Syntomopus crassicornis (Szelényi) Burks, 2012

Burks, R. A., 2012, Taxonomic studies on some little known genera of Palearctic Eulophidae and Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), Zootaxa 3487, pp. 24-40 : 37

Syntomopus crassicornis (Szelényi) comb. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:727EE7C8-10B4-495F-AE2E-D81C6563DFA1

( Figs 43–48)

Dudichilla crassicornis Szelényi, 1970: 325 .

Material examined ( HNHM). Holotype (♀): “Csobánka. 12.iv.1961. leg. Szelényi ” / “Hym. Typ. No. 2522 Mus. Budapest.”

Remarks. Dudichilla was described to accommodate a single unusual species of Pteromalidae with a short antenna and acuminate club ( Fig. 43) that bears no close resemblance to other pteromalids having such a club. The presence of anterior petiolar branches ( Fig. 45) suggests that Dudichilla belongs in Sphegigastrini. The posterior margin of the first gastral tergite is incised medially and sinuate laterally, as figured by Bouček (1988: Fig. 852; not visible in Fig. 48), which is a defining feature of the Halticoptera -group of genera ( Heydon 1988, 1995), also containing Syntomopus . A lateral bulge arises from the prepectus, from below the exposed lateral panel ( Fig. 46: PPB). The prepectal bulge has not been previously mentioned in Pteromalidae , but was also observed in Syntomopus and a few other Sphegigastrini during a survey of pteromalid morphology (Burks, in prep.). Finally, the symmetrically tridentate clypeal margin ( Fig. 44) and strong humeral angles of the pronotum ( Figs 45, 46) are defining traits of Syntomopus within the Halticoptera -group ( Heydon 1988, 1993, 1995).

Szelényi (1970) stated that Dudichilla differed from Syntomopus in its flattened body ( Fig. 46), but Heydon (1993) stated that a flattened mesosoma is characteristic of most Syntomopus species. It is therefore possible that Szelényi knew Syntomopus from only one of the few convex-bodied species or from misidentified specimens. Dudichilla differs from most Syntomopus in having no distinct propodeal carinae ( Fig. 45). However, this also occurs in Syntomopus incisus Thomson. Dudichilla further differs from most Sphegigastrini in having a weakly sclerotized gaster, in which the first gastral tergite strongly collapses when air-dried ( Fig. 48).

In determining the status of Dudichilla , it seems best to make decisions based upon a suite of characters rather than a single character. It is more likely that a single character (propodeal carinae), rather than the many characters mentioned above, would undergo reversal. A lack of propodeal carinae is not unprecedented within Syntomopus , and Heydon (1993) previously treated it as a likely reversal in S. incisus Thomson. The loss of propodeal carinae in D. crassicornis can be interpreted as a reversal as well. The other features that disagree with Syntomopus (antennal shape, collapsing gaster) seem to be autapomorphic, not shared with other Sphegigastrini. The collapsing gaster is not necessarily justifiable as a generic character, because it relies upon the assumption of a consistent reaction to air-drying—something that cannot be judged from the single existing specimen. The remaining distinctive feature of D. crassicornis is its antennal shape. Some other pteromaline genera are polymorphic for an acuminate club, such as Norbanus Walker (Bouček 1991) , and so this alone is not a convincing feature for separating genera. Finally, keeping Dudichilla distinct would cause Syntomopus to no longer have any distinctive defining features within the Halticoptera -group, which can be avoided by synonymizing the two names.