Pristomerus masai, Rousse & Noort, 2015

Rousse, Pascal & Noort, Simon van, 2015, Revision of the Afrotropical species of Pristomerus (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), with descriptions of 31 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 124, pp. 1-129 : 62-65

Pristomerus masai sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:83828FAA-D200-4813-B23C-BC1045C173F8

Fig. 18

Diagnosis

Moderate size; yellowish-orange overall with variable dorsal black spots; femora and trochanters apically white-dotted; pterostigma anteriorly white; face densely and shallowly punctate-granulate; clypeus transverse and smooth; remainder of head coriaceous; malar line short; antenna long with 30– 33 flagellomeres; mesosoma densely punctate to punctate-reticulate with pronotum and ventral half of speculum nearly smooth; female femoral tooth moderate, followed by a row of minute denticles; ovipositor moderately long, apically weakly sinuous. Male with ocelli enlarged, inner margins of eyes slightly diverging ventrally, femur and femoral tooth stouter with femoral tooth long and acute, area superomedia much more slender, and lateral black marking on occiput absent.

Differential diagnosis

Moderately sized species from tropical mainland Africa; differentiated from all other Afrotropical species by the combination of the black dorsal markings (including most of the occiput in females), the rather enlarged ocelli with an unusually reduced POL, the short malar line, the small female femoral tooth, the long and narrow thyridium and the long ovipositor. It is apparently very closely related to

other undescribed species (see comments) and to P. wolof sp. nov., from which it is separated by the size of the ocelli and femoral tooth as given in the key.

Type material

Holotype

KENYA: ♀, “ KENYA, Tsavo Safari Lodge , Athi River, 518 m, 2°38.529’S 38°21.984’E, 19.vii.2008, S. van Noort, UG08–KEN–S02, Sweep, savanna woodland, SAM–HYM–P047403” ( SAMC).

Paratypes

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: 1 ♀, “ Congo Belge, P.N.G. Miss. H. De Saeger II/eb/9, 13.III.1952 H. De Saeger. 3254” ( MRAC).

GUINEA-BISSAU: 1 ♂, “reg. Bafalà 5 km W Bijne 2.xi. 92 M. Söderlund scr. sweep, undergrowth in forest and glades partly grazed by sheeps, 12h30–15h00, SAM–HYM–P049447” ( SAMC).

IVORY COAST: 1 ♂, “Lamto-RCI, 5°02 W 6°13 N, 20.9– 4.X.1985, Parkinsonia esculaenta ” ( BMNH).

KENYA: 1 ♂, same label data as holotype ( SAMC); 3 ♀♀, “Kenya, Olambwe, 18km SW Homa Bay, 1257 m, 0°38.580’S 34°20.403’E, 26.vii.2008, S. van Noort, UG 08–KEN–S08, Sweep, riparian woodland, SAM–HYM–P047404” ( SAMC).

Material excluded from type series

GABON: 1 ♀, “Prov. Ogooué-Maritime, Réserve de la Moukalaba-Dougoua, 12.2km 305ºNW Doussala, 2º17.00’S 10º29.83’E, 110m, 27.ii.2000, S. van Noort, Sweep, GA00-S15, Lowland Rainforest, elephant path, SAM–HYM–P041661” ( SAMC).

TANZANIA: 2 ♀♀, “Mkomazi Game Reserve, Ibaya Camp, 3º57ʹ91ʺS 37º48ʹ09ʺE, 11 Mar–5 Apr1996, S. van Noort, Malaise trap, Acacia-Commiphora-Combretum bushland, SAM–HYM–P015658” ( SAMC); 1 ♀, “Mkomazi Game Reserve, Ibaya Camp, 3º57ʹ91ʺS 37º48ʹ09ʺE, 14 April–3May 1996, S. van Noort, Malaise trap, Acacia-Commiphora-Combretum bushland, SAM–HYM–P015665” ( SAMC); 3 ♀♀, “Mkomazi Game Reserve, Kisima Plot, 4º06ʹ06ʺS 38º05ʹ58ʺE, 25 Nov–8Dec 1995, S. van Noort, Malaise trap, Acacia-Commiphora bushland, SAM–HYM–P016461” ( SAMC); 2 ♀♀, same data, SAM–HYM–P016463 ( SAMC).

Description

Female (5 specimens)

B 6.4–7.4; A 4.8–5.4; F 4.2–4.9; CT 1.7; ML 0.4; POL 0.5; OOL 1.0; Fl n-1 1.2; ASM 1.8–2.1; OT 1.9–2.0; FFT 1.

COLOUR. Yellowish-orange overall with mandible and frontal orbit pale yellow, and black markings: a large lateral spot on occiput, tergites 1–3 but a variable apical part, and basal half of tergite 1; following tergites sometimes also black maculated; flagellum and ovipositor sheath black; trochanters and femora apically white-dotted, hind tibia basally and apically infuscate, hind tarsus infuscate; wings hyaline, venation brown, pterostigma anteriorly white.

HEAD. Face densely and very shallowly punctate; inner margins of eyes subparallel; clypeus transverse and moderately convex, almost smooth; malar line short; frons, vertex and temple coriaceous; ocellar triangle small, equilateral, post ocellar line noticeably short; occipital carina joining hypostomal carina distinctly above mandible base; antenna with 31–32 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere slightly elongate.

MESOSOMA. Moderately elongate; pronotum nearly smooth, weakly sculptured anteriorly; mesopleuron and metapleuron densely punctate with a shallow oblique and transversely strigose furrow below speculum, speculum ventrally smooth; mesoscutum finely and densely punctate-granulate, punctures confluent along notaulus line into fine transverse rugosities, notaulus relatively deep; scutellum densely punctate, its posterior vertical face longitudinally striate; propodeum densely punctate, mid-apically transversely strigose, area superomedia moderately elongate but elongation variable. Legs. Femoral tooth moderate, followed by a row of minute denticles.

METASOMA. Apical half of tergite 1, tergite 2 and base of tergite 3 longitudinally aciculate, following tergites coriaceous; thyridium elongate, elliptic, its main axis longitudinal; ovipositor moderately long, apically weakly to moderately sinuous.

Male (3 specimens)

B 6.7–7.1; A 5.0–5.5; POL 0.6; OOL 0.5. Ocelli enlarged; antenna with 28–33 flagellomeres; inner margins of eyes slightly diverging ventrally; femur swollen, femoral tooth stronger, long and acute; area superomedia much more slender, lateral black marking on occiput absent; otherwise similar to female.

Distribution

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya.

Comments

Nine morphologically related specimens in the SAMC collection (listed under material examined as excluded from type series), from Tanzania and Gabon, could not be definitively associated with P. masai sp. nov., but their morphological differences are also not strong enough to warrant description of a distinct species. Pristomerus masai sp. nov. is probably included within a widespread tropical species-complex; resolution of species delimitation within this complex requires thorough examination using molecular and morphometric tools.

Figures

Fig. 18. Pristomerus masai sp. nov. Holotype, ♀. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, mesosoma, dorsal view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Propodeum, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view. F. Hind tibia, lateral view (inset: data labels).