Rugosothynnus tristis ( Smith, 1859 ) Smith, 1859

Brown, Graham, 2015, Rugosothynnus gen. nov. (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae: Thynninae: Rhagigasterini), a newly recognised Australian genus, Zootaxa 3925 (3), pp. 361-386 : 382-383

Rugosothynnus tristis ( Smith, 1859) , comb. nov.

( Figs 9 , 41–43 , 49 )

Rhagigaster tristis Smith, 1859: 63 . Holotype ♂: Western Australia, no other data, (BMNH).

Thynnus hammerlei Dalla Torre, 1897: 108 .

Rhytidogaster tristis (Smith) : Turner 1907: 232.

Rhagigaster rugifer Turner, 1937: 150 . Lectotype ♂ (designated by Kimsey & Brown 1993) and paralectotype ♀: Western Australia, Dongarra, 6–19.xi.1935, R.E. Turner, (BMNH), syn. nov.

Rhagigaster rufiger Turner : Given, 1954: 21. Misspelling.

Diagnosis. Male. S1 sagittally carinate and strongly triangularly raised posteriorly forming second blade-like projection. Female. Head black with orange spot below and mesad to eye and about twice area of eye, flagellum orange; metasomal terga with punctures weakly longitudinally aligned; pygidium not raised anterolaterally.

Description. Male. Head. Rounded, strongly emarginate posteriorly, not strongly narrowed behind eyes; clypeus weakly emarginate, convex with inverted Y-shaped carina, depressed from carina to apical margin, closely punctate laterally and basally, polished and sparsely punctate apically; antennal prominence with weak V-shaped carina, produced below carina to antennal insertions; frons obscurely transversely carinate, rugosely punctate, obscurely sagittally sulcate below transverse carinate, not depressed; vertex rugosely punctate; gena closely punctate.

Mesosoma . Pronotum as wide as head, finely rugose, anterior margin straight, raised, carinate, weakly produced laterally; mesoscutum finely rugose; tegulae finely rugose basally; mesoscutellum finely rugose, weakly convex, subtriangular, narrowly truncate posteriorly; metanotum finely rugose, below level of mesoscutellum; propodeum oblique posteriorly, not transversely carinate, rugosely punctate anteriorly, transversely rugosely punctate posteriorly; fore coxae punctate; mesopleura finely rugosely punctate.

Metasoma. T1–6 closely punctate anteriorly, sparsely punctate posteriorly; S1 rugosely punctate, S2–7 closely punctate; gradulus straight and impunctate on T2–6, straight and scrobiculate on S3–5, oblique, punctate and discontinuous medially on S6, absent on S7; T1 obliquely truncate anteriorly, not tuberculate; S1 strongly medially raised and carinate, carina subtuberculate posteriorly, anterior V-shaped carina strongly produced and blade-like ventrally; S2 anteromedially not tuberculate; hypopygium with rounded basal angles; cuspis hooked; paracuspis short.

Colour. Black; ocellar macula orange; wings hyaline.

Length. Body 12–20 mm; fore wing 7–12 mm; hind wing 5–8 mm.

Female. Head. Subquadrate, posterior angles rounded; clypeus truncate, sagittally carinate; frons longitudinally rugosely punctate, obscurely sagittally sulcate; vertex longitudinally rugosely punctate, not medially depressed; gena closely punctate; eyes large and elliptical; mandibles bidentate.

Mesosoma . Pronotum weakly convex, not depressed near posterior angles, anterior angles not produced, longitudinally rugosely punctate; mesoscutellum weakly convex, narrowed posteriorly, longitudinally rugosely punctate; propodeum weakly convex, not laterally depressed, punctate posteriorly, not densely setose, longitudinally rugosely punctate dorsally with impunctate anterior margin, impunctate laterally, closely and finely punctate posteriorly.

Metasoma. T1–5 strongly longitudinally multicarinate; S1–5 closely punctate; T1 truncate, anterior angles rounded; T5 and S5 not produced; pygidium subtriangular, not spinose, closely punctate, not tuberculate.

