Saphonecrus segmentatus Lobato-Vila and Pujade-Villar

Lobato-Vila, Irene, Wang, Yiping, Melika, George, Guo, Rui, Ju, Xiaoxue & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2021, A Taxonomic Review of the Gall Wasp Genus Saphonecrus Dalla-Torre and Kieffer and other Oak Cynipid Inquilines (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) from Mainland China, with Updated Keys to Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental Species, Zoological Studies (Zool. Stud.) 60 (10), pp. 1-25 : 15-17

Saphonecrus segmentatus Lobato-Vila and Pujade-Villar , sp. nov.

( Figs. 3–4 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:AB3C666C-7C53-4174-99E6-D2AB85BB894E

Type material: Holotype 8 deposited in UB with the following labels: ‘Baima Snow Mountain, Deqin (Yunnan), 3350–4290 m, Ex unknown gall, unknown tree, 21.viii.2009, Lixin Su leg.’ (white label) / ‘ Holotype 8 Saphonecrus segmentatus Lobato-Vila and Pujade-Villar, Lobato-Vila desig. 2020’ (red label). Paratype (18) deposited in UB with the following labels: ‘Yunshanping, Yulon Snow Mountain, Lijiang (Yunnan), Ex unknown gall, unknown tree (net capture), 12.vii.2014, Rui Guo leg.’ (white label) / ‘ Paratype 8 Saphonecrus segmentatus Lobato-Vila and Pujade-Villar, Lobato-Vila desig. 2020’ (red label).

Etymology: From the Latin term ‘segmentum’ for segment (and ‘segmentatus’ for segmented), as females of this species have 14-segmented antennae instead of 13-segmented like most of species within Saphonecrus .

Diagnosis: Saphonecrus segmentatus , sp. nov. belongs to a group of species ( S. chaodongzhui , flavitibilis , S. leleyi and S. symbioticus ) characterized by the absence of lateral pronotal carina and by having tarsal claws with a basal lobe. It is morphologically close to S. chaodongzhui , both having females with 14-segmented antennae (instead of 13-segmented typical of Saphonecrus ), pedicel at most 1.5x as long as wide and genae not broadened behind eyes. Differences between these two species have already been commented on (see the diagnosis of S. chaodongzhui ).

Description: Female: Length: Body length 2.0– 2.3 mm (n = 2).

Color ( Fig. 3a, b ): Lower face, gena, frons laterally and occiput, yellow; frons medially, vertex and area surrounding the occipital foramen, dark brown to black. Antenna yellow, the tip somewhat darker ( Fig. 3b ). Mesosoma dark brown to black; tegula yellow. Metasoma dark rufous to chestnut, hypopygium lighter. Legs yellow, except dark brown basal half of metacoxae and distal tarsi. Wings hyaline, veins brownish.

Head: Subtrapezoid, almost 1.3x as wide as high in anterior view ( Fig. 4a ), gena slightly curved aside, not expanded behind eye. Face faintly pubescent, lower face with regular and dense striae radiating from clypeus, reaching eye and toruli; medial striae absent. Clypeus indistinct, ventral margin straight, not projected over mandibles. Malar space above 0.6x as long as height of eye. Anterior tentorial pits small, inconspicuous; pleurostomal and epistomal sulcus absent. Transfacial distance slightly longer than height of eye. Toruli located under mid-height of eyes; distance between torulus and eye about as long as diameter of torulus; distance between toruli shorter than diameter of torulus. Frons delicately coriaceous, with small and scattered piliferous punctures, without wrinkles; lateral frontal carina absent. Head ( Fig. 4b ) is about 2.0x as wide as long in dorsal view. Vertex delicately coriaceous, with small and scattered piliferous punctures, without wrinkles. POL: OOL: LOL = 5: 3.5: 2.5 and diameter of lateral ocellus, 1.5. Occiput coriaceous, without punctures nor wrinkles.

Antennae ( Fig. 4c ): 14-segmented (4: 3: 4.5: 2.5: 2.5: 2.5: 3: 3: 3: 3: 3: 3: 3: 5); short, barely reaching the mesoscutellum; almost filiform, slightly broadened apically; with dense and short pubescence; placodeal sensilla on F3–F12. Pedicel about 1.5x as long as wide; F1 almost 2.0x as long as F2 and 1.5x as long as pedicel, F2 as long as F3. Last flagellomere 2.5x as long as wide and 1.7x as long as F11.

Mesosoma: About 1.2x as long as high in lateral view including nucha, with short, sparse setae ( Fig. 4g ). Ratio of length of pronotum medially/laterally: 0.25. Pronotal plate indistinct ( Fig. 4b ). Pronotum laterally coriaceous, somewhat imbricate basally; lateral carina absent, the pronotal contour rounded from dorsal view ( Fig. 4g ). Mesoscutum ( Fig. 4j ) about 1.1x as wide as long, coriaceous to weakly imbricate; anterior grooves shallow and narrow, almost inconspicuous. Notauli complete, narrower and less impressed anteriorly, broader and convergent posteriorly. Median groove shallow, short, projecting to at most 1/3 of mesoscutal length. Parapsidal grooves shallow, almost inconspicuous. Mesoscutellum ( Fig. 4j ) rounded, about as long as wide, imbricate to weakly wrinkled, especially posteriorly; circumscutellar carina absent; scutellar foveae subtriangular, well defined, the bottom weakly sculptured and separated by a narrow median carina. Mesopleuron ( Fig. 4g ) finely and more or less regularly striate, interspaces smooth and shining; slightly pubescent basally. Metapleural sulcus reaches to 4/5 of mesopleural height. Propodeum ( Fig. 4e ) densely pubescent, smooth; propodeal carinae straight and parallel. Nucha weakly sulcate dorsally and laterally ( Fig. 4h, k ).

Legs: Tarsal claws bidentate, with small basal lobe ( Fig. 4d ).

Wings: Fore wings pubescent with short marginal setae, slightly longer than body length ( Fig. 3a ). Radial cell open, about 3.0x as long as wide ( Fig. 4f ); areolet with only the posterior vein well pigmented. Rs+M inconspicuous, not reaching basalis. Basal cell sparsely setose.

Metasoma: About as long as head+mesosoma, about 1.4x as long as high in lateral view ( Fig. 4h ). Syntergite smooth, with few setae anterolaterally, posterodorsally with a small patch of micropunctures ( Fig. 4i ); slightly or not incised dorsodistally; subsequent tergites punctate ( Fig. 4i ). Hypopygial spine above 2.0x as long as wide, with few lateral setae; without apical setae.

Male: Unknown.

Distribution: Mainland China (Yunnan Province).

Biology: Unknown.

Figures

Fig. 3. Saphonecrus segmentatus Lobato-Vila and Pujade-Villar, sp. nov. (female): a, habitus; b, antenna.

Fig. 4. Saphonecrus segmentatus Lobato-Vila and Pujade-Villar, sp. nov. (female): a, head in anterior view; b, head in dorsal view; c, antenna; d, tarsal claw; e, propodeum; f, radial cell of the fore wing; g, mesosoma in lateral view; h, metasoma in lateral view; i, detail of metasomal punctuation; j, mesosoma in dorsal view; k, metasoma in dorsal view.