Zethus alessandroi Lopes, 2015

Hermes, Marcel G. & Lopes, Rogério B., 2018, A new species of Zethus Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Zethinae) from Northeast Brazil, with notes on morphology and distributional records of Z. alessandroi Lopes, Zootaxa 4462 (2), pp. 245-250 : 248-249

Zethus alessandroi Lopes, 2015

( Figs. 5–6 and 10–12 )

The newly collected specimen expands the distribution of Z. alessandroi by over 500 km. The locality in Mato Grosso State is the only known record of this species besides the type locality in Acre State. The male greatly resembles the paratype, varying in having the clypeal apex slightly concave ( Fig. 6 ). Still, while comparing both specimens, some incongruences between the paratype itself and the description in Lopes et al. (2015) were observed and needed to be corrected.

The first involves the pilosity ( Fig. 5 ), where the identification key mentions “mesoscutum with short thick erect setae among longer, curved, thick pilosity” while the description simply states it as “yellow, thick, erect and long pilosity”. The first is the correct configuration and the reader should ignore what is in the pilosity description. The second relates to the drawings of the male genitalia ( Figs. 10–12 ), where some details were left aside in the original illustrations (Lopes et al., 2015, Figs. 8h, p, x ) due to a slight overexposure in the clarification treatment. While most characters remain unchanged, the cuspis appears to present a baso-ventral projection ( Fig. 10 ), similar to most species of the Z. hilarianus species-group such as Z. dicomboda , Z. iheringi , Z. caridei and others and opposing closely related ones in the Z. smithii clade.

Examined material. Zethus alessandroi: One male, partaype (CCT-UFMG) ‘Senador Guiomard—AC\ Brasil— 10o04`S 67o36’W \, Reserva Catuaba \ Data: 18.x.2002. E. F\ Morato leg.’ ‘ Ninho N o 2350’ ‘UFMG-IHY- 1801647’. One male ( UFMT), ‘ Brasil: Mato Grosso,\ Cotriguaçu, N 4-1 (16)\ -9.79 84.11”S, -58 29\ 72.15”W, 245 Trap-nest,\ 20.XI.2016 GAraujo’. One male ( UFMT), ‘ Brasil: Mato Grosso,\ Cotriguaçu, N 5-5-1 (12)\ -9.79 84.11”S, -58 29\ 72.15”W, 245 Trap-nest ,\ 20.XI.2016 GAraujo’.

Figures

FIGURES 5–6. Zethus alessandroi, male. 5. Habitus. 6. Head in frontal view. Scale bar for Fig. 5 = 0.5 cm; Fig. 6 = 1 mm.

FIGURES 10–12. Zethus alessandroi, male genitalia. 10. Gonocoxite and volsella. 11. Aedeagus in lateral view. 12. Aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bar for Fig. 10 = 0.25 mm; Figs. 11 and 12 = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 7–9. Zethus giseleae, male genitalia. 7. Gonocoxite and volsella. 8. Aedeagus in lateral view. 9. Aedeagus in ventral view. Scale bar for Fig. 7 = 0.25 mm; Figs. 8 and 9 = 0.5 mm.