Mischocyttarus nazgul Borges & Silveira, 2019

Borges, Rafael Cabral & Silveira, Orlando Tobias, 2019, Revision of the species-group of Mischocyttarus (Omega) filiformis (de Saussure 1854), with description of three new species (Hymenoptera, Vespidae), Zootaxa 4657 (3), pp. 545-564 : 558-560

Mischocyttarus nazgul Borges & Silveira sp. nov.

( Figs 27 , 29, 31)

Diagnosis. Male. Length of fore wing 7.5 mm. Hind tarsi with practically symmetric claws, with apex acute (see Fig. 33a); interantennal area prominent; clypeus upper surface shallowly concave, apical margin not angled at all; covered with fine appressed pale pilosity; humeral lobes very large in dorsal view; propodeal median furrow shallow and wide, with striate sculpture; first metasomal segment narrow and elongated (Fig. 31), length ca. equal to or slightly larger than [mesoscutum + scutellum + metanotum], spiracles distinctly prominent; portion posterior to spiracles compressed laterally as to produce a dorsal hump; mesoscutum with sculpture rather homogeneous, puncture diameter little variable, space between punctures shining; overall color black with yellow spots.

Description. Male. Length of fore wing 7.6 mm. Head a little wider than high (Fig. 29), FHH/IntOW 0.94; clypeus wider than high, H/WCLP 0.88, upper surface shallowly concave, apical margin not angulated, almost straight with a small rounded apex almost indistinguishable under conspicuous pubescence; malar space obsolete; tentorial pit more than 2 times closer to eye than to antennal socket; upper interantennal area elevated and prominent; mandible with three teeth; antennal apex elongated and spirally rolled (Fig. 31), antennal scape robust, with almost parallel sides, L/Wesc 2.8; antennal article 3 long and narrow, wider distally, as long as articles 4+5; 4, 5 and 8 little longer than wide; article 13 curved and weakly compressed, five times longer than wide; posterior ocelli widely separated, POL more than two diameters; POL/OOL 1.6; occipital carina well developed, distinct in lateral view and ending fairly below the level of ocular sinus; gena considerably narrower than eye at level of ocular sinus; pronotum without lateral fovea; anterior margin of pronotum with lamella raised and reflexed on central portion, with lateral profile as a loop reaching more than 180 degrees; region immediately behind the lamella without secondary margin; humeral region well developed, WCAR/WMS 1.17; pronotal carina with lamella lowered and nearly straight at center ( Fig. 27 ), forward projecting at sides, forming large humeral lobes; mesoscutum slightly longer than wide, L/WMS 1.06; fore wing not very elongated, LDIS/HMP 1.91; mid tibial spur very short; tarsi with symmetrical claws, with apex acute; propodeum with median furrow wide and rather deep, with anterior extremity round; propodeal valve well produced as a high triangle, expanded backwards only on lower 2/3; first metasomal segment elongated (Fig. 31), LSI/HMP 1.37, and slender, L/WSI 5.0, sides diverging only after spiracles, apex 1.8 × wider than base, spiracles distinctly prominent, portion after the spiracles laterally compressed, appearing like a dorsal hump.

Genitalia (see Silveira, 2008, Figs 131, 133). aedeagus from above with the distal portion narrow, apex with lateral contour round but poorly expanded; aedeagus basal area as a linear anteriorly produced lobe, ventral process as a small rounded lobe; digitus rather short, triangular, practically glabrous, setae very small and indistinct; outer surface of paramere distally without hairs; parameral spine nearly glabrous.

Sculpture. Moderately strong and conspicuous. Disk of clypeus finely reticulate (under dense pubescence); mesoscutum sculpture dense, puncture diameter varying continuously between rather narrow limits (0.04–0.06mm), but with few scattered clearly larger punctures, interstices rather dull; humeral region similar to mesoscutum, diameter slightly larger; mesopleuron with fairly regular and dense small punctures, and also with regular more sparse larger and deeper ones, interstices little shining; metapleuron similar to mesopleuron, with regularly scattered punctures of the large kind; propodeum with punctures larger (up to 0.09mm) and more sparse, central area with punctures still larger and more sparse, integument more shining; furrow distinctly striate without a keel.

