Kurzenkotilla Lelej, 2005

Lelej, Arkady S., Williams, Kevin A., Terine, Joshua B., Okayasu, Juriya, Parikh, Grishma R. & Kumar, Girish P., 2023, Review of the tribe Mutillini (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) from the Oriental Region, Zootaxa 5228 (4), pp. 455-476 : 458

Genus Kurzenkotilla Lelej, 2005

Kurzenkotilla Lelej, 2005: 170 , ♀; Nithya & Dey 2013: 289, Brothers & Lelej 2017: 96; Terine et al. 2020a: 3; Terine et al. 2020b: 446; Pagliano et al. 2020: 225

Type species: Artiotilla ariana Lelej in Lelej & Kabakov, 1980 by original designation.

Diagnosis. MALE. Head width less than pronotal width, rounded posterad; occipital carina dorsally well developed, sharp and slightly projecting over pronotum. Eye weakly notched inside. Ocelli small. Mandible bidentate without subbasal tooth beneath and without subbasal inner tooth. F2 longer than F1. Prementum with longitudinal mesal ridge. Notauli and parapsids visible. Tegula longer than pronotal length laterad, projecting over axilla. Pterostigma large, closed. Fore tarsus without comb of strong spines. Mid and hind tibia with two rows of weak spines. Mesoscutellum non-modified. Propodeal posterior slope with strong longitudinal medial carina. Metasomal segment 1 widely transverse. T1 dorsally and T2–3(4) each with band of pale setae posterad. T2 with long lateral felt line, S2 without any lateral felt line. S8 (hypopygium) not modified, T7 generally with smooth triangular area posteromesally. Gonostylus wide, basiventrally setose. Volsella usually shorter than penial valve and consisting of wide cuspis and short finger-like digitus; penial valves symmetrical, apically setose.

FEMALE. Head large, somewhat rounded posterad, width equal to pronotal width; behind eyes elongated; eyes large, distance between postero-dorsal margin of eye and that of vertex less than eye longitudinal diameter, projecting over head. Hypostomal carina slightly widened in medial portion. Prementum not tuberculate. F1 1.5–2.0 × F2. Mandible rather wide, bidentate, without subbasal inner tooth, preapical tooth obtuse (tridentate in K.annamensis and K. harmandi ). Mesosoma with concave mesopleuron, scutellar scale lacking. Mesopleuron with developed vertical (supracoxal) carina. Mid and hind tibia with two rows of weak spines. Metasomal segment 1 wide transverse; T2 with lateral felt line. S2 latero-apically swollen, swell in type species K. ariana ending in tooth. T2 basally with larger or smaller pale spots disposed transversely, T3 with wide pale band or lateral spots. T6 without distinct pygidial plate, apical part microgranulated and covered by dense setae. S6 with two strong apical tubercles.

Species included. Kurzenkotilla annamensis Lelej, 2005 , ♁ ♀; K. ariana (Lelej in Lelej & Kabakov, 1980), ♀; K. harmandi (André, 1898) , ♁ ♀, comb. nov.; K. cicatricifera (André, 1894) , comb. nov., ♀; K. niveosignata (André, 1894) , ♀; K. rufodorsata ( Cameron, 1897) , ♁, comb. nov.; K. scrobiculata ( Hammer, 1962) , ♀; K. semiviolacea (André, 1896) , ♁, comb. nov.; and K. visrara ( Cameron, 1898) , ♀.

Distribution. Palaearctic ( Afghanistan) and Oriental Regions.

Remarks. Kurzenkotilla Lelej is closely related to Storozhenkotilla Lelej but, in addition to setal markings of T2, differs by lacking a pygidial plate in the female (weakly carinated pygidial plate present in Storozhenkotilla ). By having two pale discal setal spots on T2, the female of Kurzenkotilla resembles that of Macromyrme Lelej, 1984 , but differs by lacking a subbasal inner tooth on the non-acuminate mandible (with developed subbasal inner tooth on an acuminate mandible in Macromyrme ), and by having larger eyes (eyes very small in Macromyrme ). Males of Kurzenkotilla are similar to those of Storozhenkotilla and, as yet, there are no clear characters that can be used to separate all Kurzenkotilla from all Storozhenkotilla , which is why species from both genera are included in the same key above. Males of the apparently closely related Macromyrme are currently unknown, but they will likely be similar to these genera as well.