Sycophila (Sycophila) nigra Lotfalizadeh, 2024

Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), Zootaxa 5401 (1), pp. 1-190 : 115-119

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5401.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:376CAB04-43BE-4C9A-950B-80DBD676CFB0
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FD6B5E-7247-6158-5486-B5AAFC4AFF23
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Sycophila (Sycophila) nigra Lotfalizadeh
status	sp. n.

Treatment

Sycophila (Sycophila) nigra Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

( Figs 80–82 View FIGURE 80 View FIGURE 81 View FIGURE 82 )

Type material examined. Holotype ♀, United Republic of Tanzania, Usa River, -3.368691° 36.862022°, ex syconia of Ficus mucuso , 5.iv.1996, Rasplus , J.Y. & Kerdelhué, C. leg. Deposited in CBGP. Paratypes: same data as holotype, 11♀ & 1♂. Cameroon, Colline Nkolbisson, ex syconia of Ficus sycomorus , 17.iii.1993, Gibernau M. leg., 1♀ & 1♂. Mt Febe, ex syconia of Ficus sur , 19.ii.1993, Gibernau M. leg., 5♀ & 1♂.

Etymology. The specific name refers to black colouration of the body.

Diagnosis. Female body dark brown ( Fig. 80A View FIGURE 80 ). Flagellum with fu1–fu4 slightly longer than wide, fu5 quadrate, as long as wide ( Fig. 80B View FIGURE 80 ). Costal cell ventrally sparsely setose, dorsally bare ( Fig. 81E View FIGURE 81 ). Petiole at most as long as broad dorsally ( Fig. 81D View FIGURE 81 ).

Male body dark brown ( Fig. 83A View FIGURE 83 ); fu1–fu4 much longer than wide ( Fig. 83B View FIGURE 83 ).

Description of holotype ♀ ( Figs 80–81 View FIGURE 80 View FIGURE 81 ). Length 4.00 mm. Body dark brown ( Fig. 80A View FIGURE 80 ), except orbital margin, scrobal margin, antennal clava, pronotum dorsolaterally, tegula, tibia, tarsomeres, femora distally yellowish and antennal flagellum, scape and pedicel yellowish-brown; pronotum anterolaterally testaceous; fore wing with a dark brown spot below mv, reaching base of mv; lower margin of mv not obscured by dark brown spot ( Fig. 81E View FIGURE 81 ); gaster dark brown with Gt5 extensively yellowish ( Fig. 81C View FIGURE 81 ); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.

Head 1.46× as broad as high [HW 185 & HH 127] ( Fig. 80C View FIGURE 80 ); in dorsal view stout, 1.83× as broad as long [HW 220 & HL 120] ( Fig. 80D View FIGURE 80 ); face and vertex densely punctulate; malar space 0.41× length of eye [ms 42 & EH 102]; malar sulcus distinct, sinuous ( Fig. 80E View FIGURE 80 ); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly separated; interantennal space not raised, carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, not carinate on margin; POL 2.2× as long as OOL [POL 44 & OOL 20] ( Fig. 80D View FIGURE 80 ); temple rounded, 0.26× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 22 & EL 84]; setation oriented downwards on face, outwards on the punctuate frons.

Antenna. Scape not reaching median ocellus, 3.86× as long as broad [SL 85 & SW 22]; fu1 1.65× as long as broad [fu1L 43 & fu1W 26], not longer than pedicel, not bulging dorsally; funiculars (fu2–fu4) with one row of mps and 2 whorls of adpressed setae; fu2–fu4 slightly longer than broad; fu5 as long as broad ( Fig. 80B View FIGURE 80 ).

Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.65× as long as wide (175:105), with deep sculpture ( Fig. 81A View FIGURE 81 ); pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures; mesepisternum raised medially, with piliferous sculpture on epicnemium, being closer to anteroventral margin of mesepisternum than to mesocoxa; mesoscutum 0.6× as long as wide (60:105), 0.7× longer than length of pronotal collar (60:85), mesoscutum with dense umbilicate punctures, transversely strigose anteriorly; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture; prepectus bare, with raised sculpture; mesoscutellum deeply umbilicate laterally and coriaceous sculpture on mesoscutellar disc; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum ( Fig. 81B View FIGURE 81 ) with deep median depression, without smooth median band, and a distinct median carina; lateral rows of areolae long and extending at least over posterior half of propodeum; inverted U-shaped basal carina, lateral branches relatively step like; distance between lateral carinae less than 0.5× width of nucha.

Fore wing with short marginal fringe, apically subtruncate (pointed anteriorly); dark brown spot below mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv distinctly enlarged, rounded, lower margin convex, longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell densely setose, dorsally bare; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent.

Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (25:10) and hind femora (40:12); hind tibia dorsally with less than 10 setae, setae shorter than hind tibia width ( Figs 81E, F View FIGURE 81 ).

Metasoma. Petiole shorter than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present. Metasoma 1.75× as long as wide (140:80) ( Fig. 81C View FIGURE 81 ), longer than mesosoma, strongly compressed laterally and dorsally angulate ( Fig. 81D View FIGURE 81 ); ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present, petiole in dorsal view not longer than wide, shorter than half-length of hind coxa; tergites finely sculptured, Gt4 (in lateral view) slightly as long as Gt3, sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6, sinuous posteriorly; Gt6 sparsely setose ventrally; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned ( Fig. 81C View FIGURE 81 ).

Male ( Fig. 82 View FIGURE 82 ). Length 2.83 mm. Similar to female with longer petiole ( Fig. 83A View FIGURE 83 ); legs yellowish; antennal formula 11143; each funicular with one row of mps and several whorls of erected setae ( Fig. 83B View FIGURE 83 ); fore wing more setose than in female, speculum relatively narrow, costal cell with some dorsal setae ( Fig. 83C View FIGURE 83 ).

Variation. Length 2.42–5.75 mm. In some specimens, body yellowish with a brown band on dorsal margin of Gt3 to Gt6.

Host plants. Ficus sycomorus , F. sur and F. mucuso .

Geographical distribution. Cameroon and United Republic of Tanzania