Meria elamita, Boni, 2008

Boni, M., 2008, Contribution to the knowledge of the Palaearctic Meriini (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Myzininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (2), pp. 1367-1397 : 1374-1375

Meria elamita nov.sp.

Holotypus - Persia ( Iran) = /SW Persia Escalera 1900-61/ / K. Sepid /, BMNH!

Paratypi - Persia ( Iran) = (3) /SW Persia Escalera 1900-61/ / K. Sepid /, BMNH.

Paratypi - Persia ( Iran) = (3) /SW Persia Escalera 1900-61/ / K. Sepid /, BMNH; (1) / SW Persia Escalera 1900-61/ / K. Sepid / / Meria caspica RAD. Gorbatovsky det. 1978/, BMNH .

Male: Holotype. Figs 38-43 . Measurements (mm): body length = 13 mm; fore wing length = 7.5.

Black, brown and yellow.

Brown: Ventral edge of the clypeus, apex of mandibles, most of the scape, flagellum, veins, legs but yellow stains, lateroterga.

Yellow: most of clypeal disk, tips of Tsa, base of mandibles, frontal side of the scape, two large lateral spots along foreborder and one large subapical on N 1 disk, a spot on Es 2, most of Last 2, ventral X, apical and ventral femurs, all the tibiae and tarsi, apical stripe on 1 st to 6 th terga and 2 nd to 6 th sterna, two lateral spots on 7 th tergum.

Shallow notch between Tsa. PoG very well produced, much more than standard of the genus. Secu stripe as wide as flagellum.

Well impressed p. with interspaces less than their diameter on most of the head and mesosoma, settled in rough rows on Sc 1 and Es 2;densely packed small p. on postscutellar area; rough strong wrinkles on Em 3; very dense rough p. on propodeum; sparse weak pits on terga; large sparse p. on 1 st sternum, weaker on basal half remaining sterna; smooth apical half sterna.

Hair whitish and short, longer on P, never hiding underlying integument.

D i s t r i b u t i o n: The typical locality.

E c o l o g y: Unknown.

D e r i v a t i o n o m i n i s: From the ancient kingdom of Elam, the present-day Khuzestan.

D i s c u s s i o n: It belongs to the group of palaearctic males with completely hairless and smooth fore (outer) surface of mid femur. It is well known species by the following combination of character states: transversal head (ratio LA/A = 1.15) with an almost straight vertex in frontal aspect; PoG only slightly swollen and well expressed (The ratio LFoO / LPoG is only about 1/3; length of FoO measured from hypostomal basis to clypeus); N 1 disk strongly transversal (Ratio LA/ Am ~ 2,8) with a short laminated keel along its for border; genitalia with stout apex of gonostylus and rather big digitus of the volsella.

The female has been described under M. arabica (BONI BARTALUCCI 2004: 384-385, figs 57-62). It is featured by transversal head (ratio LA/A = 1.23), the largely sculptured propodeal disk with strongly impressed median furrow, the ferruginous-brown (vinous) colour of the head and mesosoma.

Figures

Figs 38-43: Meria elamita nov.sp. Holotype. (38) head, frontal aspect; (39) head, antenna and pronotum, dorsal aspect; (40) pronotum, lateral aspect; (41) basal metameri, dorsal aspect; (42) 7th tergum, dorsal aspect; (43) gonostylus and volsella.