Taeniogonalos latae Polaszek and Binoy, 2022

Binoy, C., van Achterberg, Cornelis, Polaszek, Andrew, Kumar, P. Girish & Santhosh, S., 2022, A review of Taeniogonalos (Hymenoptera: Trigonalyidae) from India with the description of two new species, Journal of Natural History 56 (21 - 24), pp. 1153-1185 : 1174-1180

Taeniogonalos latae Polaszek and Binoy , sp. nov.

( Figures 11 a-e, 12 a-h and 13a-b)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B54ECC8F-E48E-4942-8872-BC8DB3FE3A5E

Type material

Holotype ♀, India: Tamil Nadu, [Dindigul district] Shembaganur [10.232°N, 77.503°E; alt. 1785m] October 1979 coll. J.S. Noyes, B.M. 1979-518. Type 2d.18. ( NHMUK).

Diagnosis (female) ( Figures 11a– e and 12a–h )

Scutellum black medially and pale yellow laterally; middle lobe of mesoscutum black with two yellow spots anteriorly ( Figure 12b ); occipital carina marked; entire frons and vertex dark ( Figure 11d ) head finely punctate, shiny, the distances between punctures a little larger than the puncture diameter; entire stemmaticum punctate, with area immediately adjacent to ocelli smooth; interspaces smooth and shiny, punctures sparse adjacent to occipital carina; head subglobose in dorsal view ( Figure 11d ); anterior propodeum laterally with conspicuous extensions of peritreme ( Figure 12a ); posterior margin of second metasomal sternite straight, armature lacking.

Description

Holotype, female, length of body 5.0 mm; fore wing 4.0 mm.

Head. Head in dorsal view 1.5× as wide as long, antenna with 22 antennomeres; frons finely punctate, with shiny interspaces; vertex with similar sculpture, moderately setose with medium-sized setae; OOD 2.0× POD, OOD 2.5× OD; temple largely smooth except some sparse setigerous punctation ( Figure 11c ); eye in dorsal view 1.2× as long as temple; occipital carina distinct; supra-antennal elevation mediumsized, about 0.3× as long as scape, outer margin oblique; clypeus concave medioapically, setose; mandibles large, asymmetric (l. = 4-dentate; r = 3-dentate, Figure 11e ); interocular distance at middle of face 4.8× distance between antennal toruli ( Figure 11e ).

Mesosoma . Mesosoma 1.5× as long as high ( Figure 12a ); transverse mesopleural sulcus present; upper mesopleuron anterior to mesepimeron with striate sculpture, remainder irregularly rugose ( Figure 12a ); notauli deep, narrow, non-crenulate; entire mesoscutum rugose-punctate, side lobes with clear parapsidal lines; scutellar sulcus complete, obscured by pin; scutellum similarly sculptured to mesoscutum, convex, above level of mesoscutum, metanotum medially slightly convex, not protruding, less rugose than scutellum ( Figure 12c ); propodeum largely rugose/punctate, striate laterally; posterior propodeal carina arched ( Figure 12c ). Peritremes (spiracle covers) very prominent ( Figure 12c ).

Wings. Fore wing: length of vein 1-M (measured in a straight line between its ends) 1.2× as long as vein 1-SR, curved; vein 2 m-cu very faint, non-tubular for its entire length; basal cells less setose than distal cells ( Figure 12d ).

Metasoma. First metasomal tergite 1.8× as long as narrowest (basal) width, smooth ( Figures 12e and 12g ); second metasomal tergite punctate, shiny, sparsely setose; remaining tergites punctate, shiny, setation increasing dense towards apex of metasoma ( Figure 12g ). Sternites with similar sculpture to tergites; second sternite with posterior margin straight; maximum length third sternite 0.23× as long as second sternite; hypopygium bluntly triangular in ventral view ( Figures 12f and 12h ).

Colour. Black/dark brown, with the following parts differently coloured: head in front view with the following areas bright yellow: face along inner orbits; two large spots on clypeus; inner supra-antennal elevations; most of outer mandibles ( Figure 11e ). Lateral mesosoma black/dark brown with the following areas bright yellow: upper and lower lateral pronotum, a spot on the upper posterior mesopleuron ( Figure 12a ). Dorsal mesosoma black/dark brown with the following areas bright yellow: two small spots at anterior mesoscutum adjacent to inner notauli; lateral thirds of scutellum; entire metanotum and two lateral spots; two large areas on each side of propodeum ( Figure 12c ). All coxae and trochanters partly yellow, the hind trochanter entirely yellow ( Figure 11a ); all femora brown, with some yellow at the proximal ends; tibiae and tarsi brown, the fore and mid tibiae fading to yellow ( Figure 11a ). Wings largely hyaline with infuscation restricted to the areas adjacent to SR1 ( Figure 12d ). Dorsal metasoma dark brown with the following areas bright yellow: Most of first tergite; a broken band at the apex of second tergite; two spots on each of fourth and fifth tergite; remainder of dorsal metasoma yellow ( Figure 12g ). Ventral metasoma entirely brown with only first sternite yellow, and second sternite yellow laterally ( Figure 12h ).

Male ( Figures 13a and 13b ): description

Paratypes, 2 ♂, length of body 9.0 mm; fore wing 7.5 mm. Same data as holotype .

