Cyphacolus asheri Valerio, Masner & Austin

Valerio, Alejandro A., Masner, Lubomir & Austin, Andrew D., 2010, Systematics of Cyphacolus Priesner (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae s. l.), an Old World genus of spider egg parasitoid, Zootaxa 2645, pp. 1-48 : 11-14

Cyphacolus asheri Valerio, Masner & Austin , new species

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D0DA3622-BD2E-492F-918E-CB3C3AB06ECC urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts: 240884

Figures 14–19; Morphbank18

Description. Male. Body length: 1.8 mm (n=1).

Antenna color: completely yellow. Body color: mostly yellow except for dark, transverse band on lower head, area around ocelli, mesoscutum, lower half of mesopleuron and mid-anterior area of metapleuron honey yellow, distal area of metasomal T2 and S2, T3–T7 and S3–S6 black. Coxae color: whitish yellow. Leg color (excluding the coxae): light yellow. Fore wing color: basal 1/3 and area at 2/5 hyaline, area below stigma infuscate as well as area beyond basal 1/3.

Head shape in lateral view: broad, short. Sculpture of antennal scrobe: weakly coriaceous. Shape of torular triangle: not bulging, flat. Development of central keel on frons: completely absent. Sculpture of frons: 18. http://www.morphbank.net/?id=514186 completely coriaceous. Sculpture of malar space: with fan-like striae, striae not extending into antennal scrobe. Medial surface of vertex: flat to weakly convex (normal). Size of lateral ocellus: large (as in C. axfordi ). Distance between lateral ocellus and occipital carina: 0.5–1.2x maximum ocellar width. Length of OOL: ≤ 1/3 width of ocellus. Sculpture of vertex: coriaceous. Surface of occiput: evenly concave (normal). Sculpture of occipital carina: largely simple, at most with few, weak crenulae medially. Proximity of occipital carina to orbital carina: well separated by distance at least 2x width of occipital carina. Shape of occipital carina: simply arcuate medially. Sculpture of occiput: weakly rugulose-aciculate.

Sculpture of pronotal cervical area: smooth medially, otherwise with elongated foveae. Sculpture of pronotal lateral area: upper 1/3 with dorsoventrally elongate foveae, medial triangular area smooth, otherwise longitudinally lineate. Netrion: absent, obscured by longitudinal sculpture on lateral pronotum. Notauli: absent. Sculpture of mesoscutum: anterior 1/3 densely but weakly coriaceous, otherwise with fine, parallel, dense, longitudinal costae. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: mainly smooth except for lateroposterior half with broad, longitudinal ridges (meson area with shorter ridges than lateral areas), midlateral section with two large, obvious punctures. Mesoscutellum shape: strongly convex, wider than long. Sculpture of lateral propodeum: densely, transversely costate. Shape of propodeal anterior spines: elongate, narrow, apex rounded. Sculpture of propodeum between anterior spines: transversely costate. Sculpture of ventral mesepisternum: weakly foveolate. Density of longitudinal costae on dorsal mesepisternum: dense. Thickness of longitudinal costae on dorsal mesepisternum: thin. Length of longitudinal costae on dorsal mesepisternum: reaching to approximately half of speculum width. Sculpture of mesopleural femoral depression: smooth. Sculpture of metapleuron: upper 1/3 almost smooth except for one transverse ridge across its length, remainder of pleurite with dense, fine, longitudinal costae.

FIGURES 14–19. Cyphacolus asheri n. sp., holotype male (OSUC 2337817). 14, Dorsal habitus; 15, Lateral habitus; 16, Mesosoma , dorsal view; 17, Mesosoma , lateral view; 18, Head, anterior view; 19, Metasoma, dorsal view. Morphbank19

Shape of wings: very convex in lateral view, with a conspicuous constriction at 2/5 of its length. Shape of horn on T1 (in posterior view): absent. Lateral carinae on T2: present, poorly developed. Sculpture of T2: largely finely costate, smooth along posterior margin and midline. Sculpture of T3: largely smooth, weakly coriaceous lateromedially. Sculpture of S3–S6: mainly smooth, with sparse setigerous punctulae.

Female. Unknown.

19. http://www.morphbank.net/?id=514186 Diagnosis. This species is easily identified from all other known species with males by the large body size and the very dense and fine longitudinally costate sculpture on the mesoscutum in combination with a globose mesoscutellum.

Etymology. This species is named after Asher Farrington, daughter of our colleague Lachlan Farrington.

Link to distribution map. 20

Material examined. Holotype male: SRI LANKA: Central Prov., Kandy Dist., Victoria-Randenigala– Rantambe Sanctuary, 25.VIII–29.VIII.1999, malaise trap, M. Wasbauer, OSUC 237817 (deposited in CNCI).