Liphanthus yrigoyeni Packer, 2019

Sharifi, Negar Mir, Graham, Liam & Packer, Laurence, 2019, Fifteen new species of Liphanthus Reed (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) with two submarginal cells, Zootaxa 4645 (1), pp. 1-80 : 51-53

Liphanthus yrigoyeni Packer , sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:09E61443-DB90-42A3-A73F-DCA42EA760E6

Figs. 112–116 , 191 , 193–194 .

Diagnosis: The combination of two submarginal cells, pronotal lobe dark ( Fig. 112 ), protibia with a small apicodorsal yellow spot ( Fig. 112 ) and mesoscutum ( Fig. 115 ) and T1 ( Fig. 116 ) with distinct, dense punctures i~d is diagnostic for this species. Liphanthus sparsipunctus shares the first three characteristics but, as its name suggests, is sparsely punctate ( Fig. 119 ).

Description: Holotype Female: Dimensions: Approximate body length: 5.4mm; head width: 1.65mm, wing length: 3.75mm, intertegular width: 0.97mm.

Coloration: Black to brown except as follows: small yellow-orange spot on extreme base of pro- and mesotibiae; most of mandible, labrum and extreme apex of clypeus orange-brown. Ventral surface of F5–F10 dusky orange-brown. Apical impressed areas of metasomal terga translucent pale straw.

Sculpture: Face imbricate, strongly and somewhat dull above, more weakly below such that apical half of clypeus, lower paraocular area and upper paraocular area between facial fovea and compound eye shiny; genal area weakly imbriace, hypostomal area lacking microsculpture except very weakly imbricate posteriorly. Clypeus punctures mostly large, somewhat obscure, irregularly spaced i=0.2–2d, lower paraocular area punctures large, shallow, supraclypeal area punctures small, shallow, subantennal sclerite punctures small, shallow, obscure i<d; upper paraocular, frontal and vertexal areas with distinct, small, dense punctures i<d; genal area with small, shallow, obscure punctures i>d, somewhat denser close to compound eye; hypostomal area punctures shallow, scattered. Mesosomal dorsum strongly imbricate and somewhat dull except mesoscutum and metapostnotum laterally weakly imbricate somewhat shiny; mesoscutum punctures distinct, small, dense i~d; scutellum punctures as for mesoscutum but more variable in size; metanotum punctures small, obscure; metapostnotum punctures small, shallow, obscure, with mostly very weak, irregular, short longitudinal striae; side of mesosoma imbricate, somewhat shiny; hypoepimeral area punctures shallow, i~d, mesopleuron below scrobal groove punctures shallow, scattered; anterior surface of mesopleuron more sparsely punctate, i=1–3d. Metasomal terga imbricate, more weakly from T1–T5; T1 punctures small, distinct, i=1–2d, T2–T4 punctures increasingly sparser and obscure; T5 punctures small and sparse anteriorly, coarse and dense, i<d posteriorly; apical impressed areas imbricate, somewhat shiny, punctures minute, sparse; metasomal sterna weakly imbricate, shiny; punctures sparse and small on S2, increasingly distinct and dense on posterior halves of S2–S4.

Pubescence: Generally off-white, sparse with short branches, <1.5 MOD; shorter and plumose anterolaterally and posterolaterally on mesoscutum and laterally on scutellum; T1–T4 with minute, laterally oriented, simple setae, these posteriorly oriented on T5; preygidial fimbria pale brown, branched, long hairs ~2 MOD. Denser, branched; <1 MOD on lateral areas of metapostnotum. Tibial scopal hairs simple, long, <3.3 MOD.

Structure: Head: shorter than wide (68:83). Mandible length to basal depth (40:15); gradually narrowing to rounded apex. Labrum rectangular <1.3 X as broad as long (42:33). Clypeus ~ more than 2.5X as wide as long (57:21); apicolateral margin weakly concave in frontal view, straight apicomedially. Outer subantennal suture almost straight; epistomal suture almost straight below anterior tentorial pit, straight between inner subantennal sutures. Anterior tentorial pit just below junction of outer subantennal and epistomal sutures. Frontal line forming a tiny fovea at midlength, very weakly depressed above, absent below. IAD~= AOD (18:23). Inner margin of compound eyes weakly convergent below, UOD:LOD 65:61. Facial fovea distinct, sides subparallel, slightly wider near dorsal extremity, length to width 35:5, subparallel to inner margin of compound eye. IOC < OOC 20:33; vertex weakly convex in frontal view. Scape ~ 3 X as long as greatest width (35:12), shorter than pedicel and F1 combined (28); pedicel length and width subequal (11:10), F1 longer than wide (16:9), F2–F7 slightly shorter than wide, (6:9), F8–F10 ~0.8X shorter than wide, F11 ~ 1.3 X as long as width (20:15).

Mesosoma: Mesoscutum ~1.2 X as wide as long (69:57), length of scutellum: metanotum: metapostnotum: 25:13:15. Marginal cell much shorter than distance between its apex to wing tip (63:80). Hind tibial spurs approximately straight, posterior spur slightly longer than anterior. Pro- and mesotarsal claws with long teeth, metatarsal claw teeth small.

Metasoma: Broadest at apex of T2; apical impressed areas long, on T2>1.5X MOD, 22:13.5. Only apex of pygidial plate visible in sole specimen, broadly rounded.

Material Studied. Holotype female: ARGENTINA, Jujuy, Iturbe, on Rio Grande , 3400m, 21.xi.1979, L.E. Peña. AMNH.

Etymology. An alternative name for Iturbe, the type locality, is Hipolito Yrigoyen, after Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen Alem, a progressive politican and two-time president of Argentina.

Comments. When treated as having three submarginal cells, this species keys out to L. nitidus when using Ruz and Toro (1983). It differs from that species in the microsculpture of the mesoscutum and metasomal terga, distinct, somewhat dull in L. yrigoyeni , absent, shiny in L. nitidus .

Given the small, dense punctation on the head and mesoscutum of this species, it could be postulated that it is a female of L. abotorabi , the species only known from males described above. However, the pale markings on the legs argue against this: as with the other species in its species group ( L. fritzi , L. cochabambensis and L. amblayen- sis), L. abotorabi males have entirely dark legs as do the females for these three other species) and we know of no Liphanthus in which the females have more extensive pale markings on the legs than do the males.

Figures

FIGURES 112–116. Liphanthus yrigoyeni sp. nov., holotype female. 112: lateral habitus, 113: dorsal habitus, 114: face, frontal view, 115: mesosoma, dorsal view, to show surface sculpture, 116: base of metasoma, dorsal view to show surface sculpture Scale bars Figs. 112–114 1mm, Figs. 115–116 0.5mm.

FIGURES 191–192. Liphanthus sp. Forebody to show protibial colouration. 191: L. yrigoyeni with pale spot, 192: L. fritzi entirely dark. Scale bars 0.5mm.

FIGURES 193–196. 193: L. yrigoyeni mesoscutum to show dense punctation, 194: L. yrigoyeni T1 to show dense punctation, 195: L. sparsipunctus mesoscutum to show sparse punctation, 196: L. sparsipunctus T1 to show sparse punctation. Scale bars 0.5mm.

FIGURES 117–119. Liphanthus sparsipunctus sp. nov., holotype female. 117: lateral habitus, 118: face, frontal view, 119: mesosomal dorsum to show surface sculpture. Scale bars Figs. 117–118 1mm, Fig. 119 0.5mm.