Ammoplanus (Ammoplanus) marathroicu

Boucïek, Zdenek, 2001, Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae), Journal of Natural History 35, pp. 849-929 : 896-900

A. (Ammoplanus) marathroicu s (De Stefani)

[ Ammoplanus wesmaeli Giraud, 1869: 471 (only male, not lectotype female which belongs to perrisi ). Austria; in NHMW (examined).]

Hoplocrabron marathroicus De Stefani, 1887: 60 ±61, pl. 2. Italy: Sicily. [Types lost]. Neotype male, here designated; in MZL (examined).

5 Ammoplanu s handlirschi Gussakovskij, 1931: 448 ±449. Austria: Vienna. Lectotype female, here designated, in MNHN Paris (examined). Syn. nov.

5 Ammoplanus metatarsalis Gussakovskij, 1931: 452 ±453. S. Russia, Daghestan: Khodjai- Makhi. Lectotype male, subsequently designated by Marshakov (1976: 679); in ZMAS (examined). Syn. nov. Synonymized with handlirschi by Gussakovskij in MareÂchal (1938: 400, 403) and by Gussakovskij himself (1952: 323), then resurrected by Marshakov (1976: 676, 679) and again synonymized by Marshakov (1978: 364).

5 Ammoplanu s sibiricus Gussakovskij, 1931: 453 ±454, 441. Russia, Siberia: Irkutsk. Holotype male in ZMAS (not examined). Syn. nov. Synonymized with handlirschi by Gussakovskij (1952: 223).

5 Ammoplanus mongolensis Tsuneki, 1972: 217 ±219. Mongolia. Male holotype in TMB (examined). Syn. nov. Synonymized with handlirschi by Marshakov (1976: 678).

Type material. A. marathroicus . So far a repeated search over the last 20 years for the De Stefani’s type material convinced all colleagues involved that the types were lost. However, as to marathroicus two specimens have been discovered which very probably once belonged to the De Stefani collection. In the De Beaumont collection ( MZL) I found a male specimen with labels:`SICILE / De Stef. [by pen] / Oplocrabron marathroi De Stef. [by pen] / in coll. Marquet [in print]’. It agrees well with the description and may be even a syntype; I designate it as Neotype. For some time I was puzzled by the rather strong subconical tooth above the front margin of the clypeus in the neotype. However , later I found that a number of the Mediterranean specimens have almost the same form of the tooth and regard them now as`masculine’ forms.

Apparentl y Kohl ( NHMW) received a female of A. marathroicus from De Stefani himself (identi®ed as such by De Stefani). It bears on the underside of the De Stefani’s label a note by pen:`Type verloren!’ [5 type lost], probably by Kohl’s hand, who regarded it wrongly as a synonym of perrisi (1890: 61±62). The locality label reads`Corvoio’, which was not mentioned by De Stefani and judging from the pen note the specimen probably was sent to Kohl as an answer to his request for the type (more information may be found in Kohl’s correspondence, if this is still preserved). This female specimen is in poor condition, having the labrum and apex of clypeus damaged (probably by a probing pin) but the neotype male has most of the important characters visible, including the typical hind basitarsus ®gured by De Stefani.

The true identity of the male described by Giraud as belonging to A. wesmaeli was apparently recognized ®rst by BischoOE who conveyed his view in a letter to MareÂchal, who published the information (1938: 399). From the examination of the original specimen ( NHMW) I can con®rm this as right. See also under perrisi .

A. metatarsalis and sibiricus. According to MareÂchal (1938: 400, 403) Gussakovskij wrote to him that he presently regarded also his metatarsalis and sibiricus as synonyms of handlirschi . The synonymy was then published by Gussakovski j himself (1952: 323, footnote). Later Marshako v (1976: 676) questioned it but accepted it again in 1978 (pp. 364±365). The synonymy seems credible, but from the respective types I examined only metatarsalis .

A. mongolensis . At ®rst I had some doubts about its identity, mainly because Tsuneki depicted the mandibles (1972: 217, ®gure 101) relatively stout. A recent examination of the holotype male proved, however, that Marshakov’s synonymization was right.

Diagnostic features (redescription)

Male. Smallest size 1.9 mm. On head anterior side of scapes, mandibles, labrum, clypeal tooth (sometimes only partly so, or even dark) and sides of clypeus, white; antennal ¯agellum yellow brown, paler below, pedicel dorsally dark. Antenna rather variable as to length and thickness; ¯agellum plus pedicel 1.5±1.8 times as long as breadth of head. Clypeal tooth present and relatively larger and then less sharp than in female, more or less upturned (®gure 105; so in neotype), in most`feminine’ forms very narrow, which is stressed by deepened punctures bearing long horizontal setae situated rather close to each other. Scape stout, 2.5±2.8 times as long as broad; ¯agellum with clava as long as preceding two segments combined, otherwise preceding 10 ¯agellar segments and pedicel from (rarely) almost subequal in length and most segments subquadrate or some barely oblong, but more often most segments (often except ®rst ¯agellar) clearly oblong up to 1.2 times as long as broad. Flagellar segments virtually bare, mostly only the last with very short pubescence, all on surface with rather dense elongate placoid sensilla that are smooth on bottom (as ®gure 123).

