Pleurotroppopsis peukscutella Cao & Zhu, 2022

Cao, Huan-Xi, Dale-Skey, Natalie, Burwell, Chris J. & Zhu, Chao-Dong, 2022, Review of the genus Pleurotroppopsis Girault (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) with interspecific phylogenetic relationships based on morphological characters, Zootaxa 5190 (4), pp. 451-484 : 472-475

Pleurotroppopsis peukscutella Cao & Zhu , sp. Nov.

( Figs 14 , 15 )

Diagnosis. FEMALE. Antenna brown except base of scape white ( Fig. 14d ). Fore wing weakly infuscate below MV, with speculum reduced ( Fig. 14c ). Upper margin of scrobes weakly incised and frontal carina weakly sinuate ( Fig. 14e ). Ocelli in a nearly right-angled triangle. Postorbital groove distinct but narrow, forming a distinct carina along upper part of temple, invisible on vertex ( Fig. 14a ). MLM with raised reticulation before broad median depression; median depression as broad as posterior margin of MLM and almost as broad as a notaular depression; rim of MLM median depression distinctly carinate ( Figs 15a, 15b ). Scutellum disc with strong foveae ( Fig. 15b ). Axilla with 5 setae on metallic part and transverse carinae on dull part. Dorsellum with 2 large lateral foveae ( Fig. 15b ). Propodeum submedian areas with short transverse carinae, one more distinct that connects plica and anterior part of median carina ( Fig. 15b ). Metafemur without teeth along ventral margin.

MALE. Differs from female in the following characters. Funiculars subequal in length, with distinctly long setae, and stalked apically. Fore wing hyaline. Upper margin of scrobes and frontal carina not incised or sinuate. Median depression of MLM and notaular depressions reduced. Propodeum with transverse carinae on submedian areas weak ( Figs 14g , 15g ).

Description. FEMALE. Body length 2.5–3.0 mm. Body metallic blue with violet tinge ( Figs 14a, 14b ).Antenna brown except scape predominantly white, infuscate apically only ( Figs 14c, 14d ). Legs, except for tarsomeres, brown with slight metallic tinge; tarsi with first three tarsomeres white, the fourth brown with claws dark brown. Fore wing disc weakly infuscate below MV, hind wing hyaline ( Figs 14a, 14c ).

Antenna with 3-segmented funicle and 2-segmented clava, funicle not clearly separated from clava; pedicel more than 2× as long as broad, the first funicular slightly longer than pedicel (1.0: 0.9); funiculars subequal in length, each longer than broad.

Face between frontal carina and toruli weakly depressed and finely reticulate, frontal carina weakly incised ( Fig. 14e ). Frontovertex with dense setae, with distinct punctures above frontal carina, with a median groove extending from anterior ocellus to frontal carina ( Fig. 14e ).

Head in dorsal view transverse (6.5: 2.5), slightly longer than mesoscutum (6.5: 6.0). Vertex with dense setae and distinct punctures. Ocelli in a nearly right-angled triangle. POL more than 2× as long as OOL (0.8: 0.3). Occiput margined between eyes, with longitudinal carinae above distinct transoccipital ridge.

Pronotal collar sharply margined, with many evenly distributed short setae in addition to 6 long bristles; collar depressed in anterior 1/2 because of broad punctures, and with sides diverging caudad so lateral angle attached closely to side of mesoscutum ( Figs 15a, 15b ). Mesoscutum with 4 pairs of setae: one pair on MLM, one pair on notaular depressions, remaining 2 pairs on LLM ( Fig. 15a ). MLM with raised reticulation; MLM with a broad median depression in posterior 1/2, as broad as posterior margin of MLM and almost as broad as a notaular depression, and with rims of median depression distinctly carinate; notaular depression in posterior 1/2 distinct, triangular, and polished ( Figs 15a, 15b ). LLM with irregular broad foveae and transverse carinae; a row of foveae along notaulus resembles depression ( Figs 15a, 15b ). Scutellum wider than long (4.0: 3.6), with disc almost full of strong, irregular, broad foveae, with foveae along lateral margins in a column and along posterior margin in a row, and therefore sublateral and posterior grooves not discernable ( Fig. 15b ). Axilla irregularly rugose, with 4 setae just below small metallic area. Dorsellum with 2 lateral foveae, resulting in median area resembling a broad median carina, without punctures, with lateral up-turned teeth distinct ( Fig. 15b ). Propodeum with strong plicae angled inwards in anterior 1/3, and with a transverse carina usually extending from angulation to base of median carina ( Fig. 15b ); submedian areas smooth above transverse carina, and rugose with transverse carinae below transverse carina; spiracular area with a connected transverse and lateral carina, and with numerous setae posteriorly; callus setose ( Fig. 15b ).

