Alobevania Kawada & Deans

Deans, Andrew R. & Kawada, Ricardo, 2008, Alobevania, a new genus of neotropical ensign wasps (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae), with three new species: integrating taxonomy with the World Wide Web, Zootaxa 1787, pp. 28-44 : 30-31

Alobevania Kawada & Deans , n. gen.

( Figs. 2 –16)

Type species: Alobevania gattiae Kawada & Deans , n. sp.

Head: [Morphbank] Flat in lateral view. Face punctate and sparsely setose. Eye elliptical. Clypeus flat, protruding medially. Epistomal declivity of clypeus usually divergent, arched and short. Gena nitid. Mandible with 4–5 teeth, with 3–4 visible on anterior face of mandible. Area surrounding antennal socket (torulus) slightly raised but not shelf-like. Antenna inserted at or above midline of eye and covered with short setae. Scape long (equal or greater than half eye height). Pedicel usually longer than wide. Flagellum subdivided into 11 meres and articulated with pedicel above the mesosoma. Flagellomeres each longer than wide, widening progressively (female) or evenly wide (male) towards apex of the flagellum. First flagellomere shorter than remaining flagellomeres. Apical flagellomere longest. Subocular groove absent. Frons usually nitid and with few or no setae. Malar space at least 1.5 times greater than basal mandibular width. Gena wide, nitid (female) to punctate (male), and setose. Mandible with 4 teeth on anterior face and a fifth tooth posteroventrally (usually hidden in anterior view). Labial palp short, subdivided into 4 palpomeres. Maxillary palp long, subdivided into 5 palpomeres. Occipital carina present as fine ridge and complete dorsally.

Mesosoma: [Morphbank] Higher than long, taller than head, romboid, and usually inconspicuously punctate or nitid dorsally, slightly areolate ventrally. Pronotum obscure medially when viewed dorsally, but with thin shelf that expands laterally, usually with fine, irregular rugae laterally. Mesoscutum raised medially, convex, sitting over the pronotal shelf; lateral carina complete from anterior to posterior margin. Notaulus complete, widening posteriorly, convergent and joined at scutellar groove; parapsidal furrow inconspicuous as a fine line. Scutellar groove scrobiculate laterally. Metanotum scrobiculate, partially covered by scutellum anteriorly. Mesopleuron higher than wide, concave medially (where mid leg femur rests when pharate); anterodorsal corner scrobiculate; anteriorly nitid; posteriorly with an even scrobiculate line; anteroventral margin finely scrobiculate; usually mostly nitid ventrally. Epicnemial carina complete. Metapleuron usually with inconspicuous sculpture, mostly areolate, usually nitid ventrally. Mesosternal processes (articulation points with mid coxae) long, conjoined by a carina, and separated from each other by the length of one process. Metasternum with irregular carina raised medially. Metasternal processes (articulation points with hind coxae) long, conjoined by a carina, and separated from each other by half their length. Propodeum short, less than half the length of petiole, not raised to metanotum; dorsally areolate to rugulose; laterally nitid; propodeal area ventral to petiole flat. Distance between mid and hind coxae less than distance between fore and mid coxae. Mid coxa usually rugulose. Hind coxae rugose. Hind leg usually faintly imbricate, and with short setae. Hind tibia and tarsus without conspicuous, prominent spines. Internal tibial spur length almost 2 times greater than external tibial spur. Distal edge of hind tibia with loosely defined cleaning brush. Tarsal claws each with terminal hook longer than subapical spine; subapical spine located medially on unguis.

Wings: [Morphbank] Fore wing usually with 6 ( A. longisaeta with 7; A. gattiae rarely with 5) cells enclosed by tubular veins. 1st subdiscal cell usually open. 1st marginal cell digitiform. Apical margin of apex convex; posterior margin concave. Abscissa between r-rs and 1R1 vein almost straight. 2R1 vein greater than 1st marginal cell length. R-m vein absent or present. 2Mb, 3M, and 3CU veins absent or spectral. 1RS vein attached to Sc+R at stigmal vein. Hind wing without jugal lobe, usually with three hamuli. M+CU vein absent.

Metasoma: Elliptical (depending on preservation), laterally compressed. Petiole relatively short, arching dorsally; usually with irregular sculpture and some punctures.

Sexual Dimorphism: ( Figs. 8–9 ) Female generally with less pronounced surface sculpturing and flatter, smaller compound eye. Female antenna thicker. Males generally darker in color, which consists of brown shades for both sexes.

Etymology: The new genus-group name is a combination of a (Greek meaning, "absence of"), lobos (Greek meaning, “lobe”) and Evania (type genus of the family). The gender is feminine.

Web resources: ZooBank LSID; Morphbank image collection; Evanioidea Online descriptive Web page; ToL taxon Web page.

Remarks: Alobevania can be distinguished from Evaniella by its minute size (2–3 mm in length vs.>3.0 mm in Evaniella ), hind wing without jugal lobe (present in Evaniella and all other evaniid genera except some spp. in the Old World genus Prosevania Kieffer, 1911 ), the elliptical eye (closer to ovoid in most Evaniella ), body with less sculpture overall, propodeum laterally nitid (areolate in Evaniella ); fore wing with 6–7 enclosed cells (always 7 in Evaniella ); first marginal cell digitiform (subquadrangular in Evaniella ), 2R1 vein length greater than first marginal cell (2R1 vein length less than first marginal cell in Evaniella ); and metasoma elliptical (ovoid in Evaniella ).

This new genus, as with other genera in the family (see Deans & Huben 2003; Deans 2005; Deans et al. 2006; Kawada & Azevedo 2007) is sexually dimorphic. Female eyes are smaller and elliptical (larger, softly bulging and more spherical eyes in male), antenna progressively enlarged (all segments the same diameter in male), metasoma with ovipositor exserted (genitalia concealed in male) and both sexes with elliptical metasoma. Some Evaniidae fossils, as Protoparevania Deans, 2004 and Eovernevania Deans, 2004 , share most of the synapomorphies that unite extant evaniids, except that they lack deeply separated jugal lobes in the fore and hind wings. Possession of separated jugal lobes appears in only one Cretaceous (Turonian) evaniid genus, Newjersevania Basibuyuk, Quicke , & Rasnitsyn, 2000 (seen only in the hind wing of one specimen) ( Basibuyuk et al. 2000a). Lack of separated jugal lobes in Alobevania (and some Prosevania ) is considered to be a secondary loss.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 4. Alobevania head, anterior view; scale bars = 0.25 mm. 2) A. gattiae (Morphbank), 3) A. longisaeta (Morphbank), 4) A. tavaresi (Morphbank).

FIGURES 8 – 9. Alobevania lateral habitus, showing sexual dimorphism; scale bars = 1.0 mm. 8) A. gattiae male (Morphbank), 9) A. longisaeta female (Morphbank).