Mesocentrus sasquatch, Butcher & Zaldivar-Riverón & Kamp & Rolo & Baumbach & Quicke, 2014

Butcher, Buntika Areekul, Zaldivar-Riverón, Alejandro, Kamp, Thomas Van De, Rolo, Tomy Dos Santos, Baumbach, Tilo & Quicke, Donald L. J., 2014, Extension of historical range of Betylobraconinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) into Palaearctic Region based on a Baltic amber fossil, and description of a new species of Mesocentrus Szépligeti from Papua New Guinea, Zootaxa 3860 (5), pp. 449-463 : 452-453

Mesocentrus sasquatch sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 )

Holotype ♀. Papua-New-Guinea, Province Madang, Mount Wilhelm 1700m (-5.759269,145.2356) 1700m, 09-10/ 11/2012, leg Valeba, Tulei, Novotny, Leponce, Plot 1, understorey; Malaise — MAL-MW1700A-16/16-d16.

Body length (corrected for bent metasoma) 3.5 mm, length of fore wing 3.0 mm.

Antenna with 26 flagellomeres. Terminal flagellomere pointed but not acuminate. Face transversely striate. Clypeus not separated from face medially. Eyes strongly setose, 1.1 x higher than width of face. Hypoclypeal depression moderately convex mediodorsally, rather shallow with labrum wide and largely exposed. Inter-tentorial distance 2.3 x shortest distance between tentorial pit and eye. Frons hardly depressed laterally. Mesosoma 1.6 x longer than maximally high. Pronotum without midlongitudinal carina. Mesopleuron smooth and shiny. Precoxal sulcus rugose to rugulose, approximately triangular in shape. Median area of metanotum with complete midlongitudinal carina. Fore wing vein 3RSa 3.6 x r-rs, 0.55 x 3RSb. Vein (RS+M)a weakly sinuous. Hind wing vein 1M 1.2 x M+CU. Vein m-cu weakly antefurcal. Hind basitarsus approximately 9 x longer than deep, approximately the same length as the next three segments combined. Propodeum largely irregularly rugose. First metasomal tergite 1.4 x longer than posteriorly wide with prominent midlongitudinal carina ( Fig. 2E ); second metasomal suture narrow, shallow, sharply defined, nearly smooth. Metasomal tergites 3 to 5 progressively less conspicuously with fine, sub-transverse wrinkles, with sparse long setosity posteriorly. Ovipositor sheath 0.6 x hind tibia. Ovipositor distinctly laterally compressed.

Largely brown-yellow; dark brown are medioposterior mesoscutum, scutellar sulcus, sides of scutellum and axilla, anteromedial part of propodeum, 1 st, and tergites, 3 rd tergite except medio-anteriorly, 4 th and 5 th tergites broadly medially.

Etymology. Named after the cryptozoological North American creature, big-foot, otherwise known as the sasquatch; noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Mesocentrus sasquatch sp. nov. A, habitus; B, head, front view; C, head dorsal view.

FIGURE 2. Mesocentrus sasquatch sp. nov. A, mesosoma and ovipositor, lateral view; B, thorax, dorsal view; C, head, mesosoma, fore femora, dorsal view; D, fore tibia and tarsus; E, propodeum and 1st metasomal tergite, dorsal view; F, metasomal tergites 2–6, dorsal view.

FIGURE 3. Mesocentrus sasquatch sp. nov. wings.