Ceraphron reinholdi, Salden & Peters, 2023

Salden, Tobias & Peters, Ralph S., 2023, Afrotropical Ceraphronoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera) put back on the map with the description of 88 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 884 (1), pp. 1-386 : 272-275

Ceraphron reinholdi sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D3267C29-7E87-4327-B5D0-FCF7790A943D

Fig. 78

Diagnosis

Preoccipital carina distinct; anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex exceeding end of mesosoma; fore wing length 3.12–3.14× (3.12) width. Male genitalia: harpe cone-shaped in ventral and dorsal view; harpe/gvc index 1.17; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc virtually flush; dorsomedial margins of harpes almost touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe slightly convex in basal third and slightly concave in apical two thirds, apex of harpe pointed, oriented slightly distomedially; harpe with at least four lateral setae restricted to apical half, longest lateral setae more than three quarters as long as harpe; apical and median setae distinctly crossing; gvc width more than three quarters of gvc length; gvc width 1.03× distal gvc width.

Etymology

The species is named out of love for Reinhold Salden, the first author’s father.

Material examined

Holotype

KENYA • ♂; Western Province, Kakamega Forest; 00°13′59.1 N, 34°51′43.7 E; 1614 m a.s.l.; 29 Aug. 2007; F. Hita Garcia leg.; Transect 24; primary rain forest; Winkler leaf litter extraction; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00036927 .

Paratype

KENYA • 1 ♂; Western Province, Kakamega Forest; 00°22′43.7 N, 34°41′57.3 E; 1452 m a.s.l.; 2008; F. Hita Garcia leg.; Transect 35; primary rain forest; Winkler leaf litter extraction; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00036928 .

Description

Male (N = 2 in morphometric measurements)

BODY LENGTH. 0.94–1.03 mm (0.94 mm).

COLOUR. Head dark brown, mesosoma dark brown, metasoma brown; scape and pedicel yellowish, flagellum light brown; legs yellowish except proximal third of coxae light brown; fore wing venation light brown, fore and hind wing disc slightly melanized.

ANTENNA. 11-segmented, flagellomeres cylindric; scape 4.3 × as long as pedicel, scape longer than F1 and F2 combined, F1 2.2× as long as wide, F1 1.9× as long as pedicel, F1 1.2× as long as F2, F1 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F1 shorter than F9, F6 1.8 × as long as wide, F6 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F6 1.2 × as high as F9; few small multiporous plates on flagellomeres, sensillae on flagellomeres sickle-shaped and shorter than width of flagellomeres.

HEAD. Head width 1.11–1.23× (1.11) head height; head width 1.79–2.04 × (1.79) interorbital space; maximum eye diameter 1.27–1.39× (1.39) minimum eye diameter; head height 1.54–1.80 × (1.80) maximum eye diameter. Dorsal margin of occipital carina ventral to dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view; preoccipital furrow present; preoccipital carina distinct. OOL:POL:LOL 1.00:0.56– 0.65:0.54–0.59 (1.00:0.56:0.54); OOL 1.89–2.17 × (2.17) lateral ocellus diameter. White, thick setae on upper face absent; supraclypeal depression present; lateral margin of torulus raised; intertorular carina present; posterolateral processes of gena absent.

MESOSOMA, METASOMA. Mesosoma not compressed laterally. Head width 1.04–1.06× (1.04) mesosoma width; Weber length 325–331 µm (325 µm). Mesoscutum densely setose, setae curved backwards; median mesoscutal sulcus present; median mesoscutal sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation; interaxillar sulcus absent (= scutoscutellar sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation), scutoscutellar sulcus concave; dorsal axillar area setose, setae curved backwards; mesoscutellum setose, setae curved backwards or straight. Mesoscutum width 1.48–1.64 × (1.64) mesoscutellum width; posterior mesoscutal width 1.40–1.45 × (1.45) mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.48–1.64 × (1.64) mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.06–1.13 × (1.13) posterior mesoscutal width; Weber length 1.18–1.33 × (1.18) mesoscutum width; Weber length 1.43–1.44× (1.44) mesoscutellum length. Anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex curved in lateral view with blunt and emarginated end, exceeding end of mesosoma; mesometapleural sulcus absent; posterior propodeal projection straight and light in ventrolateral view; posterior mesosomal comb present. Basal transverse carina of petiole (on syntergum) present; at least six distinct, basal longitudinal carinae on syntergum; translucent patches indistinct.

