Euodynerus (Euodynerus) caspicus ( Morawitz, 1873 )

Selis, Marco, Fateryga, Alexander V. & Cilia, Giovanni, 2024, The genus Euodynerus Dalla Torre in Europe and the Maghreb (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), Zootaxa 5537 (2), pp. 151-194 : 165

Euodynerus (Euodynerus) caspicus ( Morawitz, 1873)

( Figs 4F–I ; 14B ; 15D ; 16C )

Leionotus caspicus Morawitz, 1873: 295 , ♀, ♂ — [ Turkmenistan] “Kranowodsk” (lectotype female ZISP [examined]). Lionotus cardinalis Morawitz, 1885: 167 , ♂ — [ Azerbaijan] “Transcaucasia. Etschmiadzin” (lectotype male ZISP [examined]). Euodynerus caspicus astrachanensis Blüthgen, 1942: 302 , ♀ (in subgenus Euodynerus ) — [ Russia] “Ryn-Pesski (Distr.

Astrachan)” ( ZMB). Euodynerus caspicus armeniacus Gusenleitner, 2016: 89 , 96, fig. 13, ♀ (in subgenus Euodynerus ) — “ Armenia, Armavir Vanand ,

900m ” (OLML [examined]). Syn. nov.

Distribution. Mainly Asian species ranging from the Caucasus in the West to China in the East, occurring in the South-Eastern border of Europe ( Russia: Astrakhan Province) ( Rahmani et al. 2020).

Notes. Gusenleitner (2016) described the subspecies Euodynerus caspicus armeniacus based on a single female from Armenia, differentiating it from E. caspicus s. str. and E. caspicus astrachanensis Blüthgen only by pattern, sculpture, and width of the disc of metanotum. Euodynerus caspicus is a highly variable species and the characters reported by Gusenleitner as diagnostic of the subspecies armeniacus fall within the range of variability, already largely highlighted by Morawitz (1885: 167) in the description of the synonym L. cardinalis . The examination of a specimen from Armenia attributable to the subspecies armeniacus further confirms this, since it does not present substantial differences from the specimens of the typical subspecies occurring from European Russia to Central Asia and Mongolia. The subspecies E. caspicus armeniacus is therefore synonymized under the nominotypical one.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A, C–D, Euodynerus bidentatus bidentatus (Lepeletier). A, D, female from Morocco. C, male from Morocco. B, E, Euodynerus bidentatus puniceus Blüthgen, female from Libya. F–I, Euodynerus caspicus (Morawitz). F, H, male from Astrakhan Province, Russia. G, I, female from Kazakhstan.

FIGURE 14. Male genitalia, from left to right: aedeagus in ventral view, aedeagus in lateral view, digitus+volsella. A, Euodynerus bidentatus (Lepeletier). B, E. caspicus (Morawitz). C, E. curictensis Blüthgen. D, E. dantici (Rossi). E, E. disconotatus (Lichtenstein). F, E. fastidiosus (de Saussure). G, E. hellenicus Blüthgen. H, E. semisaecularis (Dalla Torre). I, E. variegatus (Fabricius). J, E. velutinus Blüthgen. K, E. bidentoides (Giordani Soika). L, E. notatus (Jurine). M, E. posticus (Herrich-Schaeffer). N, E. quadrifasciatus (Fabricius).

FIGURE 15. A–E, S2 in lateral view. F–I, propodeum in posterodorsal view (arrowheads indicating dorsal carinae). J–O, vestiture of mesosoma. P–Q, metanotum in anterior view. R–T, male hind tarsus in dorsal view. U–Y, female head in dorsal view (arrowhead in Y indicating foveae not placed in depression). A, F, J, Euodynerus bidentiformis (Giordani Soika). B, V, E. bidentoides (Giordani Soika). C, K, E. quadrifasciatus (Fabricius). D, E. caspicus (Morawitz). E, H, M, T, E. dantici (Rossi). G, P, S, U, E. posticus (Herrich-Schaeffer). I, Y, E. disconotatus (Lichtenstein). L, R, E. notatus (Jurine). N, E. curictensis Blüthgen. O, E. semisaecularis (Dalla Torre). Q, X, E. fastidiosus (de Saussure). W, E. rubrosignatus Gusenleitner.

FIGURE 16. A–B, male mandible in frontal view (arrowhead indicating normal or modified tooth). C–G, tegula in dorsal view. H–I, apex of T2 in dorsal view (arrowhead indicating lamellar margin). J–K, male hind femur in frontal view (arrowhead in J indicating basal expansion). L–N, apex of male metasoma in lateral view. A, Euodynerus notatus (Jurine). B, E. posticus (Herrich-Schaeffer). C, E. caspicus (Morawitz). D, H, E. hellenicus Blüthgen. E, I, E. dantici (Rossi). F, L, E. fastidiosus (de Saussure). G, N, E. disconotatus (Lichtenstein). J, E. velutinus Blüthgen. K, E. curictensis Blüthgen. M, E. semisaecularis (Dalla Torre).