Meria trachelopsila, Boni, 2009

Boni, M., 2009, Afrotropical species of the ancient genus Meria ILLIGER 1807 (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1817-1861 : 1835-1836

Meria trachelopsila nov.sp.

Holotype Ƌ - Namibia = / Namibia WEST CAPRIVI PK. Kwanda river Susuwe 17°45’37S 23°20’55E 28.IX-02.X.1996 HH Kirk Spries Malaise traps dry woodland/ / NNIC /, NNMW

Paratype Ƌ - Namibia = (5) / Namibia WEST CAPRIVI PK. Kwanda river Susuwe 17°45’37S 23°20’55E 28.IX-02.X.1996 HH Kirk Spries Malaise traps dry woodland/ / NNIC /, NNMW

Paratype ♀ - Namibia = (1) /S of Mushare ETOSHA NP, SWA 18°37’S 16°53’S 27.III-28.IV.1988 E.griffin Pres, Pitf. Traps/, NNMW; (1) / Sangwali EASTERN CAPRIVI 18°14’S 23°36’E 25.XI-05.XII.1991 E. Marais Pres pitf traps /, NNMW

Male. Holotype. Figs 77-84 . Measurements: body length = 12 mm; forewing length = 6 mm.

Black, brown, yellow. Wings hyaline. Brown: tip of mandible: flagellum; palpi; veins and pterostigma. Yellow: tip of Tsa; most of clypeal disk; external mandible; two lateral spots along foreborder and one subapical stripe on N 1 disk; apex of LaSt 2; tegulae; about half femurs, all tibiae and tarsi; apical stripe with entire for edge on 1 st to 6 th terga, apical stripe with anterior lateral indentations on 2 nd to 6 th sterna; median spot on 7 th tergum. Base of hypostoma semitransparent and a bit swollen; cOc unbroken; ventral border of clypeus semitransparent; fore surface of mid femur mostly smooth and hairless; Em 3 finely wrinkled; gradulus on 2 nd to 7 th terga; sul on 1 st to 6 th terga; narrow transversal median furrow on 2 nd to 6 th sterna, making a sort of gradulus before it; median longitudinal broad keel on the last third of 7 th sternum. White hair denser on frons, N 1 disk, Es 2, never concealing the underlying integument.

Variability. There are only little variations about size and colour patterns in the paratypes. Female. Paratype from Etosha NP. Measurements: body length = 7 mm.

It is very close to the female of M. sublevis from which it strongly differs because of the brown to light brown basic colour of the body. The coupling is purely indicative.

Note. The shape of genitalia reveals its membership to the M. limata group.

Female: unknown.

Ecology: unknown.

Derivatio nominis: from the Greek τράχηλος (= neck) and ψιλός (unarmed, bare) beacause of the absence of any keel on the pronotum.

Figures

Figs. 77-84: Meria trachelopsila Ƌ. 77: head, dorsal aspect; 78: head, frontal aspect; 79: pronotal disk, dorsal aspect; lateral aspect; 80: pronotal disk, lateral aspect; 81: 7th tergum, dorsal aspect; 82: volsella; 83: gonostylus and aedeagus, lateral aspect; 84: aedeagus, ventral aspect (77: scale bar = 2 mm) (78, 79, 80, 81: scale bar = 1 mm) (82, 83, 84: scale bar = 0.5 mm).