Pseudagris tessmanniana Selis, 2023

Selis, Marco, 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Afrotropical genus Pseudagris de Saussure (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), with description of four new species, Zootaxa 5315 (3), pp. 201-230 : 223

Pseudagri s tessmanniana (von Schulthess, 1913) stat. rev. et comb. nov.

( Figs. 11a–c )

Rhynchium tessmannianum von Schulthess 1913a: 2 , ♀ —“Westafrika, Uelleburg” (holotype ZMB).

Diagnosis. The female of this species can be recognized by the following combination of characters: apical margin of clypeus 0.2× as wide as width of clypeus ( Fig. 11b ), cephalic foveae present as small and shallow depressions not located in a modified portion of vertex ( Fig. 11c ), interspaces on head and mesoscutum wide and shiny, mesepisternum with dense flat-bottomed punctures, propodeum with posterolateral angles produced in flattened subtriangular lobe, S2 with strongly margined narrow depression in basal third, wings weakly fuscous with black costal margin.

Material examined. CONGO: Brazzaville , Congo, 1♀ ( MSNVE) .

Description. Female. Body length 13.0 mm; fore wing length 13.2 mm.

Head 1.2× as wide as long in frontal view. Clypeus in frontal view 1.1× as long as wide, apical margin truncated and 0.2× as wide as width of clypeus; two sharp carinae running from apical angles up to basal third, becoming dull dorsally, area between carinae weakly depressed; clypeus in lateral view evenly convex from base to apex. Distance from posterior ocellus to occipital carina 2.1× as long as the distance from posterior ocellus to inner eye margin; cephalic foveae not developed, appearing as barely visible depressions. Gena 0.75× as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina entire, shortly lamellate on gena, weak on vertex. F1 1.9× as long as wide; F2–F6 weakly longer than wide, F7–F9 subquadrate. Mesosoma 1.3× as long as wide. Pronotal carina complete, sharp but not lamellate dorsally. Mesoscutum as long as wide between tegulae, evenly and weakly convex in lateral view. Scutellum flattened, on same level of mesoscutum, with an indistinct median furrow on posterior third. Metanotum nearly vertical, evenly convex from base to apex. Epicnemial carina strong but dull, visible on ventral half only. Propodeum in lateral view oblique with sharply pointed lateral angle; dorsal faces convex and not separated from posterior face; lateral faces flattened, strongly curved along inferior carina; inferior carina dull and reaching lateral angle of propodeum, where it forms a sharp and denticulate subtriangular lobe. T 1 in dorsal view 2× as wide as long; T 2 in dorsal view wider than long; S1 with expanded apical part very short, shorter than narrow basal part; S2 with median third of basal margin depressed, depression margined anteriorly by lateral humps, in lateral view showing a short basal oblique face, followed by a weakly sinuate horizontal face.

Clypeus weakly shining in basal third and on lateral margins, dull in area between carinae; basal third with dense deep small punctures, area between carinae impunctate but densely microreticulate. Interantennal area and lower part of ocular sinus smooth and shiny. Frons densely and irregular punctate; vertex punctured like frons, but interspaces more shiny, area around foveae strongly shining; gena shining with shallow sparse punctures. Pronotum, scutellum and metanotum with deep flat-bottomed punctures, denser on pronotum. Mesoscutum densely micropunctate, with deep small punctures which are denser anterolaterally and are almost absent posteriorly. Mesepisternum densely and coarsely punctured, punctures large and flat bottomed, interspaces flattened and shiny, shorter than diameter of punctures; epicnemium densely microreticulate. Metaepisternum smooth, with some shallow punctures and striae on dorsal margin. Tegula with dense fine punctures. Dorsal faces of propodeum coarsely punctured, interspaces reduced to thin carinae; posterior face nearly smooth, except for some shallow punctures dorsally; lateral faces impunctate and shiny. Metasomal tergites with fine oblique punctures, deeper and denser on T2; S2–S5 with punctures deeper and sparser than on respective tergites, interspaces shiny.

Head and mesosoma with short erect setae, partly black and partly brownish. Metasoma with dense very short black pubescence, some short setae on sternites.

Entirely grayish-black, except for small yellowish spot below tegula on mesepisternum; underside of flagellum and apical tarsomere of fore lags dark red-brown. Wings nearly hyaline, with strongly fuscous costal margin.

Male. Unknown.

Distribution. Cameroon, Congo *, Equatorial Guinea ( von Schulthess 1913 a, 1913b, 1914b) ( Fig. 14 ).

Notes. This species was considered a synonym of Rhynchium junodianum by von Schulthess (1928), without explanation for the synonymy. Reading the description of Rhynchium tessmannianum and examining a specimen compared with the type by Giordani Soika, it appears clear that this taxon is well differentiated from Pseudagris holomelas , senior synonym of Rhynchium junodianum , by the characters shown in the key below. This taxon is therefore resurrected from synonymy.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Pseudagris tessmanniana (von Schulthess, 1913), female. a, habitus. b, head. c, vertex.

FIGURE 14. Distributional map of Pseudagris species.