Magnocula sarcophaga Viertler, Klopfstein

Viertler, Alexandra, Urfer, Karin, Schulz, Georg, Klopfstein, Seraina & Spasojevic, Tamara, 2023, Impact of increasing morphological information by micro-CT scanning on the phylogenetic placement of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae) in amber, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (30) 142 (1), pp. 1-27 : 21-23

Magnocula sarcophaga Viertler, Klopfstein & Spasoje-vic sp. nov. ( Fig. 9 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2F370DF6-6B5C-4B69-A670-51BDD54414A4

Etymology: Derived from the coffin-shaped area superomedia.

Type specimen: Holotype: female (#NHMD_876130, A.K. Andersen, 28–3-1968). Baltic amber. Location: West Coast of Jutland ( Denmark). Deposited in Denmark, Natural history museum in Copenhagen.

Type condition: Specimen complete, bubbles covering some parts anteriorly. Head, mesoscutum partially oblique and distorted due to preservation. Wings folded partially and covering themselves in dorsal and lateral view. The amber piece fell apart in three pieces due to an accident and all pieces were cast separately in epoxy to stabilize them for future studies and observations. Because this amber fossil was mummified, the accident revealed body parts that were not visible before the micro-CT scanning. The additional pictures of the damaged holotype can be found in the Additional file 11.

Description: Body 3.2 mm. Colouration difficult to interpret.

Head. Face separated from clypeus, evenly convex. Mandibles bidentate, not twisted, teeth simple, pointed, upper tooth equal in length and width to lower. Malar space 0.7 ×of mandible base width. Maxillary palps with five segments. Clypeus slightly convex, wider than long, without transverse division, apical margin simple. Labrum concealed. Apical tentorial pits small to normal-sized. Inner orbits converging in front view, straight opposite antennal sockets. Eyes without setae, height 0.8 ×head height in lateral view. Genae smooth. Occipital carina seems complete; junction to hypostomal carina distant from mandibular base by 1.2× basal width of mandible. Antennae 2.3 mm, with 15–17 segments; appears more or less even thick throughout; scape and pedicel concealed; first two antennal segments more than 3 times as long as wide; other antennal segment lengths about 1.2–1.8× apical width.

Mesosoma. Pronotum rather short and deep, about 0.6 × longer than deep; epomia complete and prominent, reaches horizontal part of pronotum. Mesoscutum finely punctate, evenly pubescent, with carina along lateral margin complete to anterior end of scutellum, with a short, parallel carina directly anterior to base of notaulus; notaulus deep, strongly converging, joining other notaulus, extending to about middle of mesoscutum. Scutellum flat to slightly convex, with lateral longitudinal carina absent. Mesopleuron rather flat; epicnemical carina vertical to around mid-height of pronotum; mesopleural furrow more-or-less straight, with a shallow horizontal impression extending from this angulation to scrobe; sternaulus present, ending above level of mid coxa. Mesosternum transverse in front of fore coxa, posterior transverse carina of mesosternum absent in front of mid coxae, prominent between mid coxae. Metapleuron about as long as deep; submetapleural carina complete, anterior section broadened triangular; pleural carina present as distinct carina along whole length; juxtacoxal carina present as distinct carina with additional smaller carinulae. Propodeum rounded laterally, about as long as wide, sculpture smooth with some weak punctures where setae are inserted, lateromedian and lateral longitudinal carinae present, anterior transverse carina complete but shallow, posterior transverse carina complete; area superomedia coffin-shaped; spiracle subcircular, separated from pleural carina by about inner diameter of spiracle, additional carina connecting spiracle with pleural carina and lateral longitudinal carina. Junction of lateral longitudinal and posterior transverse carinae modified as apophysis. Metacoxal cavity with dorsal margin dorsal to ventral margin of metasomal foramen magnum.

Fore legs ventrally unspecialized; tibia without tooth; 4th tarsomere longer than wide. Mid legs with two spurs on tibia, equal in length. Hind leg with coxa 1.9×longer as wide; femur about 5×longer than wide, without modification; two tibial spurs, equal in length; 1st tarsomere btw. 7.6– 8.8×longer than apically wide. Claws appear simple.

Wings. Fore wing 2.2 mm, areolet closed, quadratic, short petiolate, with 3rs-m and 2+3M similar in length and double the length of 2Rs and 4M; 2m-cu slightly bowed outwards, with two bullae, evenly distributed, that cover together 20% of 2m-cu; 4Cu 2.2 × 5Cu; 4Rs almost straight, without ramulus; 1cu-a meeting 1M + 1Rs interstitial; cell 2 R 1 2.1 × longer than wide; 5M tubular throughout; 1M+ 1Rs arched; 3Cu longer than 2cu-a. Hind wing with 2Cu absent; 1Rs 0.87 × rs-m; one basal hamulus; four distal hamuli.

Metasoma. 1.9 mm, depressed. T 1 petiolate to evenly tapering to anterior in dorsal view, elongate, 3.5 × as long as posteriorly wide, posteriorly with rugose punctate to striate sculpture, laterally rounded throughout and narrower anteriorly than in posterior half; glymma absent; latero-median carina absent; spiracle at around midlength. S1 length 0.9 × T 1; seems fused to T 1 without visible suture. T 1 length 1.6 × T 2 dorsally, separated by normal joint. T 2 1.2 × as long as posteriorly wide; rugose punctate to striate dorsally; gastrocoelus present, thyridium possibly present and large; latero-median carina absent; laterotergite creased and folded under, about 0.27 × as wide as long. T 3 rugose punctate to striate. Laterotergites of T 3– T 5 also creased and folded under, moderately broad between 0.25 and 0.35 × as wide as long. T 4– T 6 finely punctured, punctures separated by at least 4 × their diameter. T 6 shorter or of similar size to T 7. T 8 elongate dorsally. Hypopygium appears transverse or about same width as length ventrally. Ovipositor sheaths 0.3 × metasoma length; with dense pubescence and setae about as wide as sheath or slightly shorter; more-or less parallel sided. Ovipositor parallel sided, tip more or less straight; apex modifications uncertain, but without nodus.

Diagnosis: See genus diagnosis.

Figures

Fig. 9 Holotype Magnocula sarcophaga gen. et sp. nov. A Habitus of specimen,ventral view. B Habitus of holotype, lateral view.CT scan of C head and mesoscutum in dorsal view, D face in anterior view, and E last tergites with ovipositor and sheaths. F Photo of a partial fore wing, in top left is T2 with its rugopunctate to striate structure. G Interpretative drawing with an additional drawing of the propodeum and T1 in dorsal view, where photos and micro-CT scan were used as templates. Scale bar A: 1 mm, F: 0.5 mm G: lower 1 mm, right 0.5 mm