Andinopanurgus Gonzalez & Engel

Gonzalez, Victor H. & Engel, Michael S., 2011, Andinopanurgus, a new Andean subgenus of Protandrena (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae), ZooKeys 126, pp. 57-76 : 59-61

Andinopanurgus Gonzalez & Engel subgen. n.

Type species.

Protandrena bachue Gonzalez & Ruz, 2007.

Diagnosis.

The new subgenus can be recognized easily by the following combination of characters: body predominantly dark brown to black with reduced yellow maculations; forewing with two submarginal cells (e.g., Figs 1, 13); propodeum glabrous basally; mesoscutum finely punctate; dorsal surface of propodeum longer than metanotum; anterior tentorial pit at outer subantennal sulcus, just above intersection between outer subantennal and epistomal sulci; female metatibial scopa with sparse, mostly simple setae; and male SVI with broad U- or V-shaped midapical emargination (Figs 8, 16); TVII with distal margin straight or medially emarginate (Fig. 6); and gonostylus simple, without apical lobes or projections, without long apical setae, and completely fused to gonocoxite (Figs 11, 12, 19, 20).

Description.

Female:Small to moderate-sized bees (4-12 mm in length); color mainly dark brown to black, nonmetallic, without yellow maculations except on pronotal lip; integument dull to weakly shiny, distinctly imbricate to granular between punctures, especially on dorsal surface of mesosoma and posterior surface of mesofemur; punctures coarser, denser on head than on meso- and metasoma; pubescence predominantly dark brown to black, short, and sparse; pubescence longer and denser on head and mesosoma; metatibial scopa consisting of sparse, long, mostly simple setae; metasomal terga and sterna, except on apical segments, with distal margins glabrous; SVI with dense patch of branched setae laterally (cf. Gonzalez and Ruz 2007: Figs 41-44). Head broader than long, about as wide as mesosoma; mandible edentate, pointed; labrum with strong ridge bordering glabrous, impunctate basal area; clypeus less than three times broader than long; supraclypeal area usually more distinctly convex than clypeus in profile; lower mesal paraocular area gently convex; anterior tentorial pit at outer subantennal sulcus, just above epistomal sulcus; antennal toruli about at middle of face; antennal scape unmodified, not surpassing lower tangent of median ocellus in repose; antennal flagellum about as long as head width or longer, unmodified or crenulate basally on posterior surface; facial fovea well-marked, elongate; compound eyes subparallel; lower margin of median ocellus coinciding with upper orbital tangent; vertex gently convex; gena about as wide as or slightly wider than compound eye in profile, widest dorsally, narrower ventrally; labiomaxillary complex of moderate length, not distinctly elongate; maxillary palpus with six equally long palpomeres; labial palpus with four palpomeres, first palpomere about as long as combined lengths of remaining palpomeres, second palpomere about as long as third and fourth palpomeres individually; glossa about one-half length of prementum; galeal comb composed of 20 bristles. Pronotal collar rounded, not carinate; dorsal surface of propodeum gently sloping to subhorizontal, longer than metanotum, weakly striate. Forewing with pterostigma more than three times longer than broad, about twice as wide as prestigma, margin basal to vein r-rs diverging from costa, that within marginal cell slightly convex; marginal cell obliquely and broadly truncate at apex, appendiculate, slightly longer than distance from its apex to wing tip; two submarginal cells (i.e., 1rs-m absent), first submarginal cell longer than second; basal vein gently curved to nearly straight; 1m-cu distal to 2Rs (second free abscissa Rs, or first submarginal crossvein sensu Michener 2007); 2m-cu basal to 2rs-m (second submarginal crossvein sensu Michener 2007); jugal lobe about three-fourths length of vannal lobe; hind wing with second abscissa of M+Cu more than three times length of cu-a; 6-8 distal hamuli. Legs unmodified; mesofemur without well-developed comb on ventral margin basally; mesotibial spur slightly shorter than mesobasitarsus, straight or nearly so, with coarse branches (sensu Engel 2009) (cf. Gonzalez and Ruz 2007: Figs 39, 40); metatibia about twice as long as metabasitarsus, keirotrichia on inner surface except on anterior and posterior margins; metabasitibial plate carinate, with semierect, short, stiff setae on disc; metatibial spurs slightly curved apically to nearly straight; metabasitarsus strongly projecting on posterodistal margin; pretarsal claws cleft, inner ramus shorter than outer. Metasomal TII with well-marked lateral fovea; pygidial plate subtriangular, well-defined, medially elevated; SVI with distal margin rounded or truncate.

