Saphonecrus lithocarpi Pujade-Villar, Guo, Wang and Chen, 2015

Lobato-Vila, Irene, Wang, Yiping, Melika, George, Guo, Rui, Ju, Xiaoxue & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2021, A Taxonomic Review of the Gall Wasp Genus Saphonecrus Dalla-Torre and Kieffer and other Oak Cynipid Inquilines (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) from Mainland China, with Updated Keys to Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental Species, Zoological Studies (Zool. Stud.) 60 (10), pp. 1-25 : 13-14

Saphonecrus lithocarpi Pujade-Villar, Guo, Wang and Chen, 2015

Saphonecrus lithocarpi Pujade-Villar, Guo, Wang and Chen in Pujade-Villar et al. (2015a). Entomotaxonomia 37(3): 214. Type material: ZAFU (holotype), paratypes in ZAFU and UB, according to Pujade-Villar et al. (2015 2017) and this work (see remarks).

Saphonecrus chinensis Tang and Schwéger in Schwéger et al. (2015b). Zootaxa 4054(1): 13. Type material: PHMBL. Synonymized by Pujade-Villar et al. (2017: 63).

Diagnosis: Saphonecrus lithocarpi belongs to a group of species ( S. albidus , S. fabris , S. nantoui and S. taiwanensis ) characterized by a strong and complete lateral pronotal carina, simple tarsal claws (without a basal lobe), complete notauli, and the radial cell of the fore wing at most 3.0x as long as wide. The differences between S. lithocarpi and S. albidus have already been commented (see the diagnosis of S. albidus ), as well as the differences between S. lithocarpi , S. fabris and S. nantoui (see the diagnosis of S. fabris ). Saphonecrus lithocarpi is morphologically close to S. taiwanensis , from which differs by the subtrapezoid head in anterior view and genae being slightly broadened behind eyes (rounded in anterior view and with genae not broadened in S. taiwanensis ), vertex delicately coriaceous (smooth in S. taiwanensis ), female syntergite dorsodistally incised and with a small patch of micropunctures (not incised and without punctures in S. taiwanensis ) and, in males, lower face, malar space and genae with sparse setae (with dense whitish setae in S. taiwanensis ).

Distribution: Mainland China. Guangdong Province ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2015a) and Yunnan Province ( Schwéger et al. 2015b).

Biology: Reared from multilocular, integral swelling galls at the base of leaf midribs of Lithocarpus harlandii (Hance ex. Walpers) Rehder ( Pujade-Villar et al. 2015a), and from undetermined round bud galls on L. fenestratus (Roxburgh) Rehder ( Schwéger et al. 2015b) .

Remarks: Pujade-Villar et al. (2017) noticed that the type series of S. lithocarpi is composed of females and males, and not only females as stated in the original description, so they described the males. Also Schwéger et al. (2015b) described S. chinensis (females and males), which later became a junior synonym of S. lithocarpi .