Petiole transverse and whitish. Gaster short oval, almost as long as broad and shorter than mesosoma (6.0: 7.0), with apex obtuse. Gt 1 longer than other tergites, comprising about 0.36× gaster length; with distinct median groove in inclined part, predominantly bare but with setae on sides visible in dorsal view, with posterior margin slightly protruding medially and a whitish eye-like patch on each side close to base. Gt 2–7 piliferous-punctate ( Fig. 15c ).

Fore wing setose with disc weakly infuscate below MV, without speculum; relative length of SMV: MV: PMV: STV = 3.2: 7.8: 1.8: 0.6. Legs strong, metafemur broad and without teeth along ventral margin.

MALE. Besides sexual characters, the male differs from the female in the following characters. Body smaller and more slender than female, 2 mm in length. Body less metallic, only scutellum and Gt 1 with distinct metallic purple or blue-green tinge ( Fig. 14g ). All tibiae whitish ( Fig. 14g ). Wings hyaline. Head transverse, more than 3× as long as broad. Broad median depression on MLM absent and LLM without distinct punctures ( Fig. 15g ). Scutellum with fewer foveae and more engraved reticulation, particularly laterally and posteriorly ( Fig. 15g ). Dorsellum with lateral foveae reduced in size, broad median area smooth without punctures; lateral up-turned teeth indistinct. Gastral tergites smooth without punctures dorsally ( Figs 14g , 15g ).

Type material. Holotype ♀, Malaysia: Bt. Bauk Terengganu, em. 27.VIII.1990, coll. T. Kumata, ex. unknown Lepidoptera on Ficus chartacea ( HUMJ) . Paratypes: 1♀ 1♂, Malaysia H. R., Beserah Kuantan, Paham, em. 23.VIII.1990, coll. T. Kumata, ex. unknown Lepidoptera on Ficus sertechinis (HUMJ) ; 1♀, Malaysia, Borneo Jungle Girl Camp, 24.IV–02.V.2016, coll. Feng Yuan & Yong Wang (IOZ(E)221453, IZCAS).

Etymology. From Proto-Indo-European root “ peuk ” and Latin “ scutella ”, in reference to the punctate scutellum.

Biology. The holotype female was reared from an unknown moth attacking Ficus chartacea Wall. ex King (Moraceae) . The paratypes were reared from an unknown moth attacking Ficus sertechinis based on the labels, which may be spelled incorrectly since this plant name is not indexed in any database.

Remarks. Pleurotroppopsis peukscutella is uniquely characterized by having distinct, broad foveae on the disc of the scutellum in both sexes. In females the median groove of the MLM is developed as a broad, round, and smooth depression ( Fig. 15a ), whereas in males it is reduced to an almost smooth flat area ( Fig. 15g ). In addition, the MLM of females has distinct raised reticulation before the median broad depression and the LLM has irregular foveae and carinae. Compared to the female, the male has the LLM with more distinctly engraved reticulation and without punctures except for a large puncture at the base of the posterior seta. Because of these unique characters, the phylogenetic position of this species within Pleurotroppopsis is still uncertain, as indicated by its long branch represented by several homoplasious changes and an extremely low bootstrap support value as shown in the tree inferred by parsimony analysis ( Fig. 19 ). See also remarks under P. pilosa .

Figures

FIGURE 14. Pleurotroppopsis peukscutella Cao & Zhu. a‒f, holotype female: a–b, habitus in dorsal view; c, habitus in lateral view; d, head in frontal view; e, frontovertex; f, labels. g, paratype male, habitus in dorsal view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 15. Pleurotroppopsis peukscutella Cao & Zhu. a‒d, holotype female: a, vertex and mesoscutum; b, mesosoma in dorsal view; c, gaster in dorsal view; d, habitus in dorsal view. e–h, paratype male: e, habitus in dorsal view; f, head in dorsal view; g, mesosoma in dorsal view; h, metasoma in dorsal view. Scale bar: a–c, f–h, 0.2 mm; d–e, 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 19. Phylogenetic relationships of Pleurotroppopsis species based on morphological characters. Unambiguous apomorphies are mapped on branches using WinClada, with black circles representing nonhomplasious changes (synapomorphies or autapomorphies), and white circles representing homplasious changes. The mirror cladogram of the strict consensus tree with 89 steps obtained from parsimony analyses in TNT is shown on the right, with numbers above the nodes indicating bootstrap values.