Aphanogmus kisiwa, Salden & Peters, 2023

Salden, Tobias & Peters, Ralph S., 2023, Afrotropical Ceraphronoidea (Insecta: Hymenoptera) put back on the map with the description of 88 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 884 (1), pp. 1-386 : 89-93

Aphanogmus kisiwa sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1128A587-CC58-4952-9CDA-6496BFF43082

Fig. 24

Diagnosis

Flagellomeres cylindric and slightly trapezoidal; scape as long as F1 and F2 combined; F1 3.5× as long as wide; mesometapleuron with distinct longitudinal striations. Male genitalia: harpe slightly bilobed; ventral lobe finger-shaped and dorsolateral lobe very short in lateral view; harpe/gvc index 0.38; dorsolateral lobe/ventral lobe index 0.00; dorsolateral length of harpe/harpe index 0.56; dorsomedial margins of harpes converging and touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe convex in short basal part, concave in almost basal three quarters, straight and diverging distolaterally in apical quarter.

Etymology

The species name is derived from the Swahili word ‘ kisiwa ’ which means ‘island’, with reference to the Kakamega Forest as sampling location and heavily fragmented and threatened ‘island’ ecosystem.

Material examined

Holotype

KENYA • ♂; Western Province, Kakamega Forest; 00°21′7.9 N, 34°52′2.6 E; 1597 m a.s.l.; 2 Jul. 2007; F. Hita Garcia leg.; Transect 7; primary rain forest; Winkler leaf litter extraction; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00037024 .

Description

Male

BODY LENGTH. 0.98 mm.

COLOUR. Head dark brown, mesosoma dark brown, metasoma brown; scape and pedicel light brown, flagellum brown; legs light brown except joints, tarsi and metacoxa yellowish; fore wing venation light brown, distal end of marginal vein and pterostigma marginal vein distinctly darker, fore and hind wing disc slightly melanized.

ANTENNA. Flagellomeres cylindric and slightly trapezoidal; scape 4.2× as long as pedicel, scape as long as F1 and F2 combined, F1 3.5 × as long as wide, F1 2.3× as long as pedicel, F1 1.3× as long as F2; few distinctly small multiporous plates on flagellomeres, sensillae on flagellomeres erect and longer than width of F1 to F5.

HEAD. Head width 1.09 × head height; head width 1.85 × interorbital space; maximum eye diameter 1.25 × minimum eye diameter; head height 1.76 × maximum eye diameter. Dorsal margin of occipital carina ventral to dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view; preoccipital furrow present; preoccipital carina distinct. OOL:POL:LOL 1.00:1.00:0.70; OOL 1.40 × lateral ocellus diameter. White, thick setae on upper face absent; supraclypeal depression present; lateral margin of torulus raised; intertorular carina present; posterolateral processes of gena absent.

MESOSOMA, METASOMA. Mesosoma compressed laterally. Head width 1.23 × mesosoma width; Weber length 313 µm. Mesoscutum densely setose, setae curved backwards; median mesoscutal sulcus present; median mesoscutal sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation; interaxillar sulcus absent (= scutoscutellar sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation), scutoscutellar sulcus concave; dorsal axillar area setose, setae curved backwards; mesoscutellum setose, setae curved backwards or straight. Mesoscutum width 2.18 × mesoscutellum width; posterior mesoscutal width 1.59 × mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.89× mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.19 × posterior mesoscutal width; Weber length 1.35 × mesoscutum width; Weber length 1.56 × mesoscutellum length. Anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex distinctly short, transparent, posterodorsally oriented in lateral view with pointed end; mesometapleural sulcus absent, mesometapleuron with distinct longitudinal striations; posterior propodeal projection distinctly short and light in ventrolateral view; posterior mesosomal comb absent. Basal transverse carina of petiole (on syntergum) present; at least eight, distinct, longitudinal carinae on syntergum; pairs of translucent patches on metasomal syntergum and synsternum.

FORE WING. Length 2.93 × width; stigmal vein longer than 2× pterostigma marginal length.

