Rhacontsira toamasina, Belokobylskij & Zaldívar-Riverón, 2021

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, 2021, Reclassification of the doryctine tribe Rhaconotini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 741, pp. 1-168 : 152-156

Rhacontsira toamasina sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3C18B949-1829-4E3B-82AB-E3D148091ABB

Figs 56–57

Etymology

Named after the type locality of the species, Toamasina Mts in Madagascar.

Material examined

Holotype MADAGASCAR • ♀; “ Madagascar, Toamasina Montagne , D’Anjanaharibe , 7– 6 km 341˚ N NW Amananitelo. 8–12/III/2003, elv. 470 m. Calif. Acad. Sci. 15˚11ˊ18˝ S 49˚36ˊ54˝ E, BLF 8005, Caslot 014065, Pan. Tr., rain forest. Coll. Fisher, Griswold et al., CNIN1235”; ZISP.

Description

Female

MEASUREMENTS. Body length 5.0 mm; fore wing length 3.5 mm.

HEAD. Width 1.5 times its median length, 1.2 times maximum width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) distinctly roundly narrowed. Transverse diameter of eye 2.3 times as long as temple (dorsal view). Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.3 times its sides. POL almost equal to OD, 0.4 times OOL. Eye glabrous, 1.2 times as high as broad. Malar space 0.3 times height of eye and 0.8 times basal width of mandible. Face width 0.8 times height of eye and almost equal to height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeus rather high. Clypeal suture distinct and complete. Hypoclypeal depression round, its width 0.8 times distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 times width of face. Occipital carina coarse, complete dorsally, fused below with hypostomal carina above base of mandible. Hypostomal flange relatively wide.Head in front view distinctly and weakly-roundly narrowed below eyes. Antennae slender, filiform, more than 36-segmented (apical segments missing). Scapus 1.6 times as long as maximum width. First flagellar segment 4.7 times as long as its apical width, 1.1 times as long as second segment. Subapical segments 3.5 times as long as their width.

MESASOMA. Mesosoma not depressed, weakly elongate, 2.1 times as long as its high. Pronotum with distinct pronotal carina situated submedially. Mesoscutum distinctly and gently-roundly elevated above pronotum. Median lobe of mesoscutum weakly protruding forward, with short but distinct anterolateral corners, without longitudinal furrow. Notauli complete, distinct anteriorly, shallower in posterior quarter, sparsely crenulate. Prescutellar depression rather shallow, short, with distinct three carinae, finely rugulose to smooth between carinae, about 0.3 times as long as very weakly convex scutellum. Metanotum with short, thickened and apically rounded tooth (lateral view). Subalar depression rather shallow, partly crenulate and densely coriaceous. Sternaulus distinct, shallow, narrow, smooth, almost straight, weakly oblique, connected with prepectal carina anteriorly, running along anterior 0.7 length of lower part of mesopleuron.

WING. Fore wing 4.2 times as long as its maximum width. Pterostigma 4.0 times as long as wide. Radial vein (r) arising weakly behind middle of pterostigma. Metacarpus (1-R1) 1.3 times as long as pterostigma. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 3.0 times as long as first abscissa (r), 0.6 times as long as the straight third abscissa (SR1), 1.3 times as long as first radiomedial vein (2-SR). Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell not widened towards apex, 3.5 times as long as maximum width, 1.3 times as long as narrow brachial (subdiscal) cell. Recurrent vein (m-cu) weakly antefurcal. Parallel vein (CU1a) arising from upper 0.25 of distal margin of brachial (subdiscal) cell. Distance from nervulus (cu-a) to basal (1-M) vein 0.4 times nervulus (cu-a) length. Hind wing 5.3 times as long as wide. First costal abscissa (C+SC+R) 0.7 times as long as second abscissa (1-SC+R). First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) 0.7 times as long as second abscissa (1-M). Recurrent vein (m-cu) weakly curved, strongly oblique, interstitial.

LEGS. Hind femur 3.6 times as long as wide. Hind tarsus 1.15 times as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.8 times as long as second–fifth segments combined; second tarsal segment 0.4 times as long as basitarsus, almost as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).

METASOMA. Length 1.3 times as long as mesosoma and head combined. First tergite with distinct dorsope, with short rounded and directed downwards basolateral processes, with very small spiracular tubercles, distinctly and linearly widened from base to subapex. Maximum width of first tergite 2.6 times minimum width; length 1.4 times its apical width, 1.5 times length of propodeum. Second tergite with shallow and weakly curved transverse furrow in posterior third separating rather short transverse lenticular apical area. Length of second tergite 0.7 times its basal width, almost twice length of third tergite. Second suture shallow, weakly curved and widely crenulate. Ovipositor sheath 0.9 times as long as metasoma, 1.4 times as long as mesosoma, 0.7 times as long as fore wing.

SCULPTURE AND PUBESCENCE. Vertex mainly finely coriaceous, partly smooth; frons smooth; face mainly densely granulate, below becoming coriaceous to smooth; frons smooth. Mesoscutum entirely densely and rather finely granulate, without rugulosity along notauli, with two subparallel striae in its medio-posterior quarter. Scutellum entirely densely granulate. Mesopleuron mostly smooth, coriaceous to finely granulate dorsally. Propodeum with long granulate basolateral areas delineated by distinct carinae; posterior part of propodeum coarsely rugose-reticulate; areola indistinct. Hind coxa densely and finely granulate in dorsal half, coriaceous to almost smooth in lateral and ventral parts. Hind femur finely and obliquely aciculate dorsally, mostly smooth. First tergite mostly curvedly striate and densely coriaceous between striae, almost smooth medio-posteriorly. Second tergite mostly distinctly striate, smooth or almost smooth narrow basally and in apical area. Third and fourth tergites medially in basal 0.2–0.3 and laterally in basal 0.7–0.5 distinctly striate, smooth on remaining parts. Remainder tergites smooth. Vertex in entirely glabrous. Mesoscutum widely along notauli and very sparsely laterally with very short pale setae, glabrous on wide median areas on all lobes. Mesopleuron almost entirely glabrous. Metapleural flange without pubescence. Hind tibia with very short and dense semi-erect yellowish setae; length of these setae 0.2–0.3 times maximum width of hind tibia.

COLOUR. Body mostly black and partly with reddish tint or areas; metasoma dark reddish brown in posterior half dorsally, ventrally widely brownish yellow to yellow. Antenna reddish brown in basal third, almost black submedially, with more than nine white apical segments. Palpi pale yellow. Legs mostly yellow, all tarsi brownish with dark apical segments. Fore wing faintly and evenly infuscate. Pterostigma dark brown, yellow to pale brown in basal third.

Male

Unknown.

Diagnosis

This new species morphologically resembles Rh. heterospiloides Belokobylskij, 1988 but distinctly differs from it by the elongate body (vs robust), vertex finely coriaceous (vs mainly transversely striate), apical segments of antenna white (vs black), second metasomal tergite with very short and smooth basal area (vs without area).

Distribution

Madagascar.

Figures

Fig. 56. Rhacontsira toamasina sp. nov., ♀, holotype, ZISP. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, front view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Basal segments of antenna. E. Apical segments of antenna. F. Head, lateral view. G. Mesosoma, dorsal view. H. Mesosoma, lateral view. I. Hind coxa and femur, lateral view. J. Hind tibia and basitarsus, lateral view.

Fig. 57. Rhacontsira toamasina sp. nov., ♀, holotype, ZISP. A. Wings. B. Metasoma, dorsal view. C. Metasoma, lateral view.