Colour. Black; flagellum brown, frontal maculae yellow, about twice area of eye.

Length. Body 13–14 mm.

Distribution. Coast and inland south-western Western Australia from near Shark Bay to near Norseman.

Remarks. Turner (1910a) incorrectly synonymised this species (the unique type of which is a female) with R. analis (the unique type of which is a male) probably led to his redescribing of R. tristis as R. rugifer in 1937.

Salter (1954) listed the female as a synonym of R. analis (as had Turner (1910a)) but listed the male as a separate valid species! The female in fact, has not previously been described.

A female is mounted with the male holotype of R. houstoni sp. nov.

Males resemble R. houstoni sp. nov. which does not have the clypeus strongly depressed apically with an inverted Y-shaped carina and has S2 subtuberculate anteromedially.

Differs from Rh. corrugatus by: punctation closer and deeper, rugose-punctate; clypeus with weak inverted Y-shaped carina, depressed from carina to apical margin; pronotum with anterior margin weakly produced laterally; propodeum oblique posteriorly; T1 obliquely truncate anteriorly; S1 strongly medially raised and carinate, carina subtuberculate and often blade-like posteriorly; S2 not subtuberculate; S8 with rounded basal angles.

Females resemble R. corrugatus which has the vertex orange, R. monteithae sp. nov. which has the pygidium closely punctate, and R. houstoni sp. nov. which has the frontal maculae small.

Differs from Rh. corrugatus by: frons longitudinally rugosely punctate, obscurely sagittally sulcate; vertex longitudinally rugosely punctate, gena closely punctate; S1–5 closely punctate; pygidium subtriangular, not spinose, sparsely punctate; black with flagella orange and frontal maculae yellow.

Material examined. Western Australia: Holotype ♂, no other data, ( BMNH); lectotype (of Rh. rugifer ) ♂ Dongarra, 6–19.xi.1935, R.E. Turner, ( BMNH); paralectotype ♀, same data as lectotype, ( BMNH); non-types: 6♂, Balline Stn, 24–25.vii.1979, ( ANIC, BMNH, WAM); 1♂, 1♀, Caversham, viii.1915, ( WAM); 4♂, Dongarra, 23.viii.–5.ix.1935, ( BMNH); 1♂, East Bunjil, 3.ix.1975, ( WAM); 11♂, 3♀, Geraldton, 6–8.ix.1926, Jul.1972, 5.ix.1973, ( ANIC, BMNH, McL, MV); 1♀, Guildford, 1915, ( WAM); 1♂, Kukerin, ( WAM); 1♀, (mounted with the ♂ holotype of R. houstoni sp. nov.), 5.5–6.5 km SW, of McDermid Rock, 27.ix.–3.x.1978, ( WAM); 1♂, 1♀, Meeka Stn, ( WAM); 2♂, 1♀, Torndirrup National Park, 7.x.1981, ( ANIC); 3♂, 3♀, Wathing, 10.ix.1950, ( NTM, WAM).

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 10. Rugosothynnus spp., females, apex of metasoma, dorsal view. 8. R. monteithae sp. nov., ovipositor exerted; 9. R. tristis; 10. R. confusus sp. nov.

FIGURES 39 – 42. Rugosothynnus spp. 39. R. schichai sp. nov., genitalia, male, right lateral view; 40. R. schichai sp. nov., genitalia, male, dorsal view; 41. R. tristis, genitalia, male, right lateral view; 42. R. tristis, genitalia, male, dorsal view. Scale lines = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 46 – 49. Rugosothynnus spp. 46. R. houstoni sp. nov., apex of metasoma, male, lateral, open with parameres partially exposed; 47 – 48 R. depressus sp. nov., S 1 – 2, male: 47 ventral, 48 lateral; 49. R. tristis, S 1 – 2, male, lateral, scale line = 0.2 mm.