Pseudophotopsis schachruda ( Skorikov 1935 )

Lelej, Arkady S. & Yildirim, Erol, 2009, A review of the Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) of Turkey, Zootaxa 2160 (1), pp. 1-28 : 8

Pseudophotopsis schachruda ( Skorikov 1935) , stat. resurr.

Ephutomma schachruda Skorikov 1935: 323 , ♀ (lectotype (designated by Lelej 1980: 642) – "Shachrud, S[evernaya] Persia, 21.V.1914, Kirichenko" (North Iran) [ZIN], examined).

Ephutomma schachruda var. robusta Skorikov 1935: 324 , ♀, (lectotype (designated by Lelej 1980: 642) – "Caucasus, Araxesthal, Leder, Reitter" [ZIN], examined). New Synonymy.

Ephutomma mavromoustakisi Suárez 1959: 284 , ♀, (holotype – "de Chipre, Limassol " ( Cyprus), 14.IV.1956, Mavromoustakis "; paratypes from Cyprus, Turkey and Armenia). New Synonymy.

Pseudophotopsis schachruda: Özbek et al. 1999: 23 , ♀ (schachrudii!) (Adana, Aydın, Çanakkale, Elazığ, Erzurum).

Pseudophotopsis caucasica: Lelej 1985: 87 , ♀ non ♂; 2002: 25, part. ( Asian Turkey).

Diagnosis. Males of Pseudophotopsis schachruda belong to the group of males that lack denticles on the metanotum. P. schachruda differs from other species of this group by having a widened hypostomal carina that correspods to that seen in the female.

Description. MALE (hitherto unknown). Body length 9.6 mm. Head quadrangular behind the eyes (in dorsal view). Ocelli medial size, ratio of postocellar distance to ocellocular distance 1.1X. Ocelloccipital distance (between posterior ocellus and occipital carina) 2.5X longitudinal posterior ocellus diameter. Hypostomal carina widened. Mandibles weakly excised beneath, with small basal denticle ventrally. First flagellomere 1.6X its width and equal flagellomere 2. Metanotum without denticles. Metasomal tergum 1 length 0.9X its maximal width. Segment 2 with lateral felt lines on tergum and sternum. Tergum 2 shiny, densely punctate. Head, mesosoma, and antennae ferruginous-red. Legs red-testaceous. Metasomal segment 1 reddish-brown, segments 2–7 black. Body and legs clothed with short recumbent and scattered long erect white pubescence. Terga 1–6 and sterna 2–6 with apical white fringes.

Material examined. Elazıǧ: 1300 m, 1.IX.1973, 1 ♂ . Erzurum: Pasinler , 1900 m, 10.VI.1993, 1 ♀. (Both specimens identfied by B. Petersen as P. schachrudi (!)) .

Distribution. Turkey (Asian part), Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan (south-west), Iran, Cyprus, Palestine.

Remarks. The sex association proposed by Lelej (1980) under Pseudophotopsis caucasica was wrong. Discovery of the true male of P. schachruda necessitates the new synonymy of this species. The female of P. caucasica (Radoszkowski 1885) is still unknown.