Pristaulacus nobilei Turrisi & Smith, 2011

Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio & Smith, David R., 2011, Systematic revision and phylogeny of the endemic southeastern Asian Pristaulacus comptipennis species group (Hymenoptera: Aulacidae) 2959, Zootaxa 2959 (1), pp. 1-72 : 41-43

Pristaulacus nobilei Turrisi & Smith , sp. nov.

( Figs 109–117 )

Type material. CHINA: holotype ♀, “ Canton (China), Westfluss, Ting-Wu-San, Mell S.G./Zool. Mus. Berlin/ [unreadable handwritten label]/ Pristaulacus nobilei Turrisi & Smith sp. n. ♀, 2009, Holotypus ” ( ZMHB) . Paratypes: 1♀, “F, China, NGistGee, coll./ Pristaulacus nobilei Turrisi & Smith sp. n. ♀, 2009, Paratypus ” ( USNM) ; 3♀, “China Macao”/ Pristaulacus nobilei Turrisi & Smith sp. n. ♀, 2009, Paratypus ” ( BMNH) ; 1♀, “ Tai-o Lantau Isl , Hong Kong, VI.12.1978/RD Montgomery colr/Davis/USNM 2046975/ Pristaulacus nobilei Turrisi & Smith sp. n. ♀, 2009, Paratypus ” ( USNM) .

Etymology. Named after Dr Vittorio Nobile (University of Catania, Italy), specialist in Apoidea ( Hymenoptera ).

Description. FEMALE (holotype). Length: 18.5 mm; fore wing length: 13.1 mm; ovipositor length: 18.5 mm.

Colour black, except: clypeus dark brown on lateral lobes; mandible extensively dark reddish orange, lighter medially; maxillo-labial complex brownish, with palpi darker; antenna dark brown with A1 lighter; wing extensively infuscate, except middle and apical third; metasoma with T2 extensively dark reddish. Setae: brownish, reddish goldish on mandible.

Head, from above 1.2 × wider than long, shiny; occipital margin weakly grooved medially; temple, from above, well developed, rounded; occipital carina narrow, 0.3 × diameter of an ocellus; POL:OOL= 1.2; ocellar area 2.3 × wider than long; vertex and temple with coarse, deep and scattered punctures (distance between punctures 2.0–4.0 × puncture diameters); frons with coarse, deep and dense punctures (distance between punctures 1.0–1.5 × puncture diameters); clypeus with coarse, superficial and dense punctures; malar area with coarse, deep and dense punctures; occipital area with coarse, deep and scattered to dense punctures (distance between punctures 1.5–3.0 × puncture diameters); antenna 0.6 × fore wing length; A3 3.3 × longer than wide; A4 4.0 × longer than wide, and 1.3 × longer than A3; A5 3.8 × longer than wide, and 1.2 × longer than A3. Setae: erect or semi erect, long and scattered on vertex and upper third of frons; erect or semi erect, long and dense on most of frons, recumbent on lower half; semi erect, long and scattered on temple (length of setae 1.0–1.2 × diameter of an ocellus); recumbent, long and dense on clypeus; recumbent, long and dense on malar area.

Mesosoma coarsely sculptured; pronotum areolate rugose, with two well-developed tooth-like processes on each lateroventral margin, anterior one moderately developed, posterior one weaker; propleuron polished and shiny with coarse, deep and scattered punctures on dorsal surface, fine to moderately coarse, moderately deep and scattered on ventral surface (distance between punctures 3.0–5.0 × or more puncture diameters); prescutum sub-trapezoidal, concave, areolate-rugose; mesoscutum mostly areolate-rugose, with anterior part moderately emarginate in middle, very slightly pointed (lateral view); notauli deep and wide; scutellum areolate-rugose; mesopleuron areolate-rugose, except a restricted part of subalar area, punctate; metanotum longitudinally carinate; propodeum areolate-rugose, except anterior margin longitudinally carinate; venter of mesosoma foveolate-punctate to rugulose (medially); fore wing with vein 2-rs+m short; coxa I polished with a few weak punctures; coxa II transverse-carinulate on dorsal surface, polished and coarsely punctate on ventral surface; coxa III coarsely transverse-carinate on dorsal surface, polished and punctate on ventral surface, punctures coarse, deep and dense to scattered (distance between punctures 1.0–3.0 × puncture diameters); inner spur of mid and hind tibia slightly longer than outer spur; hind basitarsus 9.4 × longer than wide, and 1.0 × as tarsomeres 2–5; tarsal claws with six tooth-like processes. Setae: erect to recumbent, long and scattered on dorsal surface; erect or semi erect, long and scattered on pronotum; recumbent or semi erect, short and scattered on sides and venter of mesosoma; erect, long and dense on hind surface of propodeum; erect, long and dense on propleuron (setae length 0.8 × pretarsus length).

Metasoma pyriform (lateral view), moderately compressed laterally; petiole elongate, slender, 2.4 × longer than wide; segments 1 and 2 mostly polished and shiny; laterodistal parts of T2 and remaining segments with fine, superficial and dense punctures; S7 polished with coarse, deep and dense punctures; T8 finely sculptured, with fine, deep and scattered punctures; ovipositor 1.4 × fore wing length. Setae: segments 1 and 2 mostly glabrous; recumbent, short and dense on laterodistal parts of T2 and on remaining segments.

MALE unknown.

Intraspecific variation. Examined 6♀. Length: 18.0– 19.8 mm; fore wing length: 13.1–15.3 mm; ovipositor 1.2–1.4 × fore wing length. The colour and the colour pattern, especially of the wings is almost constant within the six specimens.

Distribution. China (Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces) ( Fig. 186 ).

Biology. Unknown.

Figures

FIGURE 186. Distribution map of Pristaulacus comptipennis species group. The number of species is indicated for each subregions, north: Japanese islands, middle: China and surroundings, south: Laos, Thailand, Vietnam. Letters refer to species: a, P. asiaticus; b, P. boninensis; c, P. comptipennis; d, P. corellianus; e, P. dilleri; f, P. emarginaticeps; g, P. excisus; h, P. gusenleitneri; i, P. insularis; j, P. jenningsi; k, P.konishii; l, P. lagrecai; m, P. nobilei; n, P. porcatus; o, P. sharkeyi; p, P. thailandensis; q, P. vietnamensis; r, P. vilhelmseni; s, P. vivaldianus; t, P. watanabei.

FIGURES 109–113. Pristaulacus nobilei sp. nov., holotype ♀. 109. Head, dorsal view. 110. Head, frontal view. 111. Head, lateral view. 112. Mesosoma, dorsal view. 113. Pronotum, lateral view.

FIGURES 114–117. Pristaulacus nobilei sp. nov., holotype ♀. 114. Wings. 115. Mesosoma, lateral view. 116. Hind coxae, ventral view. 117. Metasoma, lateral view.