Astromesitius minutissimus ( Móczár, 1971 ) Barbosa & Azevedo, 2019

Barbosa, Diego N. & Azevedo, Celso O., 2019, Astromesitius, a new genus of Mesitiinae (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae) from the Old World, European Journal of Taxonomy 587, pp. 1-20 : 15

Astromesitius minutissimus ( Móczár, 1971) gen. et comb. nov.

Figs 1E , 2D , 3E , 4E , 7A

Diagnosis

Body 2.7 mm long. LFW 1.5 mm. Wings infuscate; head and pronotum light castaneous; metasoma castaneous; mesosoma dark castaneous. Head as long as wide. Malar space as long as VOL, convergent anteriorly. Frons coriaceous. Ocelli large. Mesosoma with pronotal disc shorter than wide, weakly foveolate, with side straight, posterior margin concave; longitudinal pronotal sulcus hardly distinct, incomplete. Metapectal-propodeal complex as long as metapectal-propodeal complex half-width, without longitudinal ridge between metaposnotal median carina and metaposnotal-propodeal suture; metaposnotal surface areolate; posterior spine of metapectal-propodeal complex absent. Propodeal declivity striate. Lateral surface of metapectal-propodeal complex areolate. Metasoma with hypopygium longer than wide; anterior stalk wide and short; posterior margin with branches short and wide. Genitalia with paramere apex sparsely hairy; aedeagus slender, with apex surpassing paramere apex, apical margin rounded, lateral margin of basal portion slightly convex.

Material examined

Holotype UNITED ARAB EMIRATES • ♂; Wadi Bih dam; 25.48° N, 56.04° E; 9–23 Jul. 2008; light trap; van Harten leg.; UFES 56528 .

Remarks

This species was originally described in Heterocoelia ( Móczár 1971) from South Africa ( Móczár 1971), and later recorded from the United Arab Emirates ( Barbosa & Azevedo 2011). It was transferred to Metrionotus by Móczár (1974). We examined the holotype male from UAE identified by Barbosa & Azevedo (2011) and deposited at UFES, and the analyses, mainly of the hypopygium, reveal that their characteristics perfectly fit Astromesitius gen. nov. Thus, we propose a new combination for this species from Metrionotus to Astromesitius gen. nov.

Figures

Fig. 1. Mesosoma of Astromesitius gen. nov., dorsal view. A. A. olavoi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, QBG) B. A. thionyi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, UFES 118956) C. A. carbonarius (Móczár, 1970) gen. et comb. nov. (UFES 56168) D. A. indistintus (Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011) gen. et comb. nov. (paratype, UFES) E. A. minutissimus (Móczár, 1971) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, UFES 56528) F. A. quatei (Móczár, 1977) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, BPBM).

Fig. 2. Hypopygium of Astromesitius gen. nov. A. A. olavoi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, QBG) B. A. thionyi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, UFES 118956) C. A. indistintus (Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011) gen. et comb. nov. (paratype, UFES) D. A. minutissimus (Móczár, 1971) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, UFES 56528) E. A. quatei (Móczár, 1977) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, BPBM).

Fig. 3. Genitalia of Astromesitius gen. nov., left ventral and right dorsal view. A. A. olavoi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, QBG) B. A. thionyi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, UFES 118956) C. A. carbonarius (Móczár, 1970) gen. et comb. nov. (UFES 56168) D. A. indistintus (Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011) gen. et comb. nov. (paratype, UFES) E. A. minutissimus (Móczár, 1971) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, UFES 56528) F. A. quatei (Móczár, 1977) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, BPBM).

Fig. 4. Head of Astromesitius gen. nov., dorsal view. A. A. olavoi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, QBG) B. A. thionyi gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, UFES 118956) C. A. carbonarius (Móczár, 1970) gen. et comb. nov. (UFES 56168) D. A. indistintus (Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011) gen. et comb. nov. (paratype, UFES) E. A. minutissimus (Móczár, 1971) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, UFES 56528) F. A. quatei (Móczár, 1977) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, BPBM).

Fig. 7. Habitus of Astromesitius gen. nov. A. A. minutissimus (Móczár, 1971) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, UFES 56528) B. A. quatei (Móczár, 1977) gen. et comb. nov. (holotype, BPBM).