Ceraphron breviscapus, 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 : 151-154

Ceraphron breviscapus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:533F23B6-3B67-4A02-ABDD-D4A4FDCA4CAF

Fig. 42

Diagnosis

Distal end of marginal and pterostigma marginal vein distinctly darker than remaining venation; flagellomeres cylindric and F5 to F8 slightly compressed laterally; scape 2.9× as long as pedicel, scape as long as F1 and F2 combined; head width 1.05–1.07 × (1.05) head height; Weber length 1.29– 1.33 × (1.29) mesoscutellum length; mesometapleural sulcus absent, mesometapleuron with distinct longitudinal striations. Male genitalia: harpe triangular to cone-shaped in ventral and dorsal view; harpe/ gvc index 0.74; dorsomedial margins of harpes not touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe straight and parallel to other harpe from base to apex, apex of harpe rounded, oriented slightly distomedially; dorsal area of gvc indistinct and straight, strongly indented distomedially; ventral and dorsal area of gvc straight; harpe with at least two lateral setae restricted to apical half, longest lateral setae more than half as long as harpe.

Etymology

The species name is a composition of the Latin word ‘ brevis ’, which means ‘short’, and the anatomical term ‘scape’, with reference to the short scape.

Material examined

Holotype

KENYA • ♂; Western Province, Kakamega Forest; 00°27′0.9 N, 34°50′52.9 E; 1649 m a.s.l.; 3 Jul. 2007; F. Hita Garcia leg.; Transect 8; primary rain forest; Winkler leaf litter extraction; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00036916 .

Paratype

KENYA • 1 ♂; same collection data as for holotype; ZFMK-HYM-00036917 .

Description

Male (N = 2 in morphometric measurements)

BODY LENGTH. 0.88–1.06 mm (0.88 mm).

COLOUR. Head brown, mesosoma brown, metasoma light brown except anterior third lighter; scape and pedicel yellowish, flagellum brown, gradually darkening from F1 to F9; legs yellowish except proximal half of pro- and mesocoxa brown, proximal third of metacoxa brown; fore wing venation light brown, distal end of marginal and pterostigma marginal vein distinctly darker, fore and hind wing disc slightly melanized, fore wing more strongly melanized along wing venation.

ANTENNA. 11-segmented, flagellomeres cylindric and F5 to F8 slightly compressed laterally; scape 2.9× as long as pedicel, scape as long as F1 and F2 combined, F1 1.9 × as long as wide, F1 1.4× as long as pedicel, F1 1.2× as long as F2, F1 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F1 shorter than F9, F6 1.3× as long as wide, F6 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F6 1.3 × as high as F9; few small multiporous plates on flagellomeres, sensillae on flagellomeres sickle-shaped and shorter than width of flagellomeres.

HEAD. Head width 1.05–1.07× (1.05) head height; head width 1.81–2.07 × (1.81) interorbital space; maximum eye diameter 1.21–1.35 × (1.35) minimum eye diameter; head height 1.71–1.77 × (1.77) maximum eye diameter. Dorsal margin of occipital carina ventral to dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view; preoccipital furrow present; preoccipital carina present. OOL:POL:LOL 1.00:0.55– 0.67:0.45–0.61 (1.00:0.55:0.45); OOL 2.00–2.75 × (2.75) lateral ocellus diameter. White, thick setae on upper face absent; supraclypeal depression present; lateral margin of torulus light and slightly raised; intertorular carina present; posterolateral processes of gena absent.

