Tobantilla xouthos Williams, Brothers & Pitts

Williams, Kevin A., Brothers, Denis J. & Pitts, James P., 2011, New species of Tobantilla Casal, 1965 and a new genus and species, Gogoltilla chichikovi gen. et sp. nov., from Argentina (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), Zootaxa 3064, pp. 41-68 : 59-60

Tobantilla xouthos Williams, Brothers & Pitts , sp. nov.

( Figs 18 , 31–34 )

Diagnosis. MALE. The clypeus has a medial tubercle anteriorly (as in Fig. 35 ) and the metasoma is entirely red except that segments six and seven are darkened ( Fig. 18 ).

Description. MALE. Body length 5 mm. Coloration. Head and mesosoma dark red to black, except humeral angles and propodeal dorsum bright red. Legs yellow-brown, tarsi and coxae darker brown. Metasoma yellowbrown except felt lines and metasomal segment seven darkened. Antennae, tegulae and mandibles brown. Tibial spurs white. Wings weakly infuscated, veins brown. Head clothed with appressed silver setae, vertex with interspersed erect silver and brown setae. Mesosoma clothed with appressed silver setae, except posterior half of mesoscutum clothed with black setae. Posterior quarter of T2 and metasomal segments five and six with interspersed black and silver setae; pygidium and hypopygium clothed with black setae, remainder of metasoma clothed with silver setae. Head. Rounded posteriorly, with posterior projection behind ocelli. Head width 1.1 × pronotal width. Eye transversely ovate, in dorsal view eye diameter 2.4 × distance from posterior eye margin to posterolateral angle of head. Ocelli small; ocellocular distance 4.0 × length of lateral ocellus, interocellar distance 1.5 × lateral ocellar length. Occipital carina weak but distinct. Punctation on front obscured by dense shaggy recumbent setae; gena and vertex moderately punctate. Gena ecarinate. Antennal scrobe broadly concave to eye margin, with prominent complete flangelike transverse carina above. Clypeus dentate anteromedially. Oral fossa 1.1 × length of hypostomal bridge. Scape bicarinate ventrally. Flagellomere 1 1.2 × pedicel length; flagellomere 2 2.5 × pedicel length. Mandible oblique, tapering, bidentate apically, unarmed ventrally. Maxilla and labium elongate. Maxillary palp 6-segmented, third and fourth segments slightly flattened and apically expanded, other segments almost cylindrical. Labial palp 4-segmented, second and third segments slightly flattened and apically expanded, other segments almost cylindrical. Mesosoma. Epaulets lowly produced; pronotum emarginate anteromedially. Pronotal dorsal punctation coarsely contiguous but obscured by dense shaggy recumbent mesally directed setae; anterior face shagreened, except emarginated medial area glabrous; lateral face moderately punctate above but almost smooth ventrally. Tegula convex, almost hemispherical, glabrous except with long recumbent setae anterolaterally and posteromesally. Mesoscutal punctation coarsely reticulate, micropunctate inside reticulations; notaulus and parapsis indistinguishable; posterolateral corner forming a coarsely punctate raised lobe. Scutellum slightly convex, contiguously punctate. Scutellum slightly convex, punctation obscured by dense silver setae. Axilla produced posteriorly, contiguously punctate on dorsal anterior half, glabrous on dorsal posterior half, posterior face truncate with posteriorly directed setae; anterolateral axillar margin contiguous with posterior mesonotal margin. Metanotum surface obscured by dense shaggy mesally facing recumbent setae. Mesopleural punctation obscured by dense setae. Metapleuron glabrous with small scattered punctures. Propodeum strongly convex, broadly and shallowly reticulate, with only one to two rows of reticulations on lateral propodeal face, smooth and shining adjacent to metapleuron, reticulations obscured by dense setae on anterior half of dorsal face. Wings. Forewing with moderate ovate sclerotized pterostigma; marginal cell short and truncate apically; two submarginal cells. Legs. Mid- and hind tibiae each with a few strong spines dorsally, distinct apical secretory pore on inner surface near base of inner spur; spurs densely clothed with microsetae. Metasoma. T1 petiolate, 0.4 × width of T2, with moderately spaced coarse punctures. T2 moderately punctate, interstitial spaces glabrous; apex obscured by dense fringe of mesally directed setae; felt line 0.35 × lateral length of T2. T3–6 densely punctate. Pygidium margined laterally and posteriorly by a sharp carina; surface convex, glabrous except apex moderately punctate and setose. S1 with uneven sharp longitudinal carina, having scattered large punctures. S2 moderately punctate, evenly convex. S3–6 moderately punctate.

Hypopygium moderately punctate, posteromedial margin with sharp tooth. Genitalia ( Figs 31–34 ). Free length of paramere dorsally curved apically, with ventral brush of long dense setae basally, remainder having scattered short sparse setae; apex of ventral face visible from above. Cuspis deeply divided near base, cylindrical, ~0.3 × freelength of paramere, posterior half having long dense posteriorly directed setae; densely setose basal lobe present. Digitus laterally compressed, constricted at apex, asetose, ~0.35 × free-length of paramere. Parapenial lobe well developed, apically angulate. Penis valve asetose, ventral margin bidentate apically, teeth separated.

FEMALE. Unknown.

Type material. Holotype, 3, VENEZUELA: Zulia, 6 km W La Concepcion, 18.VI.1976, A.S. Menke & D. Vincent ( USNM). Paratype, 3, VENEZUELA: Zulia, 10 mi E Machiques, 14.IX.1978, R.M. Bohart (identified as Lophostigma sp. by D.G. Manley in 2005, UCDC).

Distribution. This species is known from the type locality only.

Host. Unknown.

Etymology. From the Greek xouthos “yellow-brown” in reference to the body color, indeclinable.

Remarks. This species is most easily distinguished from T. andrikos by metasomal coloration. In addition, it generally appears to be less densely clothed with setae and to have less obvious barbs on the brachyplumose setae. It can be immediately distinguished from the Argentinean species by the clypeal structure; T. xouthos has a single median tubercle anteriorly on the clypeus, while T. drosos and T. ephemeros have the clypeus flattened and truncate anteriorly.

Figures

FIGURES 15 – 18. Tobantilla species, males, habitus, lateral view. 15. T. andrikos sp. nov., holotype; 16. T. drosos sp. nov., holotype; 17. T. ephemeros sp. nov.; 18. T. xouthos sp. nov., holotype.

FIGURES 19 – 38. Tobantilla species. 19 – 34. Male genitalia: dorsal view (left), ventral view (middle), lateral view of penis valve (above), and lateral view with penis valve removed (right). 19 – 22. T. andrikos sp. nov.; 23 – 26. T. drosos sp. nov.; 27 – 30. T. ephemeros sp. nov.; 31 – 34. T. xouthos sp. nov. 35 – 36. Male clypeus. 28. T. andrikos sp. nov.; 29. T. ephemeros sp. nov. 37, 38. Female pygidium (T 6). 37. T. frigidula (Cresson); 38. T. kolasma sp. nov.