Sycophila (Sycophila) suricola Lotfalizadeh, 2024
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5401.1.1 |
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publication LSID |
lsid:zoobank.org:pub:376CAB04-43BE-4C9A-950B-80DBD676CFB0 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FD6B5E-724C-6153-5486-B564FE09FF23 |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Sycophila (Sycophila) suricola Lotfalizadeh |
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sp. n. |
Sycophila (Sycophila) suricola Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.
( Figs 86–89 View FIGURE 86 View FIGURE 87 View FIGURE 88 View FIGURE 89 )
Type material examined. Holotype ♀, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Lamto, 6.222197° & -5.024070°, ex syconia of Ficus sur , 15.iii.1994, Rasplus , J.Y. leg. Deposited in CBGP. Paratypes: same data as holotype, 9♀ & 2♂. United Republic of Tanzania, Muheza, ex syconia of Ficus sur , 13.ix.2000, Rasplus , J.Y. leg., 4♀ & 6♂. USA River, -3.368691° 36.862022°, ex syconia of Ficus sycomorus , 5.iv.1996, Rasplus J.-Y. & Kerdelhué C. leg., 1♀. Same data, Ficus natalensis , 3♀. Kenya, Kakamega Forest, Kisere, 3.ii.2006, ex syconia of Ficus thonningii, Hiller Y. leg., 1♀.
Etymology. The specific name refers to its host plant, Ficus sur .
Diagnosis. Female body entirely yellowish ( Fig. 86A View FIGURE 86 ). Funiculars (fu2–fu4) relatively short, at most as long as wide; fu5 transverse, wider than long ( Fig. 86B View FIGURE 86 ).
Male body mainly yellowish, some parts dark ( Figs 88A View FIGURE 88 , 89A View FIGURE 89 ). Funiculars at most as longer as wide, fu5 transverse ( Figs 88B View FIGURE 88 , 89B View FIGURE 89 ).
Description of holotype ♀ ( Figs 86–87 View FIGURE 86 View FIGURE 87 ). Length 4.56mm. Body yellowish ( Fig. 86A View FIGURE 86 ), except fu1–5 slightly and gaster in dorsal part slightly brown; fore wing with a dark brown spot below mv, reaching base of mv, lower margin of mv not obscured by dark brown spot ( Fig. 87E View FIGURE 87 ); gaster not uniformly coloured ( Fig. 87C View FIGURE 87 ); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.
Head in frontal and dorsal views coriaceous with sparse punctures; in frontal view 1.42× as broad as high [HW 170 & HH 120] ( Fig. 86C View FIGURE 86 ); in dorsal view stout, 1.94× as broad as long [HW 237 & HL 122] ( Fig. 86D View FIGURE 86 ); malar space 0.38× length of eye [ms 30 & EH 80]; malar sulcus distinct, straight ( Fig. 86E View FIGURE 86 ); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli widely separated; interantennal space not raised, carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, carinate on margin (at least dorsally); POL 1.52× as long as OOL [POL 41 & OOL 27] ( Fig. 86D View FIGURE 86 ); temple rounded, 0.18× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 18 & EL 100]; setation oriented downwards on face, outwards on the punctuate frons.
Antenna. Scape not reaching median ocellus, 3.44× as long as broad [SL 110 & SW 32]; fu1 1.59× as long as broad [fu1L 54 & fu1W 34], distinctly longer than pedicel, bulging dorsally; funicular (fu2–fu4) with two rows of mps and 2–3 whorls of adpressed setae; fu2–fu4 slightly longer than broad; fu5 as long as broad ( Fig. 86B View FIGURE 86 ).
Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.5× as long as wide (165:110), with deep sculpture ( Fig. 87A View FIGURE 87 ); pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures; mesepisternum raised medially, with piliferous sculpture on epicnemium, being closer to anteroventral margin of mesepisternum than to mesocoxa; mesoscutum 0.6× as long as wide (65:110), 0.7× longer than length of pronotal collar (65:90), with dense umbilicate punctures, transversely strigose anteriorly; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture; prepectus bare, smooth medially; mesoscutellum mostly umbilicate and coriaceous sculpture on mesoscutellar disc; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum ( Fig. 87B View FIGURE 87 ) with deep median depression, with a smooth median band, without any median carina; lateral rows of areolae short (extending at most to half-length of propodeum); inverted U-shaped basal carina, lateral branches relatively straight; distance between lateral carinae less than 0.5× width of nucha.
Fore wing with short marginal fringe, apically subtruncate (pointed anteriorly); dark brown spot below mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv distinctly enlarged, rounded, lower margin convex, longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell densely setose, dorsally with row of setae; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent ( Figs 87E, F View FIGURE 87 ).
Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (35:14) and hind femora (50:18); hind tibia dorsally with more than 10 setae, setae shorter than hind tibia width.
Metasoma. Petiole shorter than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present. Metasoma 1.55× as long as wide (165:105) ( Fig. 87C View FIGURE 87 ), longer than mesosoma, strongly compressed laterally and dorsally angulate ( Fig. 87D View FIGURE 87 ); ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present; petiole in dorsal view not longer than wide, shorter than half length of hind coxa; tergites smooth; Gt4 (in lateral view) slightly as long as Gt3, sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6, sinuous posteriorly; Gt4 with one row of setae dorsally, Gt5 sparsely setose, Gt6 entirely but sparsely setose; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned ( Fig. 87C View FIGURE 87 ).
Male ( Figs 88–89 View FIGURE 88 View FIGURE 89 ). Length 2.42–3.73 mm. Similar to female with longer petiole ( Figs 88A View FIGURE 88 , 89A View FIGURE 89 ); exhibiting same colouration such as female; antennal formula 11143; each funicular with one row of mps and several whorls of relatively short erected setae; fore wing more setose than in female, speculum present, costal cell dorsally and ventrally setose. Two forms of males are observed: 1) Body robust with head enlarged and femora unusually stout, this form is characterized by the large gena and the relatively smaller eye ( Fig. 88A View FIGURE 88 ) and 2) body as usual and slender ( Fig. 89A View FIGURE 89 ).
Variation. Length 4.45–5.76 mm. Host plant. Ficus sur . Geographical distribution. Kenya, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and United Republic of Tanzania. Notes. This species is named Sycophila n. sp. in Kerdelhué and Rasplus (1996) and Sycophila sp. 1 in Kerdelhué et al. (2000), see figure 3. The species appears to oviposit through the fig wall in recently formed galls of Sycomacophila carolae Rasplus, 2003 ( Epichrysomallidae ). Stalked eggs of S. suricola were observed in galls containing a young larva of S. carolae . Therefore, the larva of S. suricola may develop at the expense of both the galler and the gall tissues.
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.