MESOSOMA, METASOMA. Mesosoma not compressed laterally. Head width 1.02–1.07 × (1.07) mesosoma width; Weber length 331–381 µm (331 µm). Mesoscutum densely setose, setae curved backwards; median mesoscutal sulcus present; median mesoscutal sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation; interaxillar sulcus present (= scutoscutellar sulcus not adjacent to transscutal articulation), scutoscutellar sulcus concave; dorsal axillar area setose, setae curved backwards; mesoscutellum slightly projecting and setose, setae curved backwards. Mesoscutum width 1.86–2.08× (1.86) mesoscutellum width; posterior mesoscutal width 1.52–1.58 × (1.52) mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.64–1.74 × (1.64) mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.08–1.10 × (1.08) posterior mesoscutal width; Weber length 1.11–1.14 × (1.14) mesoscutum width; Weber length 1.29–1.33 × (1.29) mesoscutellum length. Anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex distinctly short, oriented posterodorsally in lateral view with broad, blunt and lighter end; mesometapleural sulcus absent, mesometapleuron with distinct longitudinal striations; posterior propodeal projection distinctly short, posterodorsally oriented and light in ventrolateral view; posterior mesosomal comb absent. Basal transverse carina of petiole (on syntergum) present; at least five basal longitudinal carinae on syntergum; translucent patches on metasoma absent.

FORE WING. Length 2.81–2.84 × (2.81) width; stigmal vein shorter than 3 × pterostigma marginal length.

MALE GENITALIA. Genital length 125–134 µm (125 µm); Weber length 2.65–2.84 × (2.65) genital length; gvc width 42–48 µm (42 µm); genital length 2.77–2.96 × (2.96) gvc width; gvc width two thirds of gvc length; gvc width 1.06 × distal gvc width. Proximodorsal margin of gvc straight; distodorsal margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 42C ); proximoventral margin of gvc convex; distoventral margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 42A ); ventral area of gvc straight; dorsal area of gvc indistinct and straight ( Fig. 42B ), strongly indented distomedially; proximolateral margin of gvc concave; distolateral margin of gvc convex, more strongly descending ventrally ( Fig. 42B ). Harpe triangular to cone-shaped in ventral and dorsal view; harpe/gvc index 0.74; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc not flush ( Fig. 42A, C ); ventral margin of harpe straight, dorsal margin straight ( Fig. 42B ), lateral margin convex, widest point of harpe at lateral articulation site with gvc ( Fig. 42A, C ); dorsomedial margins of harpes not touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe straight and parallel to other harpe from base to apex ( Fig. 42C ), apex of harpe rounded, oriented slightly distomedially ( Fig. 42A, C ). Harpe with at least two lateral setae restricted to apical half, longest lateral setae more than half as long as harpe, lateral setae oriented distolaterally and distoventrally; harpe with at least two apical setae, longest apical setae half as long as harpe, apical setae oriented distomedially and distoventrally; harpe with at least three median setae, longest median setae less than one quarter as long as harpe, median setae oriented distomedially, distoventrally and medioventrally. Aedeagus + gonossiculus half as long as harpe, apex of aedeagus + gonossiculus indistinct ( Fig. 42A, C ) and ventral to apex of harpe. Genitalia moderately sclerotized with weakest sclerotization at harpe and aedeagus + gonossiculus.

Female

Unknown.

Variation

Unknown.

Biology

Host unknown, specimens collected from leaf litter.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Kenya.

Remarks

Comparison with similar species

Ceraphron breviscapus sp. nov. is a unique species, easily distinguishable from all other species by body and/or male genitalia characters. It has a very short scape, slightly compressed flagellomeres, a slightly projecting mesoscutellum, and male genitalia with long lateral setae. The longitudinal striation on the mesometapleuron in C. breviscapus somehow resembles the longitudinal striations in many Aphanogmus -species but narrows towards the posterior end of the mesometapleuron, i.e., is distinctly different from Aphanogmus .

Condition of type material

In the holotype, the posterior half of the metasoma is missing, thus the body length measurement is not precise. The dorsal area of the gvc is slightly deformed.

Figures

Fig. 42. Holotype of Ceraphron breviscapus sp. nov. (ZFMK-HYM-00036916). A–C. Male genitalia in ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. D. Habitus in lateral view; inset: mesometapleuron in slightly different lateral view.