Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, 2021

van Noort, Simon, Lahey, Zachary, Talamas, Elijah J., Austin, Andrew D., Masner, Lubomir, Polaszek, Andrew & Johnson, Norman F., 2021, Review of Afrotropical sceliotracheline parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 87, pp. 115-222 : 115

Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort sp. nov.

Figs 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 49

Material examined.

Holotype: South Africa • ♀; Western Cape, Anysberg Nature Reserve, 5.8 km west of Vrede ; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 8 Dec 2014 - 8 Jan 2015; S. van Noort; yellow pan trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-Y19; SAM-HYM-P086434 (SAMC).

Paratypes: South Africa • 1♀; same data as holotype, except SAM-HYM-P086435 (SAMC) • 1♂; Anysberg Nature Reserve ; 5.8 km west of Vrede; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 8 January-23 February 2015; S. van Noort; yellow pan trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-Y28; SAM-HYM-P095115 (SAMC) • 1♂; idem except for SAM-HYM-P095116 (SAMC) • 1♂; idem except for SAM-HYM-P095117 (SAMC) • 1♂; idem except for SAM-HYM-P095118 (SAMC) • 1♂; idem except for SAM-HYM-P095119 (SAMC) • 1♀; idem except for SAM-HYM-P095120 (SAMC) • 1♀; Anysberg Nature Reserve , 5.8 km west of Vrede; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 23 February-6 May 2015; S. van Noort; yellow pan trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-Y30; SAM-HYM-P086436 (SAMC) • 1♀; idem except for SAM-HYM-P086437 (SAMC) • 1♀; Anysberg Nature Reserve , 6.4 km west of Vrede; 775 m; 33°28.548'S, 20°31.264'E; 23 September - 29 October 2015; S. van Noort; yellow pan trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC7-Y49; SAM-HYM-P086438 (SAMC) • 1♂; Anysberg Nature Reserve , 5.8 km west of Vrede; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 23 Feb - 6 May 2015; S. van Noort; pitfall trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-P11; SAM-HYM-P086439 (SAMC) • 1♀; Anysberg Nature Reserve , 5.8 km west of Vrede; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 8 Oct - 3 Nov 2014; S. van Noort; pitfall trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-P03; SAM-HYM-P049531 (SAMC) • 1♂; Anysberg Nature Reserve , 5.8 km west of Vrede; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 8 Dec 2014 - 8 Jan 2015; S. van Noort; pitfall trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-P07; SAM-HYM-P049534 (SAMC) • 1♂; Anysberg Nature Reserve , 5.8 km west of Vrede; 785 m; 33°28.658'S, 20°31.572'E; 23 September - 29 October 2015; S. van Noort; yellow pan trap; Succulent Karoo; ANY14-SUC1-Y48; SAM-HYM-P084755 (SAMC) • 1♂; idem except for SAM-HYM-P084756 (SAMC) • 1♂; idem except for SAM-HYM-P084757 (SAMC) • 1♂; Gamkaberg Nature Reserve ; 33°44.090'S, 21°55.654'E; 997 m; 19 Feb-30 Mar 2010; S. van Noort; Malaise trap; Rooiberg Sandstone Fynbos; GB09-FYN2-M35; SAM-HYM-P038481 (SAMC) .

Description.

Female body length: 2.4 mm; male body length: 2.3 mm. Colour of head and mesosoma black; metasoma light brown anterolaterally, with central tergites and sternites orange-brown; scape, pedicel, flagellar segments in female, legs orange-brown; flagellar segments in male black; foamy structures pale yellow; wings infuscate.

Head 1.27 × wider than long, strongly narrowing towards toruli and clypeus; eye height 0.9 × inter-ocular distance; malar space 0.55 × eye height; antennal length ratios (female): scape 16, pedicel 3, funicle 8, clava 12; male antennae filiform: scape 23, pedicel 5, flagellum 60; LOL:OOL:POL (4:7:7); hyper-occipital carina present, collared, with occipital pit, glabrous.

Mesoscutum. Sculpture of mesosoma polished; pronotum transverse, weakly delta-shaped with medial longitudinal sulcus, glabrous; shoulders rounded, flat in lateral view; mesoscutum short 2.4 × wider than long medially; 3 × medial length of pronotum, equivalent to scutellar length; anterior admedian depressions short, deep grooves, not overlapping longitudinally with posterior shallow notauli, which are widely spaced; weak median mesoscutal line present; notauli align with grooves on lateral margins of mesoscutellar disc, which are continuous with the scutoscutellar sulcus, itself widened; axillar carinae present; axillae weakly and evenly excavated; posterior margin of mesoscutellum not raised in lateral view; propodeum with foamy structures extending to T1; mesopleuron polished, dorsally with c. ten incomplete transverse ridges; not longitudinally compressed, 1.4 × higher than long; mesopleural carina strong, curled dorsally; foamy structures present posteriorly on metapleuron, concealing metapleural carina, ventrally with dense patch of yellow setae; fore wing of normal shape, 2.25 × longer than wide, reaching to end of metasoma, almost glabrous with scattered microtrichiae in basal quarter, dense microtrichiae present over distal three-quarters; submarginal vein of fore wing present, but spectral and not reaching margin; hind wing with submarginal vein absent, except for basal remnant that has stout setae, anterior margin straight, slightly humped at hamulus, which comprises strong, curved setae, narrow and almost glabrous with scattered microtrichiae on basal half, dense microtrichiae present over distal half; long setae present on basal half of posterior wing margin.

