Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi, 2020

Derafshan, Hossein Ali, Olmi, Massimo, Moghaddam, Mostafa Ghafouri & Rakhshani, Ehsan, 2020, Taxonomy of Iranian Gonatopodinae (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae), with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4789 (2), pp. 371-402 : 387-394

Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov.

Figs 2C , 15 A–15H, 16A–16B, 17A–16H

Diagnosis. Female Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov. is apterous ( Figs 16 A–16B), with pronotum crossed by strong transverse furrow ( Figs 15D , 16 A–16B), enlarged claw bearing single very small subapical tooth and no distal lamellae ( Figs 2C , 15E ). On the basis of these characters, new species belongs to group 7 Gonatopus species ( Olmi & Xu 2015). The key to females of group 7 is provided by Olmi (1999) for the Western Palaearctic region and by Olmi & Xu (2015) for the Eastern Palaearctic region.

Description (♀). Apterous ( Figs 16 A–16B), body length 2.6–3.1 mm. Color. Head and mesosoma reddishbrown; antenna brown; first to third metasomal segment brown, rest dark brown to black; legs brown, except testaceous tarsi, apex of meso- and metafemur yellow. In some specimens from Zabol (Nim-176, Nim-75), body in ventral view whitish; base antenna whitish and apex brown; face of head (palpi, mandibles, clypeus, frons) whitish; petiole black; second segment of metasoma yellow-brown and remaining metasomal segments brown-black; legs whitish and brown. Head ( Figs 15 A–15C, 16A–16B). Antenna clavate; antennomeres in following proportions: 8:5:12:6:7:6:5:5:6:5; head flat; with frons shiny, unsculptured, except region near antennal toruli granulate and vertex area near temple striate-granulate; temple granulate; frontal line incomplete, partly effaced in posterior half of frons; occipital carina complete; POL = 2, OL = 3, OOL = 7, OPL = 2, TL = 6, greatest breadth of lateral ocelli about as long as OPL; palpal formula 6/3. Mesosoma ( Figs 2C , 15 D–15F, 16A–16B). Pronotum shiny, unsculptured, crossed by strong transverse furrow; mesoscutum shiny, sculptured by few longitudinal keels, laterally with two pointed apophyses; mesoscutellum shiny, unsculptured, inclined; metanotum hollow behind mesoscutellum and with long setae; metapectal-propodeal complex fusiform, with sides rounded, metapostnotum shiny, unsculptured and with sparse setae, first abdominal tergum transversely striate; disc metapectal-propodeal complex with deep median longitudinal furrow; mesopleuron and metapleuron shiny, unsculptured; procoxa approximately 1.5–2.0 times as long as meso- and metacoxa; protarsomeres in following proportions: 13:3:5:13:19; enlarged claw with one very small subapical tooth, 2 proximal setae and without lamellae; protarsomere 5 with serrated proximal region, with two rows of 2–3 (proximal) + 17–18 lamellae; distal apex with 9–10 lamellae, one of which very long; rudimentary claw about as long as arolium and almost 0.3 × wider than long; tibial spurs 1/0/1. Metasoma ( Figs 15 G–15H). Terga covered with the sparse setae, black, shiny, unsculptured. Male. Unknown.

Etymology. The species named after its potential host leafhopper, Opsius versicolor (Distant 1908) , which was always found on the same host plant.

Material examined. Holotype. ♀ ( DAFNE), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol- Hamoon international wetlands (31°12ʹ03.2ʺN, 61°20ʹ47.04ʺ E, 477m), 05.IV.2016, Nim-172, swept on Tamarix stricta , Leg.: H. A. Derafshan . Paratypes. 3 ♀ (2 ♀ in MOLC, 1 ♀ in DPPZ), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol- Hamoon international wetlands (31°12ʹ03.2N, 61°20ʹ47.04ʺE, 477m), 05.IV.2016, Nim-172, swept on T. stricta , Leg.: H. A. Derafshan ; 4 ♀ ( DPPZ), same locality label, 03.IV.2016, Nim-166 ; 1 ♀ ( DPPZ), same locality label, 20.IV.2016, Nim-182 ; 1 ♀ ( DPPZ), same locality label, 25.VIII.2016, Nim-237 ; 1 ♀ ( DPPZ), same locality label, 20.IX.2016, Nim-243 ; 1 ♀ ( MOLC) and 1 ♀ ( DPPZ), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol-Hamoon international wetlands (31°11ʹ34.1ʺN, 61°22ʹ41.6ʺE, 480m), 15. V.2015, Nim-85; swept on T. stricta ; 4 ♀ (1 ♀ in MOLC, 3 ♀ in DPPZ), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol (30°55ʹ08ʺ N, 61°31ʹ32ʺ E, 470m), 14.IV.2016, Nim-176, swept on T. stricta ; 1 ♀ ( DPPZ), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol (30°55ʹ08ʺ N, 61°31ʹ32ʺ E, 470m) 13. V.2015, Nim-75, swept on T. stricta ; 1 ♀ ( MOLC), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol (30°50ʹ47ʺ N, 61°43ʹ02.1ʺ E, 499m), 12. V.2016, Nim-204, swept on T. stricta ; 1 ♀ ( DPPZ), IRAN, Sistan-o Baluchestan province , Zabol-Nimrooz (31°05ʹ02ʺ N, 61°26ʺ07ʺ E, 461m), 05. VI.2016, Nim-228, swept on Weeds , 1 ♀ ( MOLC), same locality label, 15. VI.2016, Nim-233 .

Distribution ( Fig. 23A ). Iran (South-East).

Remarks. The new species is similar to G. albolineatus Kieffer, 1905 (in Kieffer & Marshall 1905), on the basis of its flat head ( Figs 15A, 15C ), testaceous-reddish metathorax + propodeum and a strong medio- longitudinal furrow ( Figs 15D, 15F ), the first segment of protarsus as long as fourth segment, the fifth segment of protarsus with two rows of 2–3 (proximal) + 17–18 lamellae ( Figs 2C , 15E ). Gonatopus albolineatus is a Western Palaearctic species very common on Tamarix , on which it parasitizes species of Opsius . Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov. can be distinguished from G. albolineatus by having a complete occipital carina (absent or incomplete in G. albolineatus ), the enlarged claw bearing a rudimentary claw about as long as arolium [much shorter than arolium in G. albolineatus (Fig. 1053 in Olmi 1984)].

Figures

FIGURE 2. Redrawn chelae of Gonatopodinae (from Olmi, 1984): A. Gonatopus iranicus Olmi, 1984, holotype; B. Gonatopus lunatus Klug, 1810, from Fontainebleau (France); C. Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov., holotype; D. Haplogonatopus apicalis Perkins, 1905, from Kalugomuwa (Sri Lanka).

FIGURE 15. Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov., female paratype: A. Head, lateral view; B. Head, frontal view; C. Head, dorsal view; D. Mesosoma, lateral view; E. Chela, F. Mesosoma, dorsal view; G. Metasoma, lateral view; H. Metasoma, dorsal view.

FIGURE 16. General habitus of Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov., female holotype: A. Dorsal view; B. Lateral view.

FIGURE 23. Distribution map of the Iranian species of Gonatopodinae. A. Gonatopus opsiicida Rakhshani & Olmi sp. nov.; B. Haplogonatopus apicalis Perkins.