Pseudophotopsis aurea ( Klug, 1829 )

Cascio, Pietro Lo, Romano, Marcello & Grita, Flavia, 2012, New species and new records of mutillid wasps from the Socotra Archipelago (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 52, pp. 525-544 : 527-528

Pseudophotopsis aurea ( Klug, 1829)

Mutilla aurea Klug, 1829: 18 , tab. 4, fig. 3.

Mutilla kassalina Magretti, 1898: 42 .

Pseudophotopsis kassalina: MAGRETTI (1906: 40) ; BISCHOFF (1920: 99); NONVEILLER (1974: 105).

Pseudophotopsis kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, 1920: 99 (unavailable name).

Ephutomma continua var. aurea: MAGRETTI (1906: 37) .

Ephutomma continua ssp. aurea: BISCHOFF (1920: 151) ; INVREA (1956: 301).

Pseudophotopsis continua ssp. arabica Hammer, 1962: 2 .

Pseudophotopsis aurea: NONVEILLER (1974: 105) ; LELEJ & HARTEN (2006: 7) .

Type localities. Mutilla aurea : ‘ Ex Habissinia et Arabia deserta’ [ Ethiopia and Arabia] ; Mutilla kassalina : ‘Kassala’ [ Sudan]; Pseudophotopsis continua ssp. arabica : ‘Sufean, Lahej, Aden’ [SW Yemen] .

Type material. Mutilla kassalina : ‘Coll.e P. Magretti / Kessala / Fatigati 18[…]’ ‘ Mutilla / ( Pseudophotopsis ) / kassalina, Magrt. ’ ‘TYPUS’ ( MSNG). Pseudophotopsis kassalina f. semiaurata: ‘Coll.e P. Magretti / C.a Eritrea / Arafati 1901’ ‘ kassalina Magr. ’ ‘ semiaurata / Bisch. Type / det. Bischoff’ ( MSNG).

Additional material examined. ‘ Sokotra Isld. / Di Hamri / 20-21.xi.2008 / Saldaitiene & Saldaitis leg.’, 1J ( PLFG) ; ‘ SOCOTRA is. ( YE) / Wadi Ayhaft 12°36.5′ N / 53°58.9′ E, 200 m / Jan Batelka leg., 7-8.xi.2010 ’, 1 J ( NMPC) ; ‘ Sokotra Island N. / Di Hamri env. / 01.iii.2008 / leg. A. Saldaitis’, 1 J ( MRCI) ; ‘ N. Sokotra / Island, / Wadi Kam / 13.i.2010 / Saldaitis leg.’, 1 J ( MRCI) .

Notes. Mutilla kassalina Magretti, 1898 , described from Kessala (= Kassalā, Sudan), was recently treated as a junior synonym of Pseudophotopsis aurea ( Klug, 1829) by LELEJ & HARTEN (2006); this synonymy is based on the overlapping distribution areas and on common morphological characters in both sexes. However, the status of Pseudophotopsis kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, 1920, described based on a male from Eritrea, has not yet been clarified. BISCHOFF (1920: 96) based the distinction of this taxon from the typical form on the absence of the apical fringe of golden pubescence on T1. After the examination of the types of both taxa, we can confirm their morphological identity, as well as that in both specimens fringe on T1 is lacking. Furthermore, according to the original description ( MAGRETTI 1898: 42), the fringe has not been indicated as occurring on M. kassalina ; that suggests that the distinction of the Bischoff’s taxon may have been based on a misinterpretation of the diagnostic characters truly given by Magretti. In any case, Bischoff expressly gave it an infrasubspecific rank; therefore, according to the articles 45.5 and 45.6.4 of ICZN (1999), the name is unavailable.

Distribution. Pseudophotopsis aurea is known from Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, and has been recently recorded also from continental Yemen ( LELEJ & HARTEN 2006). First record from the Socotra Island.