Ammoplanellus (Ammoplanus) kohlii, Kohl

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 892-895

A. (Ammoplanus) kohlii Kohl

[Ammoplanu s Kohlii; Schmiedeknecht, 1896: 159. Algeria. Nomen nudum.]

Ammoplanu s Kohlii Kohl, 1898: 326 ±327, pl. 15, ®gures 10, 34. Algeria: Hammam-bou-Hadjar nr Oran. Lectotype male, here designated; in NHMW (examined).

5 Ammoplanus zarcoi Giner MarõÂ, 1943b: 290±291, 286, 288. Spain (Madrid): Montarco. Syn. n. Lectotype female, here designated; in MNCN (examined).

5 Ammoplanus suarezi Gayubo, 1987: 67 ±70. Spain (Prov. Ciudad Real): La Solana. Syn. n. Holotype male, by original designation, in UZUS, Salamanca (examined).

Type material and synonymy. Schmiedeknecht (1896: 159) named this species as Ammoplanus Kohlii and mentioned that he would describe it`in honour of his friend Kohl of the Vienna Hofmuseum’ ( NHMW). However, it remained the intention and Kohl soon (1898) published a short description of the Schmiedeknecht specimens under Àmmoplanus Kohlii Schmiedeknecht’. Hence the species name authorship must be credited to Kohl, as he is clearly the author of the ®rst description, whilst Schmiedeknecht merely proposed the name without making it available.

Kohl ( NHMW) had several specimens, four of which were examined. They are on micropins on one piece of pith; I provided the one farthest from the pin with a golden label with`LT’ on it and here designate the specimen as LECTOTYPE. Gussakovskij (1931) did not mention this species; either he could not see this material or regarded the name as a nomen nudum. The description of kohlii was also missed by the Zoological Records and escaped the attention of subsequent students. Only Bohart and Menke listed it with Schmiedeknecht as the author; Beaumont knew it as kohlii Kohl , which is witnessed by a specimen in his collection ( MZL).

Two typographical errors should be corrected in Kohl’s description on p. 326:`Clypeus ... (Tab. xv, Fig. 3 [not 34]) labrum ... Basitarsi postici ad medium ...’ [not`tibiae posticae’], the latter as proved by his ®gure 34.

A. zarcoi . The original material included four specimens, three males and one female, belonging to two species. Giner-MarõÂ stated (p. 291), both for the male and the female (but in the key on p. 288 only for the female) that the pterostigma was`unicolor’. Hence the single syntype female from which the statement in the key apparently was made, is here designated as the LECTOTYPE of A. zarcoi . It came from Montarco near Madrid and belongs to the same species as kohlii . Otherwise the three males described at the same time have the parastigma bicolorous and belong to A. dusmeti Giner.

By some mistake, and apparently without seeing the authentic material, Marshakov (1976: 681; repeated 1978: 370) declared zarco i a synonym of shestakovi , although at that time the latter was placed (as it is now) in a diOEerent subgenus, Ammoplanellus . Gayubo (1991: 145 ±146) questioned that synonymy, yet he did not comment on any of the speci®c features. The confusion is now settled by the selection of lectotypes.

A. suarezi . The examined holotype clearly belongs to the same species as kohlii .

Diagnostic characters

Male. Head with sides of clypeus (but never above it), front side of scapes and often a spot between toruli white; mandibles slightly yellowish. Clypeus in middle produced as a ¯at brownish plate nearly or quite as high as one torular diameter, weakly sculptured, its front margin between two broad teeth (homological to submedian ones) broadly emarginate (®gures 34, 104). Labrum about twice as broad as long, anterior margin varying between slightly arcuate, subtruncate and slightly emarginate. Maxillary palpi very slender and long, second segment distinctly widened, the fourth the longest, fully four times as long as broad.

Hind basitarsus on mesal side from base to near the tooth with rough pilosity, tooth itself rather short. Sternites 3±5 almost of equal length, generally ¯at, shiny and bare, only at sides with few hairs, but the ®fth with its apex slightly produced and at it, in posterior third of sternite bearing a small V-shaped formation of stiOE erect bristles very similar to that of marathroicus , only slightly smaller, with longest bristles anteriorly (®gure 102).

Female. Body black, antennae, femora and tibiae dark, mandibles pale. Head subquadrangular. Frons without cross-swelling, moderately convex, slightly dull due to moderately dense puncturatio n distinct in longitudinal engrave d reticulation which is partly obliterated in front of mid ocellus, but de®nitely duller than in similar A. transcaspicus on temples and upper part of mesepimeron. Ocellar triangle of about 93ss. Eyes below strongly produced mesad. Clypeus bordering on labrum, in middle mostly without tooth, only slightly raised as a ¯at, usually uneven oval area bearing anteriorly at least four (to six) setae and usually delimited dorsally by a shallow transverse groove. Two middle setae are almost three times as long as the outer ones and between them often a narrow area which may look as a low microscopic median tooth. Mandibles with basal half of lower edge straight, outer apical tooth not sharp; upper edge without additional tooth. Underside of head in median third almost ¯at, with very weak median ridge ending in slightly irregular T-shape, the transverse part of it close to deep foraminal cavity and on sides connected with the weak (but complete) occipital carina; surface of biconcavity at sides near to outer orbits with longitudinal rugulose striation. Head in lateral view 2.1 times as long as stout (®gure 33). Flagellar segments 2±5 fully as long as broad, often slightly oblong.

