Ammatomus grandcourti, Schmid-Egger, 2019

Schmid-Egger, Christian, 2019, Review oI the genus Ammatomus A. COSTA, 1859 (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) Irom the Palearctic region with description oI Iour new species, Linzer biologische Beiträge 51 (1), pp. 437-457 : 442-443

Ammatomus grandcourti SCHMID- EGGER nov.sp. (figs 9-13)

Ammatomus rufonodis in SCHMID- EGGER (2011: 490).

Holotype: female United Arab Emirates, 11-19.iii.2009 Waidi Maidaq 25.31N (leg. et coll. CSE, as A. rufonodis in Schmid-Egger 2011 ) . Paratypes: Sudan female 4.xi.1961, Ed Damer, Hudeiba, leg. Reimann, det as A. rufonodis by W. Pulawski ( CSE) ; female Yemen, 6.iii.2013, Sana, University Campus, leg. Halada ( OLL) ; Israel male 10.vi.1995 Arava Valley , Iddan 30̕48̕N 35̕16̕E (leg. et coll CSE) .

R e m a r k: A. grandcourti keys out with A. rufonodis with the key of PULAWSKI (1973), but differs in some important characters from the latter. The female occurs in two colour forms, each with black and with a red colour on T 1. This variation is unique among the here treated species.

D i a g n o s i s: A. grandcourti (together with A. rufonodis ) has a longer T 1 as A. saharicus. The species differ from the similar A. rufonodis mainly by a narrower yellow band on T 1, with a larger apical transparent margin of T 1, T 3 and T 4. The transparent margin is in average as wide as tergal bands, and distinctly wider in A. rufonodis . The male of A. grandcourti has also a somewhat longer T 1 compared to A. rufonodis (1.8x versus 1.6x). See also key for remaining characters. Males of A. rufonodis from Oman have yellow band of T 1 narrower than in specimens from Central Asia and Turkey. They differ from the male of A. grandcourti mainly by the lemon yellow colour, what is whitish-yellow in A. grandcourti , and by the remaining key characters.

D e s c r i p t i o n o f h o l o t y p e, f e m a l e: Body length 8.5 mm. Colour: Black, whitish yellow are: Clypeus, space below antennal socket, short band on lower eye margin, AS I-II, underside of apical half of AS III, pronotal lobe, narrow band on apcial pronotal margin, connecting pronotal lobes, spot each on mesoscutum laterally in apical corner, metanotum, basal spot on tegula, apical band on T 1, medially with Vshaped interruption, bands on T 2- T 5, large band on S2, medially with large V-shaped interruption. Mandible basally black, followed by white spot, medially red and in apical third black. Labrum red. Antenna red, medial AS brown above. Trochanter, coxa, T 1 apart apical yellow band, T 2 laterally, S2 medially red. Fore and midleg: femora red with white band below in apical half, tibiae basally white, apically red, tarsomeres white with reddish apex. Hind femur red, hind tibia basally below red, basally above white, black apical half. Hindtarsomeres I-IV white, I-III with red apex, hindtarsomere V with white base, remaining part and claws black. Wing venation reddish, wings transparent, basal sclerite of forewing red with white mark. Morphology: Face including clypeus and vertex, mesopleuron and propodem with dense, silver pilosity. Propodeal dorsum without pilosity. T 1 1.5x, mesoscutum with coarse puncture, punctures 0,2 - 2 diameters apart. Tergites with dense punctation, similar to that of mesoscutum. For details of T 1, see figure.

V a r i a t i o n o f f e m a l e s. Body length: 10 ( Sudan) and 8 mm ( Yemen). In both paratype females, red colour of T 1 and S1 is replaced by black, apart from some red on T 1 laterally. In female from Yemen, red colour of legs is also replaced by black. AS VI-XII are mainly red without dark in female from Sudan, and AS IV-X all black in female from Yemen.

D e s c r i p t o n o f m a l e: Body length 8.5 mm. In morphology, the males agree with the females, apart from longer T 1 (1.8x). Colour whitish-yellow, without any red. Scutellum and AS III-XII black, mesonotal spot small. Large transparent impressed margins on T 2- T 4, as wide as tergal band. Transition between tergal disc and impressed margin crenulate.

E t h y m o l o g y: The species is dedicated to Edwin Mark Grandcourt, a fisheries and marine scientist of the Marine Assessment & Conservation Section of the Environment Agency ̅ Abu Dhabi, who passed away in 2018 at the young age of 49.

D i s r i b u t i o n: UAE, Yemen, Israel, Sudan.