Dasypoda (Dasypoda) riftensis Michez & Pauly, 2012

Michez, Denis & Pauly, Alain, 2012, A new species of the palaearctic genus Dasypoda Latreille 1802 (Hymenoptera: Dasypodaidae) from the Great Rift Valley in Ethiopia, Zootaxa 3181 (1), pp. 63-68 : 64-66

Description of Dasypoda (Dasypoda) riftensis Michez & Pauly sp. nov.

Type material. Holotype male: Ethiopia, Great Rift Valley, Gallo, on small road between Ziway and Ziwa, 07°59'47"N 38°38'46"E, 1690m, on flowers of Launaea cornuta (Asteraceae) , leg. A. Pauly & J.-L. Boevé (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels).

Paratypes: 2 males and 5 females, idem holotype (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels; Zoological Natural History Museum of Addis Ababa) .

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the locus typicus of the species in the Great Rift Valley.

Diagnosis. D. riftensis sp. nov. shows most of the diagnostic features of the subgenus Dasypoda s.s.: galea matt and densely punctured; maxillary palpus 0.7 times as long as galea; malar area shorter than pedicel; base of gonostylus without spine; gonostylus subdivided in two parts united by a membraneous bridge; S 8 male with anterior spine; S 6 male nearly hairless; clypeus female fully punctured; scopa entirely reddish; pygidial plate hairless. Male and female of D. riftensis can be distinguished from all species of the subgenus Dasypoda by the hind tibia and basitarsus with testaceous cuticle ( Figs 2a–d , 3 ). Female with whitish prepygidial fimbria like in D. albipila Spinola , D. sinuata Pérez , D. tubera Warncke and D. warnckei Michez ; T2 with interrupted apical hair band like in D. sinuata and D. warnckei ; T3 with continuous apical hair band like in D. albipila and D. warnckei ( Figs 2a, c ). Male with unique shape of genitalia and S7 latero-apical structures ( Figs 4a–c, e ). Inner face of hind tibia with unique shape of apical plate ( Fig. 3b ).

Description. Male & female. Black cuticle except mediotarsi, distitarsi, hind tibia and hind basitarsus testaceous. Antenna with black dorsal side and reddish ventral side. Galea matt and densely punctured (i<d). Malar area shorter than the pedicel. Clypeus fully punctured. Inner edges of compound eyes subparallel. Scutum sculptured between punctures. Fore wing with prefurcal nervulus, apical part darker than fore part. Male ( Figs 2b, d , 4 ). Body length (vertex-T7): 10.8mm. Head. L= 2.9mm. W= 3.4mm. Pilosity reddish. Mesosoma. L= 3.6mm. W (between tegulae)= 2.4mm. Pilosity reddish. Hind basitarsus hairs twice longer than basitarsus width. Fore and middle legs without particular shape or apical structures. Hind femur with inner apical plate and apical inner face slightly depressed. Lateral inner apical part of hind tibia crenelate. Metasoma. L= 6.3mm. W= 3.5mm. Pilosity reddish except disc of T6–7 and S5 with black hairs. T3-6 with white apical hair band. S6-8 and genitalia like in Fig. 4 . Female ( Figs 2a, c ). Body length (vertex-T7): 12mm. Head. L= 3.1mm. W= 3.5mm. Face and genal area with white reddish hairs; vertex with black hairs. Mesosoma. L= 4.2mm. W (between tegulae)= 3.1mm. Pilosity reddish (including legs); scutum with reddish and black hairs mixed. Scutum, scutellum and metanotum densely punctured (i=d); propodeum sculptured and shiny. Metasoma. L= 6.3mm. W= 4.2mm. Disc of T1 and marginal zone of sterna with reddish hairs; disc of T2–5 with black hairs; prepygidial fimbria white; pygidial fimbria black; marginal zone of T1 hairless; T2 with interrupted apical hair band; T3–4 with continuous apical hair band.

Floral visits. All male and female specimens were collected on Launea cornuta (Oliv. & Hiern.) (Asteraceae) . Oligolectism of D. riftensis needs to be confirmed by palynological analysis but all species of the subgenus Dasypoda have been so far described as oligolectic on Asteraceae ( Michez et al. 2008) .

Biotope. The specimens were collected in an extensive culture of cereals with many nearby Asteraceae in an Acacia woodland and at an altitude of 1690m ( Figs 2e–f ).

Distribution. Ethiopia. Only known from the locus typicus.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Habitus and habitat of Dasypoda riftensis sp. nov.: a, c. Female in dorsal and lateral view; b, d. Male in dorsal and lateral view; e. Wheat crop with adventices (Asteraceae: Launaea cornuta) where type specimens have been collected; f. Landscape in the surrounding area (photo J.-L. Boevé).

FIGURE 3. Hind tibia of Dasypoda riftensis sp. nov. male (scale bars = 1mm): a. Lateral view; b. Inner view; c. External view.

FIGURE 4. Hidden sterna and genitalia of Dasypoda riftensis sp. nov. male: a. Genitalia in dorsal view (scale bar = 100µm); b. Detail of gonostylus (scale bar = 70µm); c. Detail of latero-apical structure of sternum 7 (scale bar = 100µm); d. Sternum 6 in dorsal view (scale bar = 1mm); e. Sternum 7 in dorsal view (scale bar = 300µm); f. Sternum 8 in dorsal view (scale bar = 200µm).