Metasoma. T1 transverse in dorsal view with dense row of setae on posterior margin overlapping T2; T2 large, wider than long, 0.63 × metasomal length, with anterior transverse furrow 0.5 × length of T1, centrally situated, encompassing central three-quarters of anterior tergite width; T2 centrally polished grading into lateral micro-reticulate area, bounded anterolaterally by more strigate area.

Male as in female, except for antennal configuration: 8 funicular segments, first longer than second; second to seventh subequal in length, 3.5 × longer than wide; ultimate segment longer than penultimate segment.

Diagnosis.

This species is immediately identifiable by the appearance of the fore wings which are of normal shape, and uniformly fuscous, without dark patches or strong microtrichiae, in contrast to the elongate and chromatically modified fore wings in the other two species. An additional diagnostic character is the presence of an occipital pit, which is absent in the other two species. The mesosoma is correspondingly less longitudinally compressed, with the mesocutum and mesopleuron being more normal in proportions. The pronotum and occiput are glabrous without the long setae present in the other two species. The acetabular and mesopleural epicoxal sulci do not converge as in the other two species, and, correspondingly, the fore and mesocoxae are separated by more than one fore coxal width (separated by less than the fore coxal width in other two species).

Etymology.

Named after the Karoo area wherein both main collection localities fall. Noun in apposition.

Distribution and habitat association

(Fig. 50 ). This species is currently only known from the Western Cape Province where it is associated with two vegetation types in two biomes (Succulent Karoo and Fynbos). Both vegetation types are restricted to the province. The following vegetation distributional summaries were extracted verbatim from Mucina and Rutherford (2006):

Western Little Karoo (the unit covers most of the western basin of the Little Karoo from the confluence of the Groot and Gouritz Rivers in the west as far as Anysberg by surrounding this mountain range and also extending along the northern flanks of the Klein Swartberg; two larger patches of the Western Little Karoo are found immediately to the east and south of Touws River, and one small isolated patch fringes the Langeberg Mountains in the Montagu area; altitude 160-1060 m (most of the area at 300-860 m).

South Rooiberg Sandstone Fynbos (southern slopes of the mountains of Rooiberg, Gamka and the Amalienstein Ridge-Sandberg-Bakenskop range; altitude 350-1490 m on the summit of Rooiberg).

The current distribution is likely to be an artefact of under-sampling and the species is expected to be more widespread in the Western Cape.

Figures

Figure 37. Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, sp. nov. female holotype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 049531) A habitus, lateral view B habitus, dorsal view C head, mesosoma, lateral view D head, mesosoma, dorsal view E head, anterior view F antenna.

Figure 38. Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, sp. nov. female holotype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 049531) A head, pronotum, mesoscutum, dorsal view B metasoma, lateral view C scutellum, propodeum, T 1 - 2, dorsal view D propodeum, T 1 - 2, anterodorsal view E fore wing (inset: data labels) F fore wing setation detail.

Figure 39. Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, sp. nov. male paratype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 049534) A habitus, dorsal view B habitus, dorsal view, wings spread C habitus, lateral view D habitus, anterior view E head, anterior view F antennae, lateral view.

Figure 40. Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, sp. nov. male paratype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 049534) A head, mesosoma, dorsal view B head, mesosoma, lateral view C mesoscutum, propodeum, T 1,2, dorsal view D metasoma, hind leg, lateral view E propodeum, metasoma dorsal view F fore wing (inset: data labels).

Figure 41. Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, sp. nov. A-C female paratype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 086435) D-F male paratype (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 084755) A head, mesosoma, lateral view B head, mesosoma, dorsal view C mesoscutum, propodeum, T 1,2, dorsal view D habitus, dorsal view E head, mesosoma anterolateral view F habitus, ventral.

Figure 42. Sceliotrachelus karooensis van Noort, sp. nov. female paratype SEM photos (SAMC) (SAM-HYM-P 084755) A clypeus, mandibles, ventroanterior view B clypeus, mandibles, anterior view C occiput, pronotum, mesoscutum, lateral view D occiput, pronotum, lateroposterior view E mesopleuron, ventral view F mesopleuron, propodeum, ventrolateral view G mesopleuron, propodeum in part, lateral view H hind tibial spurs.

Figure 49. Comparison of selected characters for the three Sceliotrachelus species A-C shape of inter-antennal process D-F post-occiput G-I genal sculpture J-L fore wing M-O hind wing. A, D, G, J, M S. braunsi B, E, H, K, N S. karooensis C, F, I, L, O S. midgleyi.

Figure 50. Distribution of Sceliotrachelus species. Blue circle: Sceliotrachelus braunsi; red circle: Sceliotrachelus karooensis; white circle: Sceliotrachelus midgleyi. Biome map generated from Rutherford et al. (2006).