Aphanogmus robustus, 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 : 118-121

Aphanogmus robustus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:83AF3123-A726-471F-86B1-72CF54D1094A

Fig. 32

Diagnosis

F1 1.4× as long as wide; preoccipital furrow distinct; mesometapleuron with distinct longitudinal striations. Male genitalia: harpe bilobed; ventral lobe finger-shaped and dorsolateral lobe triangular in lateral view; harpe/gvc index 0.41; dorsolateral lobe/ventral lobe index 0.28; dorsolateral length of harpe/harpe index 0.56; dorsomedial margins of harpes converging and touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe straight and diverging distolaterally from base to apex.

Etymology

The species name is derived from the Latin word ‘ robustus ’ which means ‘robust’, with reference to the distinctly sculptured head and mesosoma.

Material examined

Holotype

KENYA • ♂; Western Province, Kakamega Forest; 00°21′36.6 N, 34°52′22.9 E; 1575 m a.s.l.; 5 Jul. 2007; F. Hita Garcia leg.; Transect 9; primary rain forest; Winkler leaf litter extraction; ZFMK; ZFMK- HYM-00037027 .

Description

Male

BODY LENGTH. 0.73 mm.

COLOUR. Head brown, mesosoma brown, metasoma light brown; scape light brown-yellowish and pedicel light brown, flagellum light brown; legs light brown except joints and tarsi lighter and coxae yellowish; fore wing venation light brown, fore and hind wing disc slightly melanized, fore wing at proximal part and distal part less melanized.

ANTENNA. 11-segmented, flagellomeres trapezoidal; scape 3.4× as long as pedicel, scape longer than F1 and F2 combined, F1 1.4× as long as wide, F1 1.8× as long as pedicel, F1 1.4× as long as F2, F1 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F1 shorter than F9, F6 1.3 × as long as wide, F6 shorter than F7 and F8 combined, F6 1.2 × as high as F9; few distinctly small multiporous plates on flagellomeres, sensillae on flagellomeres erect and sickle-shaped and longer than width of F1 to F5.

HEAD. Head width 1.13 × head height; head width 1.84 × interorbital space; maximum eye diameter 1.19 × minimum eye diameter; head height 1.63 × maximum eye diameter. Dorsal margin of occipital carina ventral to dorsal margin of lateral ocellus in lateral view; preoccipital furrow distinct; preoccipital carina present. OOL:POL:LOL 1.00:1.00:1.00; OOL 1.43 × lateral ocellus diameter. White, thick setae on upper face absent; supraclypeal depression present; lateral margin of torulus slightly raised; intertorular carina present; posterolateral processes of gena absent.

MESOSOMA, METASOMA. Mesosoma compressed laterally. Head width 1.17 × mesosoma width; Weber length 244 µm. Mesoscutum densely setose, setae curved backwards; median mesoscutal sulcus present; median mesoscutal sulcus adjacent to transscutal articulation; interaxillar sulcus present (= scutoscutellar sulcus not adjacent to transscutal articulation), scutoscutellar sulcus straight; dorsal axillar area setose, setae curved backwards; mesoscutellum setose, setae curved backwards or straight. Mesoscutum width 1.93 × mesoscutellum width; posterior mesoscutal width 1.47 × mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.17 × mesoscutellum width; mesoscutellum length 1.14 × posterior mesoscutal width; Weber length 1.34 × mesoscutum width; Weber length 1.56 × mesoscutellum length. Anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex distinctly short, oriented posterodorsally 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; short basal longitudinal carinae on syntergum; translucent patches on metasoma absent.

FORE WING. Length 3.10 × width; stigmal vein longer than 2× pterostigma marginal length.

