Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd)

A. Valerio, Alejandro, Austin, Andrew D., Masner, Lubomir & Johnson, Norman F., 2013, Systematics of Old World Odontacolus Kieffer s. l. (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae s. l.): parasitoids of spider eggs, ZooKeys 314, pp. 1-151 : 62-63

Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd) Figures 47, 257-262; Morphbank 91

Ceratobaeoides spinosus Dodd 1914b: 125 (original description); Kieffer 1926: 273, 274 (description, keyed).

Odontacolus spinosus (Dodd): Austin 1981: 89 (generic transfer, type information).

Ceratobaeoides longiceps Dodd 1913: 338 (original description. Preoccupied by Odontacolus longiceps Kieffer 1910a); Dodd 1914a: 66 (description); Kieffer 1926: 273, 274 (description, keyed).

Odontacolus spinosus urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:91260D13-006C-4F64-B6EF-15C984A4EB1F

Odontacolus spinosus urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:9360

Odontacolus doddi Austin 1981: 88 (replacement name, generic transfer, type information). Syn. n.

Odontacolus spinosus urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E815E65F-BD05-4045-BEF3-4FFF3445D1CD

Odontacolus spinosus urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:4946

Description.

Female. Body length: 1.09 - 1.63 mm (n=20). Antenna color: antennal clava dark brown, otherwise yellow; distal 2/3 of antennal clava dark brown, otherwise yellow. Body color: mainly yellow, except for occiput, mesoscutum midanterior and lateral areas and mesepisternum lower area dark brown, T1 horn black, and T4-T6 honey yellow. Coxae color: yellow. Leg color (excluding coxae): yellow. Fore wing color: completely hyaline.

Head. Size of compound eye: approximately 1/2 × height of head. Head shape in lateral view: lower head elongate and broad at mouth, head appearing elongate and somewhat thin. Sculpture of antennal scrobe: weakly rugulose throughout. Surface of torular triangle: flat. Development of central keel on frons: present, elongate (equal to or greater than 1/3 × height of frons), but not reaching anterior ocellus. Sculpture on upper frons below anterior ocellus: with sparse, transverse costae mixed with weak, dense granulae. Sculpture of malar space: weakly rugulose throughout, without fan-like striae. Furrow at lateral portion of antennal scrobe: absent. Mesal surface of vertex: flat to weakly convex. Size of lateral ocelli: small. Distance between lateral ocellus and occipital carina: 0.5 –1.2× maximum ocellar diameter. Lagrimal: absent or minute. Length of OOL: less than or equal to 1/3 × width of ocellus. Sculpture of vertex: granulate. Sculpture of occipital carina: weakly crenulate throughout. Distance from occipital carina to orbital carina: at least 2 × width of occipital carina. Shape of occipital carina: simply arcuate medially. Sculpture of occiput: with weakly rugulo aciculate sculpture. Sculpture of gena: granulose.

Mesosoma. Dorsal mesosoma in lateral view: convex. Sculpture of pronotal cervical area: with small (at most as large as crenulae on anterior edge of mesoscutum), well-defined foveae. Sculpture of pronotal lateral area: coriaceous. Netrion: present, smooth, linear. Notaulus: present, simple. Length of notaulus: approximately less than or equal to 1/3 of length of mesoscutum. Width of notaulus: narrow (notaulus width less than or equal to half the width of tegula). Sculpture of mesoscutum: weakly rugulose mixed with weak granulae. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: weakly rugulose mixed with granulate sculpture. Mesoscutellar profile: elevated, anterior margin higher than posterior. Mesoscutellar shape: flat, not depressed. Lateral propodeal area: densely, finely rugulose. Shape of propodeal anterior spine: elongate, narrow, apex rounded. Sculpture of propodeum between anterior spines: rugulose throughout. Sculpture of ventral half of mesepisternum: weakly, finely coriaceous. Sculpture of upper 1/4 of mesopleuron: densely longitudinally costate across entire width. Metapleural sculpture: sparsely longitudinally costate.

Wings. Stigmal vein: present, elongate, narrow. Campaniform sensilla at distal area of stigmal vein: present.

Metasoma. Shape of T1 horn: broad, short. Sculpture of upper portion of T1 horn: longitudinally carinate. Sculpture of posterior portion of T1 horn: longitudinally carinate. Lateral carinae on T2: present, well-defined. Sculpture of T2: longitudinally costate on coriaceous background. Sculpture of T3: anterior half weakly, longitudinally costate, coriaceous mesally, otherwise weakly coriaceous. Sculpture of S3-S6: finely, weakly coriaceous. S2 anterior carina: present, cristate, uninterrupted.

Male. Unknown.

Diagnosis.

Odontacolus spinosus can be separated from all other Australian Odontacolus species by the short and unsculptured notauli in combination with a well-defined netrion, central keel present on the frons, sculptured antennal scrobes, small lateral ocelli, and the long distance between the lateral ocellus and the occipital carina, approximately 1.2 × the ocellus diameter.

Link to distribution map.

92

Material examined.

Holotype female, Ceratobaeoides longiceps : AUSTRALIA: QLD, among undergrowth, Brisbane, 26.IV.1913, H. Hacker, QMBA HY1631 (deposited in QMBA). Holotype female, Ceratobaeoides spinosus : AUSTRALIA: QLD, forest, Childers, 2.VII.1914, sweeping, A. P. Dodd, SAMA DB 32-001530 (deposited in SAMA). Other material: AUSTRALIA: 31 females, OSUC 239167, 239173, 239180, 239182 (ANIC); OSUC 239153, 239165-239166, 239174, 239177, 239184, 339575 (CNCI); OSUC 239188 (OSUC); OSUC 238011, 239015, 239154, 239164, 239168-239172, 239175-239176, 239179, 239183, 239185-239186 (QDPC); OSUC 239017 (QMBA); UCRC ENT 171076-171077 (UCRC); OSUC 239189 (WINC).

Comments.

The holotype of Odontacolus spinosus has the head and most of the wings detached from the body; the head and first pair of legs are glued to the point; the remainder of the legs has the distal tarsomeres missing. The holotype of Odontacolus doddi is slide mounted and the specimen was partly destroyed in the process.

The following color variations occur in this species: the body ranges from yellow with the tips of the propodeal spines and T1 horn dark brown to mostly dark brown with the posterior area of the mesoscutum and mesoscutellum light yellow. The occipital carina of the specimens OSUC 239180 and OSUC 239173 is present but very fine which renders it difficult to see; in all other specimens it is well developed. The sculpture also varies between the anterior propodeal spines, from being completely smooth to completely punctate in some specimens with darker color (i.e. OSUC 239165, 265167, 239170-239172). The sculpture of the mesal portion of T2 varies from in the development of the costae. In any case there is always coriaceous background sculpture.