Aphanogmus ikhongamurwi, 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 : 28-32

Aphanogmus ikhongamurwi sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B1CB469B-D466-4384-B883-52798E93F268

Fig. 5

Diagnosis

Preoccipital furrow distinct; preoccipital carina distinct; OOL 2.00–2.40 × (2.40) lateral ocellus diameter; head width 1.23–1.31 × (1.31) mesosoma width. Male genitalia: harpe finger-shaped apicoventrally and slightly broadened at apex in lateral view; harpe/gvc index 0.55; ventromedial margins of harpes almost touching at distoventral margin of gvc, ventromedial margin of harpe straight and parallel to other harpe in basal three quarters, straight and diverging distolaterally in apical quarter; ventral margin of harpe slightly convex in basal half, straight in apical half, dorsal margin indistinct in basal part, concave in apical half with approximately apical quarter straight and oriented distoventrally, lateral margin straight in basal third, concave in apical three quarters.

Etymology

The species is named after the Crying Stone of Ilesi “Ikhonga Murwi”. The formation has great cultural and spiritual importance for the Luhya.

Material examined

Holotype

KENYA • ♂; Western Province, Kakamega Forest; 00°19′25.9 N, 34°30′39.6 E; 1343 m a.s.l.; 15 Aug. 2008; F. Hita Garcia leg.; Transect 32; primary rain forest; Winkler leaf litter extraction; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00037015 .

Paratype

KENYA • 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK-HYM-00034434 .

Description

Male (N = 2 in morphometric measurements)

BODY LENGTH. 0.58–0.66 mm (0.58 mm).

COLOUR. Head brown, mesosoma light brown, metasoma light brown except anterior third yellowish; scape yellowish-transparent and pedicel light brown, flagellum light brown; legs yellowish except pro-and mesocoxa light brown, basal half of metacoxa light brown; fore wing venation light brown, fore and hind wing disc slightly melanized.

ANTENNA. 11-segmented, flagellomeres trapezoidal; scape 3.6× as long as pedicel, scape slightly longer than F1 and F2 combined, F1 3.2 × as long as wide, F1 1.9× as long as pedicel, F1 1.5 × 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 distinctly small multiporous plates on flagellomeres, sensillae on flagellomeres erect and longer than width of flagellomeres.

HEAD. Head width 1.17–1.23 × (1.17) head height; head width 1.85–1.89 × (1.89) interorbital space; maximum eye diameter 1.13–1.18 × (1.13) minimum eye diameter; head height 1.50–1.71 (1.71) maximum eye diameter. Dorsal margin of occipital carina ventral to dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view; preoccipital furrow distinct; preoccipital carina distinct. OOL:POL:LOL 1.00:0.79– 0.88:0.58–0.62 (1.00:0.79:0.58); OOL 2.00–2.40 × (2.40) lateral ocellus diameter. White, thick setae on upper face absent; supraclypeal depression present; lateral margin of torulus slightly raised; intertorular carina present; posterolateral processes of gena absent.

MESOSOMA, METASOMA. Mesosoma compressed laterally. Head width 1.23–1.31 × (1.31) mesosoma width; Weber length 213–219 µm (219 µm). Mesoscutum densely setose, setae curved backwards; median mesoscutal sulcus absent; interaxillar sulcus superficial, scutoscutellar sulcus not adjacent to transscutal articulation, scutoscutellar sulcus straight; dorsal axillar area sparsely setose, setae curved backwards or straight; mesoscutellum sparsely setose, setae curved backwards or straight. Mesoscutum width 1.85–2.08 × (1.85) mesoscutellum width; posterior mesoscutal width 1.38–1.54 × (1.38) mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.77–2.00× (1.77) mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.28– 1.30 × (1.28) posterior mesoscutal width; Weber length 1.26–1.46× (1.46) mesoscutum width; Weber length 1.31–1.52 × (1.52) mesoscutellum length. Anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex absent; mesometapleural sulcus absent; posterior propodeal projection absent; posterior mesosomal comb absent. Basal transverse carina of petiole (on syntergum) absent; longitudinal carinae on syntergum absent; translucent patches on metasoma absent.

FORE WING. Length 3.13–3.20× (3.13) width; stigmal vein slightly longer than pterostigma marginal length.

MALE GENITALIA. Genital length 100–94 µm (100 µm); Weber length 2.19–2.27× (2.19) genital length; gvc width 50–56 µm (50 µm); genital length 2.00–1.67 × (2.00) gvc width; gvc width more than three quarters of gvc length; gvc width 1.04× distal gvc width. Proximodorsal margin of gvc strongly convex; distodorsal margin of gvc indistinct ( Fig. 5C ); proximoventral margin of gvc concave; distoventral margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 5A ); ventral area of gvc straight; dorsal area of gvc convex ( Fig. 5B ); proximolateral margin of gvc strongly ascending and emarginated ventrally; distolateral margin of gvc slightly descending ventrally ( Fig. 5B ). Harpe finger-shaped apicoventrally and slightly broadened at apex in lateral view; harpe/gvc index 0.55; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc flush ( Fig. 5A, C ); ventral margin of harpe slightly convex in basal half, straight in apical half, dorsal margin indistinct in basal part, concave in apical half with approximately apical quarter straight and oriented distoventrally ( Fig. 5B ), lateral margin straight in basal third, concave in apical three quarters, widest point of harpe at apex lateral articulation site with gvc ( Fig. 5A, C ); ventromedial margins of harpes almost touching at distoventral margin of gvc, ventromedial margin of harpe straight and parallel to other harpe in basal three quarters, straight and diverging distolaterally in apical quarter ( Fig. 5C ), apex of harpe pointed, oriented distolaterally ( Fig. 5A, C ). Harpe with at least one lateral seta restricted to apical half, longest lateral seta more than one third as long as harpe, lateral seta oriented distoventrally and distolaterally; ventral setae indistinct; harpe with at least two apical setae, longest apical setae less than one quarter as long as harpe, apical setae oriented distodorsally, distolaterally and distoventrally. Aedeagus + gonossiculus more than one third as long as harpe, apex of aedeagus + gonossiculus indistinct ( Fig. 5A, C ) and dorsal to apex of harpe. Genitalia weakly sclerotized with strongest sclerotization at aedeagus + gonossiculus.

Female

Unknown.

Variation

Unknown.

Biology

Host unknown, specimens collected from leaf litter.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Kenya.

Remarks

Comparison with similar species

Aphanogmus ikhongamurwi sp. nov. is similar to A. abaluhya sp. nov. and A. lateritorum sp. nov. in having a distinct preoccipital furrow and a very short stigmal vein. However, A. ikhongamurwi has no distinct interocellar pit (distinct in A. abaluhya and A. lateritorum ). In addition, the three species can be easily distinguished by male genitalia characters, i.e., the ventromedial margin of the harpe is straight and parallel to the other harpe in basal three quarters in A. ikhongamurwi and concave and/or convex in basal three quarters in A. abaluhya , and A. lateritorum . Furthermore, the harpe/gvc index is higher in A. ikhongamurwi than in A. abaluhya and A. lateritorum (0.55 in A. ikhongamurwi , 0.23 in A. abaluhya , and 0.37 in A. lateritorum ).

Condition of type material

In the holotype, the right fore wing is missing. The left F5 to F9, the right F4 to F9, and the left hind wing are detached. The posterior part of the metasoma is detached and deformed, thus the body length measurement is not precise.

Figures

Fig. 5. Holotype of Aphanogmus ikhongamurwi sp. nov. (ZFMK-HYM-00037015).A–C. Male genitalia in ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. D. Habitus in lateral view; inset: head in dorsal view.