MALE GENITALIA. Genital length 138 µm; Weber length 2.27 × genital length; gvc width 56 µm; genital length 2.44× gvc width; gvc width more than half of gvc length; gvc width 1.20 × distal gvc width. Proximodorsal margin of gvc slightly convex; distodorsal margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 24C ); proximoventral margin of gvc slightly convex; distoventral margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 24A ); ventral area of gvc convex; dorsal area of gvc slightly convex ( Fig. 24B ); proximolateral margin of gvc slightly ascending ventrally; distolateral margin of gvc descending ventrally ( Fig. 24B ). Harpe slightly bilobed; ventral lobe finger-shaped and dorsolateral lobe very short in lateral view; harpe/gvc index 0.38; dorsolateral lobe/ventral lobe index 0.00; dorsolateral length of harpe/harpe index 0.56; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc not flush ( Fig. 24A, C ); ventral margin of harpe convex in basal two thirds and concave in apical third, dorsal margin convex ( Fig. 24B ), lateral margin slightly convex, widest point of harpe at basal half ( Fig. 24A, C ); dorsomedial margins of harpes converging and touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe convex in short basal part, concave in almost basal three quarters, straight and diverging distolaterally in apical quarter ( Fig. 24C ), apex of ventral lobe pointed and apex of dorsolateral lobe indistinct, apex of ventral lobe oriented distolaterally ( Fig. 24A, C ). Harpe with at least one lateral seta on dorsolateral lobe restricted to apical half, longest lateral seta more than three quarters as long as harpe, lateral seta oriented distolaterally; harpe with at least one apical seta on dorsolateral lobe, longest apical seta on dorsolateral lobe more than three quarters as long as harpe, apical seta on dorsolateral lobe oriented distolaterally and distoventrally; harpe with at least two apical setae on ventral lobe, longest apical setae on ventral lobe less than one quarter as long as harpe, apical setae on ventral lobe oriented distodorsally, distolaterally and distoventrally; indistinct number of median setae on ventral lobe, longest median setae less than one quarter as long as harpe, median setae oriented distodorsally and with indistinct orientation. Aedeagus + gonossiculus two thirds as long as harpe, apex of aedeagus + gonossiculus divided ( Fig. 24A, C ) and dorsal to indistinct apex of dorsolateral lobe of harpe. Aedeagus + gonossiculus with two distinct digital teeth, oriented dorsally. Genitalia moderately sclerotized with strongest sclerotization at aedeagus + gonossiculus.

Female

Unknown.

Variation

Unknown.

Biology

Host unknown, specimen collected from leaf litter.

Distribution

Afrotropical: Kenya.

Remarks

Comparison with similar species

Aphanogmus kisiwa sp. nov. and A. dictynna ( Waterston, 1923) , which are rather similar at first sight, can be easily distinguished by the long and thin flagellomeres of A. kisiwa and the moniliform flagellomeres of A. dictynna . Aphanogmus kisiwa and Aphanogmus fijiensis ( Ferrière, 1933) share the slightly bilobed harpes (Dessart 1971; Polaszek & LaSalle 1995). However, they can be distinguished by the gvc being more narrowed in A. kisiwa and the harpes being less strongly curved in ventral direction in A. kisiwa (for harpes of A. fijiensis see Dessart 1971: 97, fig. 14). In addition, the ventral lobe of the harpe is thinner (in lateral view) and the apical seta on the dorsolateral lobe is longer in A. kisiwa . Also, the proportions of the flagellomeres differ between A. kisiwa and A. fijiensis , for example, F1 (= “3 rd antennal joint” in Ferrière 1933) is distinctly shorter than the pedicel in A. kisiwa , and as long as the pedicel in A. fijiensis . Aphanogmus kisiwa matches some of the diagnostic characters of the Aphanogmus hakonensis species complex ( Polaszek & Dessart 1996): dark body colouration (except for parts of the antennae and the legs), longitudinally striated mesometapleuron without a sulcus, and laterally and posteriorly carinate mesoscutellum. However, because we have only a single specimen and some diagnostic characters, like F6–F9 being black in contrast to F1–F5, cannot be checked because of the incomplete antennae, we refrain from formally assigning A. kisiwa to the Aphanogmus hakonensis species complex.

For more comparisons with similar species, see remarks under A. robustus sp. nov. and A. rafikii sp. nov.

Condition of type material

In the holotype, the right F6–F9, the left F4–F9, and the right fore wing are missing. The posterior part of the metasoma is slightly deformed, thus the body length measurement is not precise.

Figures

Fig. 24. Holotype of Aphanogmus kisiwa sp. nov. (ZFMK-HYM-00037024). A–C. Male genitalia in ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. D. Habitus in lateral view.