FORE WING. Length 3.12–3.14 × (3.12) width; stigmal vein shorter than 3× pterostigma marginal length.

MALE GENITALIA. Genital length 125–131 µm (131 µm); Weber length 2.48–2.65× (2.48) genital length; gvc width 55–56 µm (56 µm); genital length 2.29–2.33 × (2.33) gvc width; gvc width more than three quarters of gvc length; gvc width 1.03× distal gvc width. Proximodorsal margin of gvc slightly concave; distodorsal margin of gvc slightly descending proximomedially ( Fig. 78C ); proximoventral margin of gvc convex; distoventral margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 78A ); ventral area of gvc straight; dorsal area of gvc slightly convex ( Fig. 78B ), indented distomedially; proximolateral margin of gvc descending and emarginated ventrally; distolateral margin of gvc descending ventrally ( Fig. 78B ). Harpe cone-shaped in ventral and dorsal view; harpe/gvc index 1.17; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc virtually flush ( Fig. 78A, C ); ventral margin of harpe straight, dorsal margin slightly concave ( Fig. 78B ), lateral margin slightly convex, widest point of harpe at lateral articulation site with gvc ( Fig. 78A, C ); dorsomedial margins of harpes almost touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe slightly convex in basal third and slightly concave in apical two thirds ( Fig. 78C ), apex of harpe pointed, oriented slightly distomedially ( Fig. 78A, C ). Harpe with at least four lateral setae restricted to apical half, longest lateral setae more than three quarters as long as harpe, lateral setae oriented distolaterally and distoventrally; harpe with at least two apical setae, longest apical setae three quarters as long as harpe, apical setae distinctly crossing and oriented distomedially; harpe with at least six median setae, longest median setae more than one third as long as harpe, median setae distinctly crossing and oriented distomedially, distoventrally and medioventrally. Aedeagus + gonossiculus more than one third as long as harpe, apex of aedeagus + gonossiculus pointed ( Fig. 78A, C ) and as ventral as apex of harpe. Genitalia weakly sclerotized with strongest sclerotization at gvc and apical half of harpe.

Female

Unknown.

Variation

ZFMK-HYM-00036928 has seven distinct basal longitudinal carinae on the syntergum.

Biology

Host unknown, specimens collected from leaf litter.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Kenya.

Remarks

Comparison with similar species

Ceraphron reinholdi sp. nov. and C. tiriki sp. nov. are both very dark in colour, but can be distinguished by their male genitalia. The harpe/gvc index of C. reinholdi (1.17) is higher than that of C. tiriki (0.80). The dorsomedial margin of the harpe is slightly convex in basal third and slightly concave in apical two thirds in C. reinholdi , and slightly concave and virtually parallel to the other harpe from base to apex in C. tiriki , and the setal arrangement does also differ between the two species. Ceraphron reinholdi and Ceraphron confusus Sundholm, 1970 can be distinguished by the absent interaxillar sulcus in C. reinholdi (present in C. confusus ), the longer anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex in C. reinholdi , and the yellowish legs with darker proximal thirds of the coxae in C. reinholdi (legs uniformly yellowish in C. confusus ). The image of the male genitalia of the holotype of C. confusus ( Fig. 102A ) does not show any setae on the harpe, but the drawing of the male genitalia by Sundholm 1970 (358: fig. 127) indicates the setal arrangement: the lateral and apical setae and the number of the setae are distinctly different from those of C. reinholdi . Future studies using larger series and molecular sequence data are recommended to further confirm delimitation of C. reinholdi from C. confusus .

For more comparisons with similar species, see remarks under C. breviscapus sp. nov.

Condition of type material

Holotype is immaculate.

Figures

Fig. 78. Holotype of Ceraphron reinholdi sp. nov. (ZFMK-HYM-00036927). A–C. Male genitalia in ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. D. Habitus in lateral view; inset: head and mesosoma in dorsal view.

Fig. 102. Holotype of Ceraphron longulus Sundholm, 1970 (MZLU-HYM-00057072). A. Male genitalia. B. Habitus in dorsal view. C. Type labels. Imaged by Christoffer Fägerström at the MZLU (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/mzluhym00057072, last accessed 13/05/2022).