Gastrosericus sanctus Pulawski in de Beaumont, Bytinski-Salz & Pulawski, 1973

Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M., Gadallah, Neveen S., Gasib, Abdulmajeed M., Al-Fifi, Zarrag I. A. & Edmardash, Yusuf A., 2023, Further addition to the crabronid fauna of Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea (Spheciformes): Crabronidae), with new genera and species records, and the description of two new species, Zootaxa 5319 (2), pp. 151-177 : 160-162

Gastrosericus sanctus Pulawski in de Beaumont, Bytinski-Salz & Pulawski, 1973

Fig. 7A–G

Gastrosericus sanctus Pulawski in de Beaumont, Bytinski-Salz & Pulawski, 1973: 16 , ♀, ♁.

Diagnosis. Male: body length: 7.0 mm.

Body colour: see Fig. 7 (A–F).

The male of this species shares with that of G. moricei the appressed genal ( Fig. 7D ) and propodeal pubescence ( Fig. 7C ); sternal fimbriae of S 3, S 4 noticeably long, slightly extending beyond posterior margin of sterna ( Fig. 7E ); gastral terga without yellow bands ( Fig. 7A ). It differs from that of G. moricei in the following: clypeal lobe broad, with arcuate to slightly sinuate free margin ( Fig. 7B ) and well-defined corner (obtusely pointed in G. moricei , see Pulawski 1995: 94, fig. 78f, h); S 3 and S 4 depressed medially ( Fig. 7E ), not fimbriate laterally (fimbriae of S 3 and S 4 present side to side, sterna not depressed medially, see Pulawski 1995: 95, fig. 79e, f).

Material examined: 2 ♁, Farasan, Abdulmajeed farm [16 Q 42.07970’N; 42 Q 08.5781’E], 23–30.ix.2022.

Previous Saudi Arabian records: Abu Arish, Riyadh ( Pulawski 1995).

Distribution: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Comments. Characters of the collected specimens of this species agree with Pulawski’s key (1995: 23, couplet 24). It also agrees with Schmid-Egger & van Harten’s key (2022: 547, couplet 9), but gastral terga of male black, reddish brown posteriorly.

Figures

FIGURE 7. Gastrosericus sanctus (♁): A, dorsal habitus; B, frontal view of head; C, dorsal view of head and thorax; D, lateral view of head and thorax; E, ventral view of gaster (showing large fimbriate impressions on S3 and S4); F, last gastral terga.