Vestiture. Eyes with very short nearly indistinguishable hairs; head, thorax and mesosoma with very conspicuous whitish appressed or decumbent pilosity; clypeus covered by dense appressed hairs with silvery reflexes; frons with decumbent pubescence and long erect hairs; pronotum and mesoscutum with erect short pilosity and long erect hairs; pleural areas and propodeum with long hairs; part of first metasomal tergum (before spiracles) and entire first sternum with long whitish hairs, remaining areas with shorter appressed pubescence; remaining metasomal segments covered by short appressed pale or whitish pubescence.

Color. Black. Antenna beneath, posterior and lateral areas on mid and hind coxae; trochanters; dorsal aspect of mid and hind femora and tibiae, mid and hind tarsi (darker distally), most of dorsum of metasomal tergum 1 and discal area of tergum 2, reddish brown or darker brown; apical teeth of mandible; apex of antennal flagellum, fore femur and tibia partially, fore tarsus (except darker last segment), ventral-anterior elongated areas on mid and hind femora and tibiae, light yellowish brown; antennal scape beneath; whole face up to level of ocular sinus (except for circular central mark and dorsal margin of clypeus); outer orbit (except for frontal area from ocular sinus to vertex); pair of small subtriangular marks on vertex connecting to eyes but not to outer orbit; pronotal carina from side to side and most of humeral lobes; dorsal hind margin of pronotum connecting centrally with mark on carina; dorsal mesepisternal mark; two median yellow stripes on mesoscutum; paired lateral anterior marks on scutellum, and adjacent mark on meso-axilla, paired anterior marks on metanotum, and mark on meta-axilla; large marks on anterior face of fore and mid coxae; two elongated posterior marks on hind coxa; most of anterior face and lateral stripe on fore femur; distal mark on fore tibia; two medium sized spots on propodeum (widening posteriorly), continuous with mark on propodeal valve; paired elongated median dorsal marks on anterior part of first metasomal tergum, also posterior band connecting to lateral areas; most of sternum 1; band on posterior margin of metasomal segments 2 to 4; most of metasomal sterna 5 to 7; anterior half of tergum 7; Wings hyaline with brown veins.

Female. Unknown.

Nest. Unknown

Etymology. The specific epithet is a reference to the Nazgul Kings, characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Geographic distribution. BRAZIL: Pará: Serra dos Carajás. (see Fig. 34 )

Remarks. The predominantly black color and the slender elongated first metasomal segment of this species is superficially reminiscent of M. filiformis , though the symmetrical tarsal claws, the slightly concave clypeus, and the larger humeral lobes are distinctive. Apart from sexually dimorphic characters and color, however, this species is similar to the next species M. asahi sp. nov. (which has yellow ground color), In absence of positive information on common colony membership, we are considering minor sculpture differences and the absolutely opposite color patterns as evidence of separate specific status. The shape of the aedeagus, not angularly expanded at the apex, is different from the other species in which the male genitalia is known, M. filiformis and M. buyssoni (see Silveira, 2008).

Examined material. BRAZIL: HOLOTYPE ♂ Pará, 16.x.1985, Serra dos Carajás, Serra Norte , Fofoca (M.F. Torres) ( MPEG) ; PARATYPE ♂ (same locality and data).

Figures

FIGURE 34. Partial truncated map of South America with distributions of species of the M. filiformis group. Embedded frame box shows enlarged area representation with the records of M. filiformis, M. omicron, M. asahi sp. nov., M. kallindusfloren sp. nov. and M. nazgul sp. nov. within the Carajás National Forest (FLONA) in southeastern Pará state.

FIGURES 22–27. Anterior dorsal view of mesosoma (females, except 27; all from Brazil). 22: M. filiformis (Pará, Belém, Utinga; MPEG); 23: M. buyssoni (R. de Janeiro; MPEG); 24: M. omicron (Pará, Carajás; MPEG); 25: holotype of M. asahi sp. nov. (Pará, Carajás; MPEG); 26: holotype of M. kallindusfloren sp. nov. (Pará, Carajás; MPEG); 27: holotype of M. nazgul sp. nov. (Pará, Carajás; MPEG); all scales = 0.50 mm.