Tetraglossula meloi Almeida & Gibran, 2017

Almeida, Eduardo A. B. & Gibran, Nadia S., 2017, Taxonomy of neopasiphaeine bees: review of Tetraglossula Ogloblin, 1948 (Hymenoptera: Colletidae), Zootaxa 4303 (4), pp. 521-544 : 536-541

Tetraglossula meloi Almeida & Gibran , sp.n.

( Figures 14 R–U, 15M–O, 16A, 20)

Diagnosis. Easily distinguished from all other species of Tetraglossula , except for T. fucosa , for the orange metasoma ( T. meloi is larger than T. fucosa , and punctation on scutum and T1 coarser and denser than in T. fucosa ). Fuscous wing membrane also found in T. anthracina : these two species can be easily distinguished by the coloration, and the morphology of S7. The only other species with a narrow basal lobe or S7 covered with strong setae is T. deltivaga , which can be distinguished from T. meloi for the coloration and in the case of S7, the distribution of long plumose setae on the apical lobe (mostly restricted to the lateral edge in T. deltivaga ).

Description: Male (holotype). Mensuration (in mm): approximate body length: 9.8; forewing and hindwing lengths: 7.0, 5.1; diameter of the median ocellus: 0.18; ocellocular distance (shortest distance between lateral ocellus and compound eye): 0.55; interocellar distance (shortest distance between lateral ocelli): 0.52; upper & lower interocular distance (shortest distance between inner orbits of compound eyes, above & below level of emargination, respectively): 1.86, 1.91; maximum interocular distance (greatest distance between inner orbits of compound eyes at level of emargination): 1.95; interalveolar distance (shortest distance between antennal foramina): 0.5; length of scape, pedicel, F1, F2, F3, and F11: 0.70, 0.18, 0.19, 0.11, 0.11, 0.21, width of F3: 0.17. Intertegular distance: 1.85, length of scutum, scutellum, metanotum, and anterior horizontal surface of metapostnotum: 1.51, 0.59, 0.22, 0.31. Length of metasoma and maximum width (T3): 4.81, 2.75; maximum width of T1 (apical margin): 2.40. Median apical lobe on clypeal margin semispherical ( Fig. 20 E) comparable in size to antennal alveolus; anterior tentorial pit located laterally to lateral margin of alveolus. Vertex behind lateral ocelli as long as 2× flagellar diameter. Apex of pygidial plate triangular, wider basally ( Fig. 20 F). Coloration. Integument black, except ventral surface of F3–F11 orange; mediotarsi and distitarsi reddish brown (fore basitarsus also reddish brown); tegula dark brown and wing veins dark brown to black, wing membrane fuscous; metasomal terga and sterna orange (except for large black spot on side of T2). Male genitalia and hidden sterna S6–S8: Figs 14 R– U, 15M–O. Basal lobe of S7 ( Fig. 14 S) narrow, with robust setae along the middle and apical edge of this sclerite, not superposed with the apical lobe, aligned with the axis of the apodeme; apical lobe with distinctively long and plumose setae on lateral and apical margins; medial sclerotized region positioned proximally to apical and basal lobes of S7 long (shorter than in T. anthracina [ Fig. 14 B], longer than in T. bigamica and T. fucosa [ Fig. 14 F,M]). Apical lobe of S8 approximately as equal as disc of S 8 in profile ( Fig. 14 U). Sculpturing and punctation. Moderately coarse and very dense (<1 dp) on clypeus ( Fig. 20 E), frons, and vertex ( Fig. 20 B), sparser and slightly finer on upper frons, leaving impunctate areas around ocelli and between lateral ocellus and eye; fascial fovea very shallow, almost imperceptible; moderately coarse and moderately sparse (1–2 dp) on disc of scutum and of scutellum ( Fig. 20 B), denser marginad, integument smooth between punctures; anterior horizontal surface of metapostnotum smooth and shiny, delimited by row of deep fossulate pits on side; on T1 moderately fine and moderately dense (1–3 pd; Fig. 20 B), on marginal area very sparse, irregular, with fine transverse row of punctures close to tergal margin. Pubescence mostly fuscous and plumose, whitish on lateral tufts of clypeus and gena.

Female unknown.

Holotype (♂): “951577”, “ Santo Antonio \Cocos-BA, Brasil \ 44°40’W, 14°8’S ”, “24,27- VII-1995 ” “2,27 - VII- 1995 \Mazucato, leg.” [RPSP]. This species is known from the unique holotype.

Distribution ( Fig. 19 ): BRAZIL: Bahia (Cocos). The species is known only from the unique holotype.

Etymology. This species is named after Prof. Gabriel A. R. Melo, whose research on Apoidea, particularly the taxonomy of Neotropical bees, has led to relevant improvement in the field.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Male metasomal sterna VI (ventral view), VII (dorsal view), and VIII (dorsal and lateral views) of Tetraglossula spp.: (A – D) T. anthracina (Michener) [specimen from Brazil, MG, Santana do Riacho-UFMG IHY- 4683]; (E – H) T. bigamica (Strand) [specimen from Brazil, RS, Rosário do Sul-RPSP- 162186]; (I – L) T. deltivaga Ogloblin [Brazil, SP, Ribeirão Preto- RPSP]; (M – P) T. fucosa (Michener) [Brazil, SP, Ribeirão Preto-RPSP]; (R – U) T. meloi Almeida & Gibran, sp. n. [Holotype, RPSP # 951577]. ALb, apical lobe of S 7; BLb, basal lobe of S 7; LLb, lateral lobe of S 7; LPr, lateral process of S 8; MPr, median process of S 8; scale bars = 0.2 mm. Scale bars = 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 19. Geographical distribution of Tetraglossula (left) indicated by the minimum convex polygon constructed using the individual occurrence points for all six species of the genus; individual records for each species shown on the maps on the right.

FIGURE 20. Holotype (♂) of Tetraglossula meloi Almeida & Gibran, sp. n. [RPSP, # 951577]: (A) lateral habitus; (B) dorsal habitus; (C) labels attached to the specimen; (D) frontal view; (E) detail of clypeus, frontal view (arrow indicates median apical lobe on clypeal margin); (F) pygidial plate (T 7). Scale bars = 1.0 mm unless otherwise indicated.