Leptorhaconotus Granger, 1949

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, 2021, Reclassification of the doryctine tribe Rhaconotini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 741, pp. 1-168 : 63-65

Genus Leptorhaconotus Granger, 1949

Leptorhaconotus Granger, 1949: 137 .

Leptorhaconotus – Shenefelt & Marsh 1976: 1316. — Quicke 1996: 111. — Yu et al. 2016. — Jasso- Martínez et al. 2019: 168.

Type species

Leptorhaconotus brunneus Granger, 1949 , by original designation.

Description ( Figs 22–23 )

HEAD. Weakly depressed dorso-ventrally (lateral view), not high, weakly transverse. Ocelli arranged in almost equilateral triangle. Frons not concave, flat, with shallow median furrow. Eyes with sparse and very short setae. Occipital carina dorsally complete, joined ventrally with hypostomal carina. Malar suture absent. Clypeal suture present, complete, entirely distinct. Hypoclypeal depression medium size, subround. Postgenal bridge present, but narrow. Palps medium length; labial palps short, 4-segmented, its third segment not shortened. Scapus wide and rather long, without apical lobe and basal constriction, its ventral margin (lateral view) not longer than dorsal margin. First flagellar segment subcylindrical, almost straight, weakly shorter than second segment.

MESOSOMA. Weakly depressed, long. Neck of prothorax rather elongate. Pronotum dorsally rather distinctly convex, with pronotal carina distinct, high and widely separate from anterior margin of mesoscutum; pronope absent. Propleural dorsoposterior lobe short and wide. Mesonotum weakly gently elevated above pronotum, entirely densely granulate. Median lobe of mesonotum without median longitudinal furrow and without anterolateral corners. Notauli distinct and complete, but shallow. Tegula short, widened distally, almost straight along its posterior margin. Prescutellar depression rather long, with distinct median carina. Lateral longitudinal wing-like flanges on the level of prescutellar depression long and low. Scutellum weakly convex, without lateral carinae. Subalar depression shallow and rather narrow. Sternaulus (precoxal sulcus) absent or very shallow and almost indistinct. Mesopleural pit deep, subround, connected directly with mesopleural suture. Metanotum with short, wide and rounded median tooth (lateral view). Prepectal carina distinct and complete, not high below. Metapleural flange short, rather wide, rounded apically. Propodeum without delineated areas; lateral tubercles and propodeal bridge absent. Propodeal spiracles small and round.

WINGS. Pterostigma of fore wing narrow and long. Radial vein (r) arising from middle of pterostigma. Radial (marginal) cell not shortened. Both radiomedial veins (2-SR, r-m) present. Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell long and rather narrow. Recurrent vein (m-cu) weakly postfurcal. Discoidal (discal) cell petiolate anteriorly, petiole (1-SR) rather long. Nervulus (cu-a) distinctly postfurcal. Brachial (subdiscal) cell evenly and curvedly closed postero-apically weakly before recurrent vein (m-cu), without antero-posterior corner, but with short additional abscissa. Parallel vein (CU1a) interstitial. Transverse anal veins (2A, a) absent. Hind wing with three hamuli. Radial (marginal) cell weakly narrowed apically, without transverse vein (r). Medial (basal) cell distinctly widened towards apex. Nervellus (cu- a) present. Submedial (subbasal) cell rather short. First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) shorter than second abscissa (1-M). Recurrent vein (m-cu) rather long, strongly oblique towards base of wing, unsclerotised, but pigmented.

LEGS. Fore tibia with several short and slender pale spines arranged in single row. Middle tibia without spines. Middle tarsal segments rather long. Hind coxa long and wide, without basoventral corner and tubercle. Fore and middle femora with low and wide dorsal protuberances. Hind femur wide, without dorsal protuberance. Inner spur of hind tibia simple, 0.4 times as long as hind basitarsus. Hind basitarsus about 0.7 times as long as second–fifth segments combined. Claws thick, short and simple.

