Iberomaimetsha nihtmara Ortega-Blanco, Delclos & Engel

Perrichot, Vincent, Ortega-Blanco, Jaime, McKellar, Ryan C., Delclos, Xavier, Azar, Dany, Nel, Andre, Tafforeau, Paul & Engel, Michael S., 2011, New and revised maimetshid wasps from Cretaceous ambers (Hymenoptera, Maimetshidae), ZooKeys 130, pp. 421-453 : 433-437

Iberomaimetsha nihtmara Ortega-Blanco, Delclos & Engel sp. n. Figs 810

Type material.

Holotype MCNA 13049 (?); paratypes MCNA 8758(♀?), MCNA 8790 (♂), MCNA 9373 (?), MCNA 9918 (♀), and MCNA 10732 (?). All specimens deposited in the Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.

Type locality.

Peñacerrada I, Moraza, Burgos Province, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Spain.

Stratigraphic horizon.

Escucha Formation, Lower Cretaceous, Lower Albian.

Diagnosis.

Mandibles distinctly large, exserted, asymmetrical, right 4-toothed, left 3-toothed, arched inwards (teeth pointing toward teeth of opposite mandible); basal flagellomeres (from F1 to F3-4) distinctly larger than apical flagellomeres (F1-F4 about 2 –1.5× the length of F7-F14); protibial distal margin with a comb of stiff setae; cell [1M] square or rhomboidal, distinctly smaller than [2Cu] which has a short but distinct connection between 1M+Cu and M (then, [2Cu] composed by five aristae); 2Rs+M longer than 1m-cu and longer than cell [1Rs]; apicalmost sector of Cu arising from almost apical posterior margin of [2Cu]; metasoma moderately short, as long as mesosoma.

Description.

Body length (from paratypes, as incomplete metasoma in holotype) around 2.55-2.61 mm. Head rounded in anterior view, length 0.41 mm, width 0.68 mm with a short occipital carina and apparently some polygonal dorsal sculpture; compound eyes not bulging, slightly oval, separated dorsally by 0.39 mm; toruli about at same distance to inner margin of compound eyes and each other; antennae 2.54 mm in length, inserted on frons below midpoint of compound eyes; scape and pedicel short and globular, flagellomeres cylindrical; lengths of antennomeres as follows (all in mm): scape 0.12, pedicel 0.09, flagellomeres 0.29, 0.28, 0.27, 0.23, 0.20, 0.18, 0.15, 0.14, 0.12, 0.12, 0.11, 0.11, 0.10, 0.12; malar space short, length approximately 0.11 mm. Mesosoma (dorsal view) 0.95 mm in length; pronotum not distinct dorsally; mesoscutal length 0.27 mm, with parallel notauli and longitudinal medial line, all three present as linear series of grooves more than well-delimited lines (Fig. 9); axillae wide and long, well distinct, separating completely mesoscutellum and mesoscutum; mesoscutellum distinctly convex, length 0.22 mm; propodeum 0.29 mm in length, areolate (seen in paratype MCNA 8790). Legs distinctly elongate; division of trochantellus not visible; tarsi with no plantar lobes visible; leg measurements (all in mm): profemur 0.82, protibia 0.46, protarsomeres I–V 0.34/0.15/0.10/0.09/0.10; mid-legs very poorly preserved but apparently with mesofemur 0.68, mesotibia?, meso tarsomeres 0.24/0.12/0.10/?/?; metafemur 1.0, metatibia 0.83, metatarsomeres 0.46/0.20/0.15/0.09/0.12. Forewing hyaline, length 2.1 mm, maximum width 0.80 mm, densely covered by microtrichia; all veins tubular except for nebulous 2rs-m and 2m-cu, thus, only cells [2Rs] and [2M] pseudo-opened apically (Figs 9, 10); 1rs-m not aligned with r-rs; 2m-cu curved S-like; veins M and Cu reaching wing margin (although M somewhat nebulous), with apicalmost sector of Cu slightly angled posteriorly; cell [1R1] longer than both cells [1Rs]+[2Rs]; cell [1Rs] almost ¾ the surface of cell [1M] and almost half of [2Rs]; vein r-rs emerging at two-thirds from base of pterostigma; cell [2R1] short, with vein Rs slightly anteriorly bent distad 2rs-m. Hind wing difficult to observe, hyaline and densely covered by microtrichia, length approximately 1.22 mm, maximum width approximately 0.41 mm; three strong hamuli present on costal vein in distal half of wing. Metasoma (checked on paratype MCNA 8790) pedunculate, short and slightly flattened, length 0.98 mm, greatest height 0.41 mm; sterna hard, convex; no apparent metasomal armature on sternum II or III.

Male: Parameres spatulate, with apparently three short stiff setae apically (Fig. 10).

Etymology.

The specific epithet is a noun in apposition and is the Anglo-Saxon word for nightmare, in reference to the terrifying appearance of the species in frontal view and with its enlarged mandibles.