Head and mesoscutum slightly shiny, with distinct puncturation and varying intensity of engraved reticulation. Pronotal collar very slightly sloping forward, densely rugulose reticulate, without carina. Propodeum: sculpture not very ®ne, with irregular but distinct median carina and on its sides often weakly areolate; hind corners often with some transverse rugae. Hind basitarsus as long as segments 2±5 combined less claws, in lateral view widening hardly visible; in dorsal view on mesal side just behind middle abruptly quadrangularly expanded. The expansion very slightly diagonal (posteriorly higher), made more distinct by a row of pegs; ventral side mesad of pegs grooved and smooth; part behind expansion in dorsal view appearing very narrow, compressed, slightly concave on ventral side. Sternites 2±4 virtually bare, almost smooth, the second weakly concave towards base, the fourth with short subdecumbent loose hairs in posterior corners, its margin in middle more or less raised. Sternite 5 slightly shorter than the fourth, in anterior half shiny but in middle depressed and reticulate on bottom, in posterior half in middle more raised into a triangle pointing caudad, with stiOE bristles arranged in V-shape (®gure 106); the bristles longest on anterior ends and apex, shortest on sides. Sixth sternite half as long as the ®fth, shiny and slightly raised in middle, with few hairs on sides. Narrow projection of last sternite with relatively long teeth at apex. Aedeagus (®gure 107) bent downward; gonostyles ¯attened and bearing at the diagonally truncate apex a row of 5±8 hairs, outer side before it broadly emarginate and more basally with a strong spine directed out and slightly back (®gure 106).

Female. Body length 2.1±3.1 mm. Clypeal tooth always present but small and sharp, usually appearing very narrow towards apex because of two approximated punctures bearing the long horizontal setae, which is characteristic for the`feminine’ form of the species (these setae are more apart in closely related insularis and kohlii ).

Lower ends of eyes distinctly prolonged towards toruli. Propodeum anteriorly more or less irregularly areolate with irregular median carina, submedially behind centre usually sloping parts at hind corners; all these parts bearing at least weak but often dense, transverse rugulae.

Comment. The male neotype of marathroicus has a slightly larger clypeal tooth than the average specimens from Central and South Europe (®gure 105), but some of Bulgarian specimens hardly diOEer from the neotype. Unfortunately it has not been possible to see more specimens from Sicily. The`feminine’ form (®gures 40,108), with a small clypeal tooth, is similar to A. transcaspicus from which the females of marathroicus diOEer, apart from the form of clypeus, by a shorter, more transverse and more coarsely sculptured propodeum, as already mentioned.

It is intriguing that the male of marathroicus has the distinctive inversed V-form of bristles on the ®fth sternite (®gure 106) virtually the same as A. kohlii . However, they diOEer greatly in the lower face.

Biology. The species seems to prefer light soil for nesting, rather loess than sand.

