Meria iucunda, Boni, 2008

Boni, M., 2008, Contribution to the knowledge of the Palaearctic Meriini (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Myzininae), Linzer biologische Beiträge 40 (2), pp. 1367-1397 : 1370-1372

Meria iucunda nov.sp.

Holotypus - Algeria = / 30.IV.95 / (rounded label) /Type/(rounded, red outer ring) / Syntype /(rounded, blue outer ring) / laeta ES / (original, autographic) /E. Saunders Coll. 1910-266/ /B.M. TYPE HYM 15.1508/, BMNH!

Paratypi – Algeria = (1) / Biskra 19.VI.97 /(rounded label) /E. Saunders Coll. 1910-266/ / Myzine laeta Sand det MC Day 1978/ / Lectotypus Myzine laeta E. Saunder 1901 Gorbatovsky 1978 / / Meria laeta (E. Saund) Gorbatovsky det 1978/, BMNH!; (1) / BISKRA 28 km S 30.V.80/, MZUF!; Tunisia = (1) / Zarzis ( Tunisie) le 24.8.69 / MZUF.

Paratypi - (1) / Biskra 324.V.97/ (rounded label) /E. Saunders Coll. 1910-266/, BMNH; (2) /Algerie Biskra 26.V.1948 J. de Beaumont/ / / M. latifasciata f. laeta Saund. det. Dott. D. Guiglia/, MZL; (4) /Africa sept.: Algeria BISKRA 24-25.V.1971 / /LI fgc 92-93 ex Coll. Z. Padr/ OLML; (2) /Africa sept.: Algeria BISKRA 29-30.V.1971 / /LI fgc 92-93 ex Coll. Z. Padr/ OLML; (7) /Africa sept.: Algeria BISKRA 7-8.VI.1971 / /LI fgc 92-93 ex Coll. Z. Padr/ (6) OLML, (1) MZUF. Egypt = (2) /Egypt maragi 14.VIII.1935 J. Omer Cooper/ /Armstrong college expedition BM 1935-354/ (one specimen labelled: Meria martini Vachal Gorbatovsky det.), BMNH. Morocco = (1) /Maroc Boumalne (Ksar es SK a Ouarzazate) 7.VI.1947 J. de Beaumont/ / M. latifasciata f. laeta Saund. det. Dott. D. Guiglia/, MZL. Tunisia = (1) /Tunesia Tozeur (steppe) 30.V.1973 M.C. & G. Kruseman/ / Meria latifasciata Palma det. R. Hensen 1986/, ZMA; (1) /S. Tunisia nr Saidane Kebili area 1.VIII:1978/ /KM Guichard, GR & AC Else BM 1978-574/ / Meria martini Gorbatovsky det 1987/, BMNH; (1) /S. Tunisia Tozeur 2.VIII.1978 //KM Guichard, GR & AC Else BM 1978-574/ / Meria martini Gorbatovsky det 1987/, BMNH; (1) / TUNISIA Tatauine 11.4.2001 leg. M. Halada/, OLML.

Morocco = (2) / MOROCCO 10 km E. Guelmin 5.5.1995 M. Halada leg/, OLML.

Meria martini VACHAL 1899: 538-539, only.

Myzine laeta E. SAUNDERS 1901: 532-533 syn.nov.

Meria latifasciata laeta - GUIGLIA 1960: 70.

Meria latifasciata laeta - GUIGLIA 1961: 28.

Meria martini - GUIGLIA 1963a: 7.

Meria latifasciata m. martini - GUIGLIA 1965: 113.

Meria laeta - GORBATOVSKY 1981: 386.

Female. Figs 2-3. (Specimen from Tunisia compared to the Lectotype).

Male. Figs 4-8. Holotype.

D i s c u s s i o n E. SAUNDERS in the original paper described the male in the first place. GORBATOVSKY (1981) instead designated the unique female as lectotype, overmissing the other specimens, and put it under the name Meria martini VACHAL, actually junior synonym of Parameria femorata GUÉRIN 1837 (BONI BARTALUCCI 1994) and therefore unavailable name. Moreover he published his designation as " Meria laeta E. SAUNDERS 1901 " while the original name was " Myzine laeta ". The last name was preoccupied by Myzine laeta BINGHAM 1897 , which actually belongs to the genus Mesa SAUSSURE 1892, whose it is junior homonym and therefore undisposable. Saunders recorded 8 males and 8 females, all of them from Biskra and referred about the ferruginous colour of the basal metameri of all the males but one. At BMNH actually the above recorded specimens exist only. GUIGLIA (1960, 1961) named specimens from Northern Africa with ferruginous colour Meria latifasciata laeta, then (1963) she discovered the identity of the SAUNDER‘ s taxon with the typical male of Meria martini and from then onward (1965, 1968) she named the specimens here we are dealing with like Meria latifasciata morpha M. martini Vachal". In a previous paper ( BONI BARTALUCCI 2001) these specimens were included under the name M. latifasciata PALMA 1869.

Two regular and stable differences (deemed of primary weigth in Meriini since the relative character states show no variability within the same species also in specimens coming from relatively remote areas) have been found between these red coloured specimens of M. laeta and the typical specimens of M. latifasciata present in Algeria and Morocco too: relative thickness (1/2 the elements in M. latifasciata, about 4/ 5 in M. laeta ) of the longitudinal stripe of Secu on the flagellomeri and the shape of the pronotum both in dorsal and lateral aspect. Other two different character states, a bit less reliable inasmuch as more hardly settled than the formers, are the more globular 1 st tergum and the more dense and silvery hair on the head and mesosoma. Moreover no females of M. laeta have never been found so far in Sicily and Southern Italy (where in truth the female too of M. latifasciata is unknown). They are sympatric and synchronic in Northern Africa and no specimens with intermediate character states between them have been hitherto found. Waiting for data and discoveries which contradict the present action, we prefer to split specimens here recorded from the synonymy with M. latifasciata.

The males belong to the group with completely smooth, pitless and hairless fore surface of mid femurs; they are also well featured from the other palaearctic taxa by the completely smooth Em 3 and anteroventral lateral P, with very fine and simple suture su 3. The females look like females of M. arabica and M. diplochora ,but greatly differ in the more transversal head in frontal aspect (Ratio LA/ Am,in frontal aspect is 1.27 in front of

1.13 to 1.17 for other species), more shortened and regularly rounded P in dorsal aspect and the pterostigma with very small fenestra (larger about the latters).

D i s t r i b u t i o n: The whole of Northern Africa from Morocco to Egypt.

E c o l o g y: The unique data are by Saunders about the visited flowers: Ziziphus lotus and Ammi visnaga.

D e r i v a t i o n o m i n i s: From the latin iucundus = pleasant.