Pronotal collar rather short (®gure 35), not carinate but transversely rugulose and usually with indication of slight carina near to shoulder; a blunt but distinctly raised carina present along hind margin of collar. Mesopleuron distinctly longitudinally striate. Dorsum of propodeum with median carina anteriorly accompanied with weak areolation, otherwise its rugulose ®ne sculpture with broadly diverging ®ne rugae. Marginal cell with many hair punctures. Pygidial area narrow, exposed part in middle about half as broad as long. Very similar to marathroicus , also in the rather dense and distinct puncturation of frons. Otherwise very similar to the females of transcaspicus , insularis and marathroicus .

Comment. In the syntypes and almost all males examined the clypeus has no median tooth, but in several males its middle part is somewhat raised, though not exceeding the lower clypeal margin. In several Spanish specimens the corners of pronotal collar are marked by a ®ne rugula which may form even a bluntly carinate edge. In some Algerian specimens only a slight rugula inside of the corner can be detected, whilst in most other specimens the collar is rounded, ®nely rugulose. Several specimens have slightly darker parastigma. A male specimen (Pina de Ebro; coll. UZUS) which also possibly belongs to kohlii , is aberrant in having the transverse labrum as in the typical ones, but the clypeus has in the middle a perpendicularly upturned tooth. A female of the same origin has unusually coarse though shallow puncturation on frons and mesoscutum and rather dark parastigma but after repeated study it is believed to be just an aberrant specimen of kohlii .

Material examined. France (Pyren. Orientales): Banyuls-sur-Mer , 1m, 15 April 1990 (BoucÏek; BMNH) . Spain ( Zaragoza ): Pina de Ebro, 2 land 3m, 24 June and 24 October 1990, 9 October 1991, 11 April 1992 (J. Blasco; UZUS); (Madrid) : Montarco, female lectotype of zarcoi (C. Bolivar; IEEM); ( Ciudad Real ) : La Solana, 1, holotype of suarezi (UZUS) ; Puerto Lapice, 1m, 27 June 1973 (BoucÏek; BMNH); ( Alicante ) : Albaterra, 1, 13 March 1995 (Gijswijt; ZMA); ( Malaga ) : Nerja, 1m, 22 June 1973; Estepona, 1, 29 June 1974 (both BoucÏek; BMNH); ( CaÂdiz ) : Zahora , 1 l`suarezi ’, 19 June 1983 (Gayubo; UZUS) . Morocco (North): village Pilote nr Khesmisset , 1, 19 May 1997 (Prudek); 50 km W of MekneÁs, 19 land 8m, 19 May 1997 (J. Halada; OLML) ; Oued (5 Wadi) Sebou , El Menzel , 11, l24± 27 May 1999 (Prudek; Coll. R Ï õÂha); (High Atlas): 16±25 km N of Agadir, 1m, 18 May 1997 and 12 km E of Ifrane, 1, 9 May 1997 (both Halada; OLML) . Algeria: Oran, 4, 1895, syntypes of kohlii including lectotype (Schmiedeknecht; NHMW) ; Ferme Giraud , Route D 91, 1, 2 April 1960 (Barbier; MZL) ; Sidi ben Chouiref , 1, 6 May 1961 (Barbier; MNHN); (Algiers) : Gr. Kabylia, Ait Hassem , 5 land 4m, 12± 14 June 1972 (HoOEer and HoraÂk; NMP and MZMB) ; Bouira, 51 land 15m, 10 June 1971 (HoOEer; NMP and BMNH, etc.) . Tunisia: 10 km N of Jendouba, 1m, 15 May 1973; 10 km SE of Matmata , 1m, 15 April 1994 (both J. Gusenleitner; OLML) ; Msaken , 1 land 1m, 20 May 1998 (K. Denes sen.; OLML) ; Ksar Hadada, 4m, 4 April 1998 (Denes Jr; OLML); ( Hammam Lif ) : 1m, 3 June 1980 (K. Guichard). Iraq: Baghdad, 1m, May 1988 (? Okjuke; OLML) .? Kenya: Taita Hills , 1 land 1m, 5± 10 April 1997 and 20 April 1998 (L. and Ma. Halada; OLML) [locality correct?].

Distribution. France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq,? Kenya.