Meria namachorites, Boni, 2009

Boni, M., 2009, Afrotropical species of the ancient genus Meria ILLIGER 1807 (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 41 (2), pp. 1817-1861 : 1832-1833

Meria namachorites nov.sp.

Holotype ♀ - Namibia = / Chulon , Narib Ost 602 24°10’S 17°42’E MARIENTHAL DISTRICT 30 May-5July 1982 M-L. Penrith Preser traps, dune/ / NNIC /, NNMW

Paratype ♀ - Namibia = /WINDHOEK SE 2217 Ca 22-24 Nov 1973 / /H75255/ / NNIC /, NMW

Paratype Ƌ - Namibia = /Noachabeb 97 KEETMANSHOP SE 2718 Ad/Bc 22-28 Apr 1972 /

Female. Holotype. Figs 45-49 . Measurements: body length = 12 mm; forewing length = 7 mm.

Dark brown, brown and light brown, ferruginous, white. Forewing darkened, hindwing lighter. Most of the head and mesosoma are dark brown. Brown: part of mandible and scape; all the legs but tarsi; LaSt2; pterostigma; petiole; 1 st sternum; most of 1 st tergum; large areas before white spots on 2 nd tergum; irregular shadows on the remainder of metameri. Light brown: flagellum; ventral area of clypeal disk; most of mandible; palpi; tarsi; veins. Ferruginous: small areas on frons and vertex, most of metasoma.

White: lateral spots on 2 nd and 3 rd terga.

Base of hypostoma swollen and transparent, cOc broadly interrupted. Disk of N 1 as mostly smooth as its lateral areas which have not wrinkled areas. Sub horizontal propodeal disk without median furrow, with fine wrinkles along its lateral edges; subvertical disk and upper fourth of lateral areas also wrinkled. Hindtibial spurs just a bit larger than in other congeneric taxa. Hair whitish throughout. p like in M. tripunctata. in most of the body.

Male. Figs 50-55 . Measurements: body length = 14.5 mm.

Black, brown, yellow. Brown: ventral edge of clypeus; palpi; mandible tip; scape partially; hypostomal base; apex of coxae and dark portions of legs; apex of 7 th metamerus and 8 th sternum (anal hook). Yellow: almost all the clypeal disk; most of mandible; two large lateral spots along the fore border and a large subapical stripe on N 1; small spot on Es 2; apex of LaSt 2; humeral plate and tegula; base of coastal vein; spot on all the coxae; ventral and apical femurs; almost completely tibiae; tarsi; large apical stripe with waving fore edge on 1 st and 6 th terga, 2 nd, 5 th and 6 th sterna; large apical stripe with entire fore edge enlarging sideward on 2 nd to 5 th terga, 3 rd and 4 th sterna; three spots on 7 th tergum.

Large Secu stripe, covering all the visible thickness of the flagellar elements; blunt keel, broken medially, along the fore border of N 1 disk; fore surface of mid femur smooth and hairless; strong laminated longitudianl keel along inner ventral edge of X 3; Sul weel expressed only on 1 st to 5 th terga, vestigial on 6 th one; sterna with a broad submedian transversal impression. Hair and p as in M. tripunctata.

Note. The female is clearly known from closer taxa by the absence of any trace of median furrow on the propodeal disk. The male has no very distinctive character states and can be identified through a combinations of characters given in the key. Their coupling here proposed is purely unwarranted.

Variability: the female paratype is smaller (11mm), has more extended brown areas on 1 st and 2 nd terga and lack ferruginous shadings on the head.

Ecology: unknown.

Derivatio nominis: from the name of the region, Nama, and the greek χωρίτης = dweller.

Figures

Figs. 45-49: Meria namachorites ♀. 45: head, mesosoma and basal metameri, dorsal aspect; 46: head, frontal aspect; 47: head, ventral aspect; 48: labrum, frontal aspect; 49: labrum, ventral aspect (45: scale bar = 2 mm) (46, 47: scale bar = 1 mm) (48, 49: scale bar = 0.5 mm).

Figs. 50-55: Meria namachorites Ƌ. 50: head, dorsal aspect; 51: head, frontal aspect; 52: pronotal disk, dorsal aspect 53: 7 th tergum, dorsal aspect; 54: Gonostylus, lateral and ventral aspect; 55: volsella (50, 51, 52: scale bar = 2 mm) (53: scale bar = 1 mm) (54, 55: scale bar = 0.5 mm).