Head. Head in dorsal view 1.7× as wide as long, antenna with 25 antennomeres, tyloids present on 10–16, a minute, short tyloid on 17; frons and vertex densely punctate, with shiny interspaces; clypeus with very shallow punctures, smooth and shining. OOD 2.9× POD, OOD 2.6× OD; temple largely smooth except some sparse setigerous punctation; eye in dorsal view approximately as long as temple; occipital carina distinct; supra-antennal elevation present, about 0.3× as long as scape, outer margin oblique; clypeus concave medio-apically, setose; mandibles large, symmetric, each with three teeth, the inner tooth broadly truncate; interocular distance at middle of face 3.5× distance between antennal toruli.

Mesosoma . Mesosoma 1.5× as long as high ( Figure 13a ); transverse mesopleural sulcus present; upper mesopleuron anterior to mesepimeron with finer, less dense setation, hence appearing shinier, remainder irregularly rugose; notauli deep, narrow, noncrenulate; entire mesoscutum rugose-punctate, parapsidal lines clearly present on side lobes of mesoscutum; more obvious than in female; scutellar sulcus complete; scutellum similarly sculptured as mesoscutum, convex, above level of mesoscutum, metanotum medially slightly convex, not protruding, less rugose than scutellum; propodeum largely rugose/punctate, striate laterally; posterior propodeal carina arched. Peritreme very prominent.

Wings. Fore wing: length of vein 1-M (measured in a straight line between its ends) 1.1× as long as vein 1-SR, curved; vein 2 m-cu largely absent, present but non-tubular basally; basal cells less setose than distal cells ( Figure 13a ).

Metasoma. First metasomal tergite 1.8× as long as narrowest (basal) width, smooth; second metasomal tergite punctate, shiny, sparsely setose; remaining tergites punctate, shiny, setation increasing dense towards apex of metasoma ( Figure 13b ); sternites with similar sculpture as tergites; second sternite with posterior margin straight; maximum length third sternite 0.2× as long as second sternite; genitalia as in Figure 13b .

Colour. Almost identical to that of the female holotype, the yellow band on second tergite complete centrally in one of the two males; wings generally slightly infuscate ( Figure 13a ).

Biology

Unknown.

Etymology

The species name is a genitive noun from the matronym Lata, after the Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2022) known as the Nightingale of India, one of the greatest and most influential singers with a distinguished career spanning over seven decades. We dedicate the species to her memory, fondly remembering the timeless song Lag Ja Gale from the film Woh Kaun Thi (1964).

Distribution

India (Tamil Nadu).

Remarks

Morphologically T. latae sp. nov. resembles T. ayyari sp. nov. in having head with rugose-punctate sculpture; supra-antennal tubercle short and obtuse, apico-medial margin of second metasomal sternite of ♀ straight and metasomal armature lacking. However, T. latae sp. nov. differs from T. ayyari sp. nov. in having head in dorsal view with much shallower punctures, and more shiny. The colour, though similar on the metasoma and propodeum, differs markedly on the mesosoma (compare Figures 2b and 12b ), being tricoloured in T. ayyari and bicoloured in T. latae . The 2 m-cu in T. ayyari is tubular for part of its length, entirely spectral in T. latae . Taeniogonalos latae shares several aspects of its colour pattern with T. gestroi , but differs markedly in the form of the sculpture (weakly punctate and shiny in T. latae and densely punctate/aciculate in T. getroi .

In the key of Chen et al. (2014) T. latae keys to T. alticola (Tsuneki) , but it differs markedly from that species in most aspects of both colour and morphology.

Notes

All three specimens bear the following labels: ‘ Taeniogonalos near maga (Teranishi 1929) Det. Carmean 1993 ’. Clearly David Carmean, a leading authority on Trigonalyidae , considered these specimens to be both conspecific with each other and different from, but close to, T. maga . Taeniogonalos latae differs in several respects from T. maga , and in particular lacks the lamelliform occipital carina ( Chen et al. 2014).

The genitalia of one male paratype were mounted on the lower data label by David Carmean.

Figures

Figures 2(a–h). Taeniogonalos ayyari Binoy, van Achterberg and Girish Kumar, sp. nov. Holotype ♀. a. Mesosoma, lateral view; b. Mesosoma, dorsal view; c. Propodeum, dorsal view; d. Fore wing; e. Metasoma, lateral view; f. Terminal tergite and sternite, lateral view; g. Metasomal tergites, dorsal view; h. Metasomal sternites, ventral view.

Figures 11(a–e). Taeniogonalos latae Polaszek and Binoy, sp. nov. Holotype ♀. a. Habitus, lateral view; b. Antenna; c. Head, lateral view; d. Head, dorsal view; e. Head, frontal view.

Figures 12(a–h). Taeniogonaloslatae Polaszek and Binoy,sp.nov.Holotype ♀. a.Mesosoma,lateral view;b. Mesosoma, dorsal view; c. Propodeum, dorsal view; d. Fore wing; e. Metasoma, lateral view; f. Terminal sternite, ventral view; g. Metasomal tergites, dorsal view; h. Metasomal sternites, ventral view.

Figures 13(a–b). Taeniogonalos latae Polaszek and Binoy, sp. nov. Paratype ♂. a. Habitus, lateral view; b. Terminal sternite with genitalia, ventral view.