Male: As in female except longer, sparser body pubescence, clypeus often maculate, metabasitibial plate glabrous, and the following: antennal flagellum unmodified (Figs 13, 27) to weakly (Fig. 2) or strongly (Fig. 26) crenulate on posterior surface; compound eyes subparallel to slightly convergent ventrally. Outer surfaces of pro- and mesotibiae apically with small spine; metatibia with posterior marginal carina weakly toothed basally; metabasitarsus with posterodistal margin not distinctly projecting as in female; pretarsal claws symmetrical or with inner ramus shorter than outer. Metasoma usually more elongate than in female, sometimes petiolate; TVII without pygidial plate, distal margin straight or with V-shaped median emargination (Fig. 6); sterna with distal margins straight or convex, except SVI with distinct U- or V-shaped median emargination (Figs 8, 16); SVII with apical lobes attached to small discal area, not distinctly constricted basally, distally retrorse (Figs 9, 17, 30); SVIII longer than broad, midapical projection rather short (about one-half length of disc body), not distinctly constricted basally, broadly rounded apically (Figs 10, 18); genital capsule slightly longer than broad, gonobase absent; gonostylus about as long as penis valves or slightly longer, simple, fully fused to gonocoxite, gently or strongly curved in profile, without long, branched setae on apex; volsella clearly differentiated in medial digitus and lateral cuspis, denticulate, digitus elongate; penis valves simple, narrow, basally fused; penis membranous, bilobed, apically wide, about as long as penis valves (Figs 11, 12, 19, 20).

Etymology.

The new genus-group name is a combination of Andes, referring to the Andean distribution of this group of bees, and Panurgus , type genus of the Panurginae . The name is masculine.

Included species.

In addition to the type species, Protandrena bachue Gonzalez & Ruz, the subgenus includes the following taxa: Protandrena amyae sp. n., Protandrena femoralis sp. n., Protandrena guarnensis Gonzalez & Ruz, Protandrena maximina Gonzalez & Ruz, Protandrena rangeli Gonzalez & Ruz, and Protandrena wayruronga Gonzalez & Ruz.

Comments.

The subgenus occurs at mid- and high elevations (1100-3400 m) in the Andes from Venezuela to Peru. Two species groups (one consisting of Protandrena guarnensis and Protandrena femoralis , the other including the remaining species) can be recognized within Andinopanurgus by the characters indicated in the key to species (infra) (Table 2).

The general habitus of Andinopanurgus as well as the shape of the male sixth and seventh sterna suggest species of Rhophitulus Ducke and Heterosarus Robertson but the propodeum is basally pubescent in Rhophitulus and, in both taxa, TVII is gently or strongly projected medially on the distal margin, SVII has lobes with much broader apex, and the gonostylus has long branched setae apically and is partially fused to the gonocoxite, at least ventrally. In addition, Andinopanurgus lacks the distinctive dorsal remnant of the gonobase of Rhophitulus . The rather narrow and distally retrorse apical lobes of SVII of Andinopanurgus (Figs 9, 17) resemble those of Protandrena s.str. and Metapsaenythia Timberlake, but the apex of these lobes lack the distinctive spatulate setae present in the latter. Metapsaenythia has also a propodeum basally pubescent and a metasoma that is frequently red. If future studies demonstrate that Protandrena s.l. is paraphylectic, perhaps some of its subgenera, including Andinopanurgus , may well be recognized at the generic level.