Dolichurus pseudobimaculatus Gadallah, 2024

Gadallah, Neveen S. & Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M., 2024, Sphecidae sensu lato (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of the Jazan Province, south-west of Saudi Arabia, with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5492 (1), pp. 71-95 : 76

Dolichurus pseudobimaculatus Gadallah , sp. nov.

Figs 5 (A–F), 6(A–E)

Type material: SAUDI ARABIA. Holotype (♂), Fayfa (Jazan Province) [17º16'07"N, 43º07'32"E], vii.2023, Malaise trap on Mangifera indica, Usama M. Abu El-Ghiet collector.

Description of male holotype: body length: 4.5 mm

Colouration ( Fig. 5A–D ). Shiny black, with antenna, mandible (except tip of teeth black), and most of legs (tip of femora, tibiae and tarsi) red; tegula ferruginous with white marking; frontal platform apex white medially, surrounded with yellow; middle part of clypeus with two large whitish markings; pronotal tubercle whitish; T 4–6 and S 4–6 brownish; S 2 thinly yellow at apex. Wings hyaline, with colored reflections, veins dark brown to black.

Head ( Figs 5C–E , 6A ). Wider than long in frontal view (1.25×); with dense fine whitish setae along eye orbit and lower face; eyes reniform, inner orbits parallel; frons shiny, coarsely rugose; vertex shiny, sparsely finely punctate; posterior margin of head sparsely punctate; ocelli arranged in equilateral triangle; scape with sharp longitudinal carina; flagellomeres distinctly longer than wide, F2 = F3; preapical bulged externally; clypeus longitudinaly carinate medially, deeply emarginate at apex, with sharp, short tooth on each side, with fine whitish setae, denser laterally, but not hiding fine punctures beneath; labrum short, semirounded; mandible bifid, inner shorter tooth blunt at tip, with a longitudinal carina along its length, with inner subbasal protrution.

Thorax ( Fig. 5E, F , 6A ). Pronotal collar shiny, sharply angled antero-laterally, straight posteriorly, with some irregular transverse rugae antero-medially, pronotal tubercle in form of transverse oval slits postero-laterally; mesoscutum 2.0× as long as pronotal collar, densely finely punctate; scutellum densely punctate, punctures somewhat confluent; metanotum thin, strigate; propodeum regularly areolate dorsally, densely rugose posteriorly; mesopleuron with obsolete oblique ridges, sparsely punctate between ridges, with short, hardly visible sharp tooth posteriorly; metapleuron obliquely ridged. Wings and legs usual.

Gaster ( Fig. 6B–E ). First tergum with fine, somewhat sparse punctures, T 2 & T 3 with dense, coarser punctures; T 4–6 nearly smooth to superficially punctate; S 2 humped medially, densely punctate; S 3 densely punctate, S 4 transversely rectangular, wider than long, angulate postero-laterally; S 6 narrow, longer than wide. Male genitalia with distinctly short, laterally bulged aedeagus, meeting in a midline; parameres broad at base, gradually narrowed, being tapered at tip, connected with each other by an inverted V-shaped membranous area.

Female: Unknown.

Etymology: The name “ pseudobimaculatus ” refers to the similarity of the new species to D. bimaculatus .

Distribution: So far Saudi Arabia (Fayfa, Jazan).

Comments. This is the second record of the genus Dolichurus for Saudi Arabia. The first species, D. arabicus Ohl , was recorded by Soliman et al. (2017). Based on Arnold (1928: 196), our male specimen is similar to the male of D. bimaculatus , but differs in the following: posterolateral pronotal tubercle whitish, transverse oval ( Fig. 5E ) (in male of D. bimaculatus , pronotal tubercle subconical, white and truncate at apex, obliquely directed outwards and backwards, see Arnold, 1928: 195, fig. 3); mesoscutum and scutellum densely, deeply punctate, punctures more or less confluent on scutellum ( Fig. 5E ) (in male of D. bimaculatus , mesoscutum and scutellum sparsely punctate); mesopleuron shiny, with hardly seen oblique ridges, punctate between ridges ( Fig. 6A ); metapleuron incompletely obliquely ridged, shiny ( Fig. 6A ) (in male of D. bimaculatus , both are dull, obliquely and closely ridged); propodeum dorsally regularly, widely areolate, densely rugose posteriorly ( Fig. 5F ) (in male of D. bimaculatus , see Arnold, 1928: 195, fig. 3b); T 1–3 and S 1–3 shiny, T 1 with sparse fine punctures, T 2 & T 3 densely, closely punctate ( Fig. 6B ) (in male of D. punctatus , T 1–3 and S 1–3 dull, all closely punctate); F2 = F3 ( Fig. 5E ) (in male of D. bimaculatus , F2 slightly longer than F3); mesoscutum 2.0× as long as pronotal collar ( Fig. 5E ) (in male of D. bimaculatus , mesoscutum 2.5× as long as pronotal collar).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Dolichurus pseudobimaculatus Gadallah, sp. nov. (holotype ♂): A, habitus laterally; B, habitus dorsally; C, frontal view of head; D, fronto-ventral view of head; E, head laterally and thorax (part); F, propodeum.

FIGURE 6. Dolichurus pseudobimaculatus Gadallah, sp. nov. (holotype ♂): A, lateral view of head and thorax; B, dorsal view of gaster; C, last gastral terga and male genitalia; D, E, ventral view of gaster.