Oxybelus ecarinatus Gadallah & Edmardash, 2021

Gadallah, Neveen S., Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M. & Edmardash, Yusuf A., 2021, New data on the crabronid fauna of Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea (Spheciformes): Crabronidae) from Jazan Province, with the description of three new species and the hitherto unknown male of Miscophus chrysis Kohl, 1894, Journal of Natural History 55 (27 - 28), pp. 1697-1748 : 1740-1743

Oxybelus ecarinatus Gadallah & Edmardash , sp. nov.

( Figures 24 (a, b), 25(a-d))

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:CB66EECE-AADF-4637-80F1-

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Type material

Holotype (female): Jazan (Damad), 17º08 ʹ 05.1 ʺ N 42º45 ʹ 58.8 ʺ, 23.xii.2020, on Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) [Malaise trap], leg. Usama Abu El-Ghiet.

Diagnosis

Relatively large, black and yellow species ( Figures 24 (a,b)) and 25(a–e)); characterised by the presence of a longitudinal carina on the clypeus that terminates in a blunt tubercle just below the clypeal mid length ( Figure 25 (b)); scutellum without a middle carina ( Figures 24 (b) and 25(d)); squama bifid, mucro lamellate, lamellae dark brown, obliquely striated, emarginate apically ( Figures 24 (b) and 25(d)); metanotum with a middle carina.

Description

Body length: 8.5 mm; fore wing length: 4.5 mm

Colour ( Figures 24 (a,b) and 25(a–e)). Black with the following yellow: scape behind (rest of antenna brownish); pronotum, pronotal lobe, large, lateral, rounded marking on scutellum, mesontum between squamae, gastral T1-4 with postero-lateral pale yellow bands, T5 entirely black, T6 shiny, reddish brown; pygidial plate reddish brown. Mandible reddish brown at basal half, black at apical half. Posterior margins of S2-4 and S6 golden, S5 and S7 entirely golden. Foreleg pale brown, with femur black ventrally, middle femur brownish orange with black streak above and below; middle tibia brownish, yellowish white at base; hind tibia dark brown. Wings hyaline with dark veins.

Head ( Figures 24 (a,b) and 25(a–d)). Vertex and upper face densely finely punctate; posterior area of head puncteculate, with fine, upwardly directed, short golden setae. Clypeus densely covered with short, fine silvery pubescence, with conspicuous longitudinal carina that is raised apically (well seen in profile), ending bluntly before reaching apical margin of clypeus, apex straight. Antenna with scape distinctly shorter ventrally than dorsally, F1 slightly longer than wide, remaining flagellomeres wider than long.

Thorax ( Figure 24 (a,b) and 25(d)). Pronotum slightly emarginate medially. Mesoscutum shiny, densely punctate; scutellum smooth and shiny, without median carina; metanotum with a median carina between the bifid squamae; mucro lamellate, obliquely striated, deeply emarginate apically; propodeum dull, areolate, areolae with dense fine punctures inside. Mesopleuron shiny, densely punctate, metapleuron shiny, closely striate. Legs with mid and hind tibiae densely spinose.

Gaster ( Figure 24 (a,b) and 25(e)). T1, T2 and T5 densely, coarsely punctate, T3 with dense fine punctures, that are sparser on T4, T6 smooth and shiny; pygidial plate large, slightly emarginate apically, with dense, relatively thick, golden setae. Second sternum with setiferous punctures that are sparse medially and denser laterally; S7 smooth, finely punctate apically.

Etymology

The name ‘ ecarinatus ’ refers to the absence of middle carina on the scutellum.

General distribution

Known only from Saudi Arabia (Jazan).

Comments

In his key to the Arabian Oxybelus, Guichard (1990) included two species from the lamellatus species group ( O. diphyllus (A. Costa) , and O. lamellatus Olivier ). Oxybelus phyllophorus Kohl was newly added to the Arabian Peninsula from the United Arab Emirates by Schmid-Egger (2011). In the present study, Oxybelus ecarinatus sp. nov. is described and added to the previous three species from Saudi Arabia to raise the number to four. The new species differs from the other three mainly in the absence of the median longitudinal carina on scutellum and the dark brown mucro.

Figures

Figure 24. Oxybelus ecarinatus Gadallah & Edmardash, sp. nov. (female holotype). (a) Lateral habitus; (b) Dorsal habitus.

Figure 25. Oxybelus ecarinatus Gadallah & Edmardash, sp. nov. (female holotype). (a) Frontal view of head; (b) Lateral view of head (clypeal protrution indicated); (c) Antennal scape (ventral side length indicated); (d) Dorsal view of head and thorax; (e) Tip of gaster (pygideal plate indicated).