METASOMA. Slender in female, rather narrow, weakly widened from base to third segment, then almost parallel-sided, with seven visible dorsally tergites, tergites fourth to sixth more or less distinctly narrowed basally, laterotergites (epipleura) separated on second–fifth tergites. Metasomal tergites in apical half distinctly and at long distance bend down; ventral margins of sixth tergite almost connected below or closely situated. First segment semi-petiolate, long and rather wide, laterally distinctly bend down. Acrosternite of first segment elongated, about 0.35 times as long as first tergite, its apical margin situated behind level of spiracles. Dorsope of first tergite shallow and small; basolateral processes and spiracular tubercles absent, spiracles situated in basal 0.3 of tergite; dorsal carinae indistinct. First and second tergites not fused immovably. Second tergite with wide and long subtriangular basal area separated by not deep lateral convergent furrows; without any transverse subapical furrow and area. Second suture shallow or very shallow, complete and almost straight. Third tergite without transverse depression or furrow. Fifth tergite about as long as fourth tergite, but about twice longer than sixth tergite. Sixth and seventh tergites distinctly protruding behind fifth, coarsely sclerotised, not enlarged, smooth in apical halves, about half as long as fifth tergite. Hypopygium along apical margin with distinct and rather deep emargination. Ovipositor thick, curved up, usually wide and flattened in basal 0.5–0.7, slender and pointed in apical part, but sometimes subround in dissection ( L. alluaudi Granger, 1949 and L. annulicornis Granger, 1949 ). Ovipositor sheath leaf-shaped and different sizes, wide, weakly concave, short. Male metasoma without female transformation and very narrow, its tergites more slender and more distinctly sculptured.

Diagnosis

This genus morphologically distinctly differs from the remaining genera of Rhaconotini (see key to genera upper) by the following combination of morphological features: 1) hind coxa without basoventral corner and tubercle; 2) sternaulus (precoxal sulcus) absent or almost absent; 3) propodeum without any delineated areas; 4) metasomal tergites in apical half distinctly and usually at long distance bend down and ventral margins of sixth tergite below almost connected or closely situated; 6) first metasoma segment semi-petiolate, its acrosternite elongate and about 0.35 times as long as first tergite, first tergite laterally distinctly bend down; 7) with seven dorsally visible tergites; 8) hypopygium along apical margin with distinct and rather deep emargination; 9) ovipositor sheath leaf-shaped, wide, weakly concave and considerably short.

Composition

Leptorhaconotus alluaudi Granger, 1949 (AF); L. annulicornis Granger, 1949 (AF); L. brunneus Granger, 1949 (AF); L. coriaceus Granger, 1949 (AF); L. marshi Quicke, 1996 (AF); L. seyrigi Granger, 1949 (AF); L. testaceus Granger, 1949 (AF).

Hosts

Unknown.

Distribution

Afrotropical region.

Remarks

This genus was previously placed within the monotypic tribe Leptorhaconotini ( van Achterberg 1984; Belokobylskij 1992). Recent molecular phylogenetic studies ( Zaldívar-Riverón et al. 2008; Jasso- Martínez et al. 2019) however, consistently showed that it actually belongs to the Rhaconotini . Species of Leptorhaconotus are characterized by having various exclusive morphological features, including metasomal tergites laterally evenly bend down at long distances; ventral margins of sixth tergite below almost connected or closely situated; metasoma tube-shaped in dissection; acrosternite of first metasomal segment elongated; ovipositor basally flat and wide, evenly narrowed toward apex, strong upcurved, without dorsoapical tubercles and ventro-apical serration; and ovipositor sheath wide and flat, leaf-shaped. All listed characters convinced us to preserve this supergeneric name as subtribe name Leptorhaconotina inside Rhaconotini

Figures

Fig. 22. Leptorhaconotus brunneus Granger, 1949, ♀, holotype, MNHN. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Head, front view. C. Head, dorsal view. D. Head, lateral view. E. Basal segments of antenna. F. Mesosoma, dorsal view. G. Mesosoma, lateral view. H. Propodeum, first metasomal tergite, hind coxa and femur, lateral view. I. Hind coxae and first metasomal tergite, ventral view. J. First to third metasomal tergites, dorsal view. K. Ovipositor with sheaths, dorso-lateral view.

Fig. 23. Leptorhaconotus brunneus Granger, 1949, ♀, holotype, MNHN. A. Fore wing. B. Hind wing. C. Metasoma, dorsal view. D. Second and third metasomal tergites, dorsal view. E. Apex of metasoma and ovipositor with sheaths, lateral view. F. Apex of metasoma and ovipositor with sheaths, ventral view. G. Ovipositor with sheaths, dorsal view. H. Metasoma, lateral view.