Material examined. Poland: Z Ïurawica nr. Przemysl , 1m, 21 July 1955 (Pulawski; RMNH) ; Sandomierz , 1m, 26 July 1954 (Pulawski; MZL) . Czech Republic (Bohemia): Louny distr. , 3m, July 1976 (PaÂdr; NMP) ; Prague basin (ZlõÂchov, Podbaba, PodhorÏ, HornõÂ PocÏernice ), 23 land m, mainly June ± August , and Prague distr.: RadotõÂn , KarlsÏtejn , 12m (mostly NMP); (Moravia) : Brno distr. (SÏnoāÂk); Mikulov distr. with Pavlov Hills , then KobylõÂ and C ÏejcÏ nr HodonõÂn , 14 land 36m, July 1943 ±1970 (HoOEer, Kocourek, Lauterer; mostly MZMB) . Slovakia ( South ): SÏtuÂrovo, over 30 land 50m, June 1970 (Kocourek, HoOEer; NMP, MZMB, etc.); (East): Baba Hill nr Ladmovce, 1m (Kocourek) . Austria: Lower Austria, Burgenland, Wien, 9 land 14m (Giraud, Kohl, Gusenleitner, Dollfuss) . Bulgaria:` KuÈleftse’ , 1 l and 1m, 26 July 1928 (BiroÂ; TMB) ; Vlahi , 2m, 14 August 1993 (Halada; OLML) ; Struma Valley, Sandanski , 71 land 293m, 26 May to August 1966 ±1969 (Kocourek; NMP, BMNH, OLML etc.) . Greece (Thessalia): Kalambaka , 1m, July 1979 (Day, Else and Morgan; BMNH) ; Thesprotias, 6 km SW of Igoumenitsa, 1m, 15 April 1998; Magnisia nr Argalasti , 1, 25 May 1998; Fokida 3 km W of Del ®, 1, 5 May 1998 (all Gijswijt; ZMA); (Ilia) : Olympia , 1m, 4± 11 July 1979 (Day, Else and Morgan; BMNH) . Cyprus: Limassol, 4 land 5m, 27 May to June 1934 (Mavromoustakis; BMNH) . Turkey: Eskisehir, Sakari Ilica nr GuÈmele , 1m, 9 July 1997 (P. Prudek; Coll. RõÂha) ; Ankara, 1m, 24 May 1925 (BiroÂ; TMB); (C. Anatolia) : Yazibelen , 2m, 22 May 1995 (Denes; OLML) ; Nemrut Dagi, Karadut , 1, 2 August 1993) (Denes; OLML); (Adana) : nr Feke , 800 m, 1 land 1m, 25± 26 July 1983 (v. Oorschot, v.d. Brink and Wiering; ZMA) ; 25 km E of Malatya , 1m, 8 July 1997 (M. Halada; OLML) ; Nemrut Dagi, Karadut , 2m, 2 July 1993 (Denes; OLML) . France (Bouches-du-Rhone): Fonscolombe, 2m, 10± 24 June 1985, 1987 (M. Graham); (Aude): Narbonne , 1m, 19 June 1974 (BoucÏek); (PyrenneÂes Orient.): (Banyuls-sur-Mer), 1m, 15 June 1990 (BoucÏek; last three BMNH) . Spain (Castellon): Benicasim, 1m, 13 June 1973 (BoucÏek); ( Canary Isl. ): Maspalomas , 1 land 2m, 27 January 1996 (Denes Jr; OLML) . Algeria: Bouira, 1m, 10 July 1971 (HoOEer; NMP) . Tunisia: 10 km SE of Matmata , 1m, 15 April 1994 (Gusenleitner; OLML) ; Ksar Hadada , 1m, 4 April 1998 (Denes; OLML) . Egypt: Ikingi Mariout , 1m, 16 March 1935 (Witmer; BMNH) . Syria: Tarsus, Amrit , N of Blank, 1m, 3 April 1988 (Coll.

Schmid-Egger); Ganawat , 1m, 16 May 1995 (K. Denes; OLML) ; 50 km SE Suwayda, Anata , 1m, 20 May 1996 (M. Halada; OLML) . Israel: Nahal Zihor , 1m, 17 March 1988 (Schlagman) ; En Boqeq, 1m, 3 March 1992 and Zomet Ha’Amaqim, Jalame , 5m, 26± 30 May 1993 (Freidberg; TAUI) ; 30ss46¾N, 35ss37¾E, Arava Valley, Shifaz Nat. Res., Hazeva , 1m, 6 April 1995 and Iddan Springs, 1m, 31 March 1995 (both M. E. Irwin) ; 45 km SE of Beer Sheva, Mezad Aqrabbim , 1m, 8 May 1996 (all three Coll. Schmid-Egger) . Jordan: Petra and Pella , 1 land 7m, 4 and 14 May 1995, 8 July 1997 (Denes; OLML) ; Kerak, Ta ®la, 20 km N. L. Blank, 19 March 1988 (Coll. Schmid-Egger) . Iraq: Mosul , 1m, February 1972 (Arpil; BMNH) . Kazakhstan (West): nr Mortuk, 1m, 24 June 1982 (Janokmen); ( Semipalatinsk region ) : Dolon’ , 1m, 4 July 1978 (Janokmen) ; 19 km NE of Leninogorsk , 1, 16 July 1979 and nr Novoberezovka, 1m, 7 July 1979 (Janokmen) ; nr Tansyk , 1 land 3m, 28 July 1986 (Kazenas) ; nr Bakanas , 2 land 1m, 26 June 1990 (Kazenas; BMNH) ; foothills of Zailiyskiy Alatau , 20 km W of Almaty, 2m, 13 July 1994 (Janokmen) . Kirghizia: River Saryjaz 7 km below Inylgek, 9 land 1m, 4 July 1994 (Janokmen; BMNH) .

Distribution. Germany (South but as far north as Potsdam district: Neustadt / Dosse ÐWitt, 1996: 105, 107), South Poland, Czech Republic (also Zavadil et al., 1937: 174), Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, France, Spain (with Canary Isl.), Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus (also Gussakovskij, 1952: 223), Turkey, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Russia (from NE Caucasus up to Kostroma region in Europe and to Irkutsk in SiberiaÐ sibiricus), Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kirghizia, Mongolia ( Tsuneki, 1972; Marshakov, 1976: 678; mongolensis ). Widespread and often locally common.