Cyphacolus copelandi 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 : 19-20

Cyphacolus copelandi Valerio, Masner & Austin , new species

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8C981C61-B87E-45BE-9EE8-A386A1 DE 4AFC urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts: 240834

Figures36–41; Morphbank30

Description. Female. Body length: 1.65–2.15 mm (n=4).

Antenna color: antennal A1 yellow, remainder of antenna dark brown. Body color: mostly honey yellow except most of mesopleuron and metapleuron, area around ocelli and mesoscutum dark brown. Coxae color: yellow. Leg color (excluding the coxae): 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: with weak sinuate transverse costae. Shape of torular triangle: not bulging, flat. Development of central keel on frons: completely absent. Sculpture of frons: completely cover by fine, sinuate, transverse ridges. Sculpture of malar space: with fine, sinuate, transverse ridges throughout. Medial surface of vertex: flat to weakly convex (normal). Size of lateral ocellus: normal (as in C. copelandi ). Distance between lateral ocellus and occipital carina: 0.5–1.2x maximum ocellar width. Length of OOL: approximately 0.5x width of ocellus. Sculpture of vertex: completely cover by fine, sinuate, transverse ridges. 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: with dense, fine, transverse ridges.

Sculpture of pronotal cervical area: foveate, foveae generally rounded to weakly ovoid. Sculpture of pronotal lateral area: upper half punctate, otherwise smooth. Netrion: absent, obscured by longitudinal sculpture on lateral pronotum. Notauli: absent. Sculpture of mesoscutum: completely cover by broad longitudinal costae, these converging anteriorly. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: completely cover with sinuate, longitudinal, costate sculpture. Mesoscutellum shape: strongly convex, wider than long. Sculpture of lateral propodeum: densely, transversely costate. Shape of propodeal anterior spines: elongate, narrow, apex conspicuously broadened. Sculpture of propodeum between anterior spines: transversely costate. Sculpture of ventral mesepisternum: largely smooth, with sparse, setigerous punctulae. Density of longitudinal costae on dorsal mesepisternum: sparse. Thickness of longitudinal costae on dorsal mesepisternum: broad. Length of longitudinal costae on dorsal mesepisternum: reaching to approximately half of speculum width. Sculpture of mesopleural femoral depression: smooth. Sculpture of metapleuron: upper 2/3 mostly smooth, ventral area weakly rugulose, metapleural sulcus longitudinally costate.

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): narrow and short. Lateral carinae on posterior part of horn: present, cristate, not fused posteriorly. Sculpture of upper portion of T1 horn: longitudinally carinate. Sculpture of posterior portion of T1 horn: mostly smooth, with few longitudinal carinae. Lateral carinae on T2: present and conspicuously. Sculpture of T2: largely smooth, anterior 1/3 broadly costate, these shorter medially. Sculpture of T3: largely smooth, weakly coriaceous lateromedially. Sculpture of S3–S6: mainly smooth, with sparse setigerous punctulae.

Male. Unknown.

Diagnosis. This species is very close to Cyphacolus bhowaliensis Priesner ; however, the only difference between the slide mounted holotype of C. bhowaliensis and C. copelandi is the elongated foveate sculpture present on the upper area of the lateral pronotun for C. bhowaliemsis which contrasts with the dense and clearly punctate sculpture on C. copelandi . Both species are clearly separated from C. normani (with which they share a globose mesoscutellum and the mesoscutum having longitudinal costate sculpture emerging from one spot anteriorly) by the smaller and less elongate mesoscutum and the face completely covered with sinuate transverse carinae.

30. http://www.morphbank.net/?id=514190 FIGURES 36–41. Cyphacolus copelandi n. sp., holotype female (OSUC 237814). 36, Dorsal habitus; 37, Lateral habitus; 38, Mesosoma , dorsal view; 39, Mesosoma , lateral view; 40, Head, anterior view; 41, Metasoma, dorsal view. Morphbank31

Etymology. This species is named after Robert Copeland who has contributed with lots of invaluable hymenopteran material from Africa to this study as well as entomological material to many other institutions around the world throughout his career.

Link to distribution map. 32

31. http://www.morphbank.net/?id=514190 Material examined. Holotype female: KENYA: Rift Valley Prov., Nguruman, Kajiado, X-1999, malaise trap, J. Saibaku, OSUC 237814 (deposited in NMKE). Paratypes: (7 females) KENYA: 1 female, OSUC 238540 (NMKE). NIGERIA: 2 females, OSUC 237815–237816 (CNCI). THAILAND: 3 females, OSUC 261708–261710 (CNCI). ZIMBABWE: 1 female, OSUC 56304 (OSUC).