Masona similis van Achterberg, 1995

Pos, Davide Dal, Broad, Gavin R. & Martens, Abigail P., 2024, Small jewels: two new species of the rare genus Masona van Achterberg (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea, Braconidae), with a catalogue of world species and comments on the peculiar morphology of the genus, European Journal of Taxonomy 925 (1), pp. 135-160 : 151-152

Masona similis van Achterberg, 1995

Fig. 4

Masona similis van Achterberg, 1995: 101–102 (description, key, distribution, images).

Masona similis – Yu et al. 2016 (catalogue). — Quicke et al. 2019b: appendix S1 (list).

Differential diagnosis

Masona similis can be easily distinguished from all the other species of the genus by the following morphological features: (1) scutellum absent (present in M. bulbofemoralis , M. neon sp. nov., M. popeye ); (2) first flagellomere about 2.5× as long as medially wide (1.5 or less in M. prognatha and M. neon sp. nov.); (3) antenna longer than head and mesosoma together (shorter in M. prognatha and M. wow sp. nov.); (4) metasoma completely yellow (dark brown in M. infuscata ); (5) body length approximately 0.9–1.2 mm (1.7 mm in M. infuscata ); (6) occipital carina well-developed, almost reaching ventral margin of the gena (short in M. prognatha and M. wow sp. nov.).

Original type series

Holotype (by original designation)

AUSTRALIA • ♀; Queensland, Wenlock, Batavia Downs ; 22 Jun.–23 Aug. 1992; P. Zborowski and J. Cardale leg.; ANIC.

Paratypes

AUSTRALIA • 4 ♂♂ ( ANIC, RMNH); 9 ♀♀ ( ANIC, RMNH) .

Male

Described in van Achterberg (1995).

Distribution

AUSTRALIA: Queensland ( van Achterberg 1995) ( Fig. 4 ).

Remarks

Known only from the original type series.

Figures

Fig. 4. Distribution of Masona van Achterberg, 1995, in Queensland, Australia.