin setae, adpressed on pronotum and suberect on mesonotum (Fig. 3E); pronotum entirely punctured, its dorsal outline regularly convex, without median depression (Fig. 3E); lateral panel with oblique crenulae ventrally; mesonotum cristate-punctured, the transverse crests moderately raised (Fig. 4B); notauli not much impressed (Fig. 3E); tegula bearing three very short setae basally; mesoscutellum short, convex in lateral view (Fig. 4B), truncate anteriorly as the axillae are widely separated, broadly rounded at apex, with fine longitudinal carinae; postscutellum as trapezoidal areola with secondary sculpture (Fig. 3E); propodeum not much sloping, without anterolateral spiracular tooth (Figs 3E, 4A), with irregular costula and poorly delimited median areola; mesepisternum with mesodiscrimen as faint carina dorsally, bifurcate ventrally delimiting a shallow fovea (Fig. 4A); epicnemial carina strongly raised at mid-height, moderately raised ventrally (Fig. 4B); ventral shelf virtually smooth; adscrobal area of mesepisternum, entire mesepimeron and metepimeron with dense setiferous punctures, the setae are short and adpressed as on pronotum (Fig. 4B); femoral scrobe of mesopleuron entirely strigose (Fig. 4B).

Wings (Fig. 4C). Fore wing lacking marginal fringe, with microtrichiae on both sides, MGV 0.35 × as long as SMV, PMV 0.20 × as long as MGV, STV slightly longer than PMV; hind wing with three similar closely set hamuli.

Legs (Fig. 4D, E). Procoxa deeply depressed anteriorly, the depression delimited laterodorsally by strongly raised carina (Fig. 4D). Protibia with thin apicodorsal socketed spine (Fig. 4D). Mesotibia without dorsal pegs. Hind leg bearing sparse, thin and suberect setae on ventral side of coxa, femur and tibia (Fig. 4E); metafemur sparsely punctulate on outer side, its ventral margin with a row of 11 regularly distributed equal teeth, basal tooth not prominent, no basal inner tooth (Fig. 4E). All tarsi thin, bearing slender claws.

Metasoma (Fig. 5A, B). Petiole quite transverse in dorsal view, ventral surface virtually smooth. Gaster short, only slightly longer than mesosoma; Gt1 2.6 × as wide as long, as long as Gt2 and Gt3 combined, smooth on disc, solely with a row of three thin and short setae on either side (Fig. 5A); Gt2-5 smooth, except for the setiferous punctures in front of their posterior margin, laterally with a complete row of setae and a partial row in front of it (Fig. 5A); penultimate tergite entirely densely and deeply punctured, with three rows of setiferous punctures, spaces between punctures smooth and shiny; spiracle very small, hardly visible at lateral edge of punctured surface as its peritreme is not raised; syntergum very short, only 0.276 × as long as mesotibia, its basal part, in front of cercal plates (Fig. 5B); extremely short, median ridge present; tergum coarsely punctured laterally; sternites smooth and bare; tip of hypopygium at about half length of gaster.

Male (Figs 5C, D, 6A-C). Length 4.2 mm; similar to female except for the following characters: black parts better expanded especially on occiput, pronotum and mesonotum; scape bright reddish brown (Fig. 6B); head less transverse in dorsal view with anterior outline of frons more convex and temples relatively longer (Fig. 5C), gena mostly smooth, with very sparse punctures (Fig. 6A); frons with faint preorbital ridges, carina above interantennal projection almost reaching dorsal margin of scrobal depression (Fig. 5D); scape fusiform, 3.4 × as long as wide, anellus transverse, strongly tapering basally (Fig. 6B).

Recognition.

None of the described Phasgonophora from the Afrotropical region have the short syntergum exhibited by P. baoicchii . Considering the Oriental species, the species would run, using Narendran (1989), either to Trigonura steffani Narendran, or T. javensis Narendran, 1987. The first species (holotype examined) is quite different, especially the deeply impressed notauli and the strongly convex mesoscutellum. In the second species (holotype examined), the lower face has a differentiate median strip similar to that of Muhattebella, and fore wing bears dark setae among other characters. From this species group, especially in P. euthyrrhinii, the type species of Chalcidiella, P. baiocchii differs from all species examined by the non-segmented clava, the mesodiscrimen, not raised as median crest, and the white setae of the fore wing versus clava 3-segmented, mesodiscrimen raised as a carina dorsally and fore wing setation dark.

Distribution.

Only known from Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh Region (Fig. 17).

Host.

Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) abdita Bílý, 1982 and A. (H.) kneuckeri ssp. zabranskyi Bílý, 1995 ( Coleoptera, Buprestidae).