Pristomerus nzakara, Rousse & Noort, 2015

Rousse, Pascal & Noort, Simon van, 2015, Revision of the Afrotropical species of Pristomerus (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), with descriptions of 31 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 124, pp. 1-129 : 74-76

Pristomerus nzakara sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:719C9EFB-B4A0-4848-8B83-217E77DD93B6

Fig. 24

Diagnosis

Large; black with lighter parts on head and metasoma fading to yellowish-orange from tergite 3; trochanters and apex of femora pale dotted; pterostigma anteriorly white; face moderately punctate, sculpture smoother on remainder of head; clypeus transverse; malar line moderately short; inner margins of eyes parallel; antenna with 36 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere quadrate; mesosoma densely and deeply punctate with a large smooth dorsal area on pronotum, ventral half of speculum and apical half of lateral lobe on mesoscutum almost smooth; notaulus noticeably deep and rugose; area superomedia stout, hardly carinate laterally; female femoral tooth very strong; ovipositor moderately long, exceptionally stout and entirely straight. Male unknown.

Differential diagnosis

Large, black species from tropical mainland Africa; chiefly differentiated from all other Afrotropical Pristomerus species by the very stout and apically straight ovipositor, also characterized by the long antenna, the deep and rugose notaulus, and the posteriorly smooth lateral mesoscutal lobe.

Type material

Holotype

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: ♀, “ CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, Préfecture Sangha- Mbaéré , Parc National de Dzanga-Ndoki, Mabéa Bai, 21.4km 53°NE Bayanga, 3°02.01’N 16°24.57’E, 510m, 1–2.v.2001, S. van Noort, Malaise trap, CAR01–M01, Lowland Rainforest, marsh clearing, SAM–HYM–P047407” ( SAMC).

Description

Female (holotype)

B 9.2; A 6.0; F 6.3; CT 1.8; ML 0.5; POL 0.8; OOL 0.9; Fl n-1 1.0; ASM 1.5; OT 1.7; FFT 2.

COLOUR. Head black with frontal orbit testaceous, mandible, palpi and malar space yellow; mesosoma black; metasoma black with tergite 3 and following fading laterally to testaceous-orange; fore and mid legs yellowish-orange, hind leg mostly black, with tibia and tarsus strongly infuscate; trochanters and apex of femora white dotted; wings apically infuscate, venation pale brown, pterostigma anteriorly white. HEAD. Face deeply and moderately punctate, mid-longitudinally bulging; inner margins of eyes parallel; clypeus transverse, smooth with some punctures dorsally, distinctly convex in profile view; malar line moderately short; frons finely and densely punctate with a weak mid-longitudinal ridge from upper face to median ocellus; vertex and temple coriaceous; occipital carina joining hypostomal carina distinctly above mandible base; antenna with 36 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere quadrate.

MESOSOMA. Barely elongate; pronotum sparsely punctate with ventral margin strigose and largely smooth dorsally; mesopleuron and metapleuron densely, evenly and deeply punctate, with a weakly striate oblique furrow below speculum, speculum ventrally smooth; mesoscutum densely punctate but apical half of lateral lobe nearly smooth, notaulus deep and rugose; scutellum densely punctate; propodeum deeply punctate-rugose, carination thick, area superomedia stout, hardly delimited laterally. Legs. Femoral tooth strong and acute, higher than basally wide.

METASOMA. Tergite 2 and apical half of tergite 1 longitudinally aciculate, following tergites coriaceous; thyridium elliptic with main axis longitudinal; ovipositor moderately long, stout, entirely straight.

Male

Unknown.

Distribution

Central African Republic.

Figures

Fig. 24. Pristomerus nzakara sp. nov. Holotype, ♀. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, mesosoma, dorsal view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Propodeum, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view. F. Hind tibia, lateral view (inset: data labels).