Traumatomutilla juvenilis (Gerstaecker, 1874)

Bartholomay, Pedro R., Williams, Kevin A., Cambra, Roberto A. & Oliveira, Marcio L., 2020, Revision of the Traumatomutilla juvenilis species group (Hymenopteraı Mutillidae), Journal of Natural History 53 (43), pp. 2639-2683 : 2642

Traumatomutilla juvenilis species group

Diagnosis

The females of this species group can be recognised by their mesosomal sculpture: the scutellar scale is broad and separated from the well-developed and medially emarginate anterior transverse carina. Other important features include: head unarmed posterolaterally, at most having the occipital carina transversely swollen dorsolaterally; femora rounded apically; and pygidial plate subpyriform ovate, with the lateral carinae converging basally, but weak and obscured by dense setae. Males of this species group can be recognised by their broad trapezoidal hypopygium and penis valve with closely spaced apicoventral teeth. Other important features include: axillar projection always truncate, mesopleuron with strongly projected tubercle on dorsal half, S2 with narrow longitudinal pit densely filled with setae.

Included taxa

Traumatomutilla juvenilis ( Gerstaecker, 1874) ; T. bivittata ( Gerstaecker, 1874) ; T. miniata ( Gerstaecker, 1874) ; T. guarata Casal, 1969 and T. juvenindica Bartholomay & Williams , sp. nov.

Distribution

Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.

Remarks

Williams et al. (2017) mentioned that the anterolateral carinae on the scutellar area of the females in this group is bilobate. Closer examination of specimens revealed that in fact these carinae are emarginated medially and the lateral areas are projected beyond the length of the setae that obscure most of the carinae thus appearing to be bilobate. Though the overall body shape and size of these species is similar in many aspects to the species of the T. indica species groups, Williams (2012) provided evidence of a close relation between the T. juvenilis species group and T. bifurca ( Klug, 1821) . The penis valves of this species group and T. bifurca are the only ones in Traumatomutilla with closely spaced apicoventral teeth. Additionally, the genal carina of the females of the T. juvenilis species group is greatly reduced while the gena of T. bifurca is ecarinate.