MALE GENITALIA. Genital length 119 µm; Weber length 2.05 × genital length; gvc width 56 µm; genital length 2.11× gvc width; gvc width less than two thirds of gvc length; gvc width 1.40 × distal gvc width. Proximodorsal margin of gvc convex; distodorsal margin of gvc slightly descending proximomedially ( Fig.32C );proximoventral margin of gvc concave;distoventral margin of gvc descending proximomedially ( Fig. 32A ); ventral area of gvc straight; dorsal area of gvc convex ( Fig. 32B ); proximolateral margin of gvc strongly ascending ventrally; distolateral margin of gvc convex ( Fig. 32B ). Harpe bilobed; ventral lobe finger-shaped and dorsolateral lobe triangular in lateral view; harpe/gvc index 0.41; dorsolateral lobe/ventral lobe index 0.28; dorsolateral length of harpe/harpe index 0.56; lateral articulation site of harpe with gvc not flush ( Fig. 32A, C ); ventral margin of harpe straight, dorsal margin slightly concave ( Fig. 32B ), lateral margin convex, widest point of harpe at basal third ( Fig. 32A, C ); dorsomedial margins of harpes converging and touching at distodorsal margin of gvc, dorsomedial margin of harpe straight and diverging distolaterally from base to apex ( Fig. 32C ), apices of ventral and dorsolateral lobe slightly pointed, oriented distolaterally ( Fig. 32A, C ). Harpe with at least two apical setae on dorsolateral lobe, longest apical setae on dorsolateral lobe half as long as harpe, apical setae on dorsolateral lobe oriented distolaterally and distoventrally; harpe with at least one apical seta on ventral lobe, longest apical seta on ventral lobe less than one quarter as long as harpe, apical seta on ventral lobe oriented distolaterally and distoventrally; indistinct number of median setae on ventral lobe, longest median setae less than one quarter as long as harpe, median setae with indistinct orientation. Aedeagus + gonossiculus less than three quarters as long as harpe, apex of aedeagus + gonossiculus divided ( Fig. 32A, C ) and as dorsal as apex of dorsolateral lobe of harpe. Aedeagus + gonossiculus with two 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

The head and mesosoma of A. robustus sp. nov. is distinctly sculptured, similar to A. kisiwa sp. nov. and A. reticulatus . Aphanogmus robustus and A. reticulatus can be easily distinguished by antennal and male genitalia characters, A. robustus and A. kisiwa preferably by antennal characters (flagellomeres of A. robustus are distinctly shorter than those of A. kisiwa ); their male genitalia are rather similar. Aphanogmus robustus also has distinct longitudinal striations on the meso- or metapleuron, a character that is shared – considering only Afrotropical species of Aphanogmus with bilobed harpes – with A. kisiwa , A. rafikii sp. nov., A. taji sp. nov., A. dictynna , A. fijiensis and A. reticulatus . Differences to A. kisiwa and to A. reticulatus have already been outlined above. Aphanogmus robustus differs from A. dictynna , which is also similar in the male genitalia, in the flagellomeres being rather short in A. robustus but even shorter and moniliform in A. dictynna ( Buffington & Polaszek 2009) , and the scape being shorter than F1 to F3 combined in A. robustus and longer in A. dictynna . In addition, there are also subtle differences in the male genitalia, i.e., the harpe/gvc index is lower in A. robustus and the gap between the lobes is less pronounced in A. dictynna . Aphanogmus robustus and A. fijiensis can be distinguished by the scape being shorter than F1 to F3 combined in A. robustus and longer in A. fijiensis , by a brown to light brown body colouration in A. robustus and a black body colouration (excluding legs and antennae) in A. fijiensis , by a distinctly short anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex in A. robustus and a long anteromedian projection of the metanoto-propodeo-metapecto-mesopectal complex in A. fijiensis , and by a less pronounced gap between the ventral and dorsolateral lobe of the harpe of the male genitalia in A. fijiensis (more pronounced in A. robustus ). Aphanogmus rafikii and A. taji are easy to distinguish from A. robustus by various body and male genitalia characters, for example, by a brown scape and metacoxa and the presence of the mesometapleural sulcus (but indistinct) in dorsal third of mesometapleuron in A. rafikii sp. nov. (scape light brown-yellowish, metacoxa yellowish and mesometapleural sulcus absent in A. robustus ). In A. taji , the scape is shorter than F1 and F2 combined, F1 is 3.5× as long as wide and OOL:POL is 0.33–0.50 (scape is longer than F1 and F2 combined, F1 is 1.4 × as long as wide and OOL:POL is 1.00 in A. robustus ).

Aphanogmus robustus sp. nov. matches some of the diagnostic characters of the Aphanogmus hakonensis species complex ( Polaszek & Dessart 1996) in which also A. dictynna was classified ( Buffington & Polaszek 2009): dark body colouration (except for parts of the antennae and the legs), longitudinally striated mesometapleuron without a sulcus, and laterally and posteriorly carinate mesoscutellum (though only weakly carinate). We refrain from formally assigning A. robustus to the Aphanogmus hakonensis species complex.

For more comparisons with similar species, see remarks under A. kisiwa sp. nov.

Condition of type material

In the holotype, the left F8 and F9, and the right hind leg are missing (except coxa). The posterior part of the metasoma is slightly deformed, thus the body length measurement is not precise.

Figures

Fig. 32. Holotype of Aphanogmus robustus sp. nov. (ZFMK-HYM-00037027). A–C. Male genitalia in ventral (A), lateral (B) and dorsal (C) views. D. Habitus in lateral view; inset: head and antenna in frontal view.