Meria aurantiaca (Guérin, 1837)

(Figs 44–50)

Myzine aurantiaca Guérin, 1837, Dict. Pitt. Hist. Nat. V: 582, ♂, Arabia. Synonym of Meria aurantiaca by Guiglia, 1969, Annali Mus. civ. St. nat. Genov. 77: 281.

Meria soikai Guiglia, 1966, Boll. Mus. civ. Venezia, XVII: 72–74, ♂. Synonym of Meria aurantiaca by Boni Bartalucci, 2001, Annali Mus. civ. Stor. nat. Genov. 93: 8.

Meria paradisiaca Boni Bartalucci, 1992, Opusc. zool. flumin., 2–7, ♀, Greece. Synonym of Meria aurantiaca by Boni Bartalucci, 1997, Annali Mus. civ. Stor. Nat. G. Doria, Genova: 623.

Meria aurantiaca: Boni Bartalucci, 1997, Annali Mus. civ. Stor. Nat. G. Doria, Genova: 623–624, ♀, ♂; Boni Bartalucci, 2001, Annali Mus. civ. Stor. nat. Genov. 93: 8.

Material examined. 1♂, CHINA, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Tarbagatay