Arearia oxymoron Rousse & van Noort

Rousse, Pascal, van Noort, Simon & Diller, E., 2013, Revision of the Afrotropical Phaeogenini (Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae), with description of a new genus and twelve new species, ZooKeys 354, pp. 1-85 : 18-19

Arearia oxymoron Rousse & van Noort sp. n. Figs 3-4

Type material.

HOLOTYPE Male: South Africa, R.E. Turner, Brit. Mus. 1931-37, Cape Province, Somerset East, 10-22.xii.1930 (BMNH). PARATYPES 1 male: South Africa, R.E. Turner, Brit. Mus. 1927-117, Orange F. State, Harrismith, Feb 1927 (BMNH); 3 males: same label data except: Brit. Mus. 1927-147, March 1-20 1927 (BMNH).

Diagnosis.

Female unknown. Male: bright yellow overall with variable dorsal testaceous to black markings on mesosoma and metasoma; face and clypeus strongly convex in profile; toruli on a weak platform; malar line long; ocellar triangle equilateral; antenna with 19-20 flagellomeres; mesosoma laterally punctate but scutellum and most of pronotum smooth; sternaulus crenulate, extending to mid coxa; mesosoma dorsally alutaceous but propodeum coarsely reticulate with carination strongly reduced; metasoma deeply punctate–reticulate. HdWi 1.3; HfWi 1.3; Ci 1.6; Mi 0.9; Di 2.2; IOi 1.7; OOi 1.7; Fli14.2; Fli151.7; OTi NA.

Description.

MALE (5 specimens). B 2.5-2.8; A 1.9-2.1; F 2.1-2.3 (Holotype: B 2.7; A: 1.9; F 2.2).

Color. Bright yellow with variable testaceous to black dorsal parts: vertex, flagellum, upper occiput, mesoscutal lobes, axillar area around scutellum, propodeum, and all tergites but their apical margin; wings hyaline, venation light yellow.

Head. Head subspherical, posteriorly truncate in profile; clypeus quite smooth, polished, transverse, its ventral margin regularly rounded; malar line long, subocular sulcus deep; face strongly protruding, bearing toruli on a weak platform, about smooth with some faint oblique striations laterally; frons, vertex and temple quite smooth; ocellar triangle equilateral; temple strongly rounded, head distinctly swollen behind eyes; antenna with 19-20 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma elongate, slightly depressed dorso–ventrally; pronotum, mesopleuron and metapleuron densely punctate, almost punctate–reticulate, with speculum smooth; sternaulus thin, deep and long, reaching mid coxa; mesoscutum smoothly sculptured, anteriorly transversely striate, posteriorly punctate–alutaceous to punctate–reticulate; notaulus hardly distinct; scutellum quite smooth; propodeum coarsely reticulate without distinct carination.

Metasoma. All tergites deeply scaly punctate–reticulate, but posterior tergites sometimes variably smooth.

FEMALE. Unknown.

Etymology.

In line with Seyrig’s derivation of his specific epithet paradoxa, the new species name refers to the rhetoric figure of speech pinpointing the apparent incompatibility between Ichneumoninae and strong sternauli.

Distribution.

South Africa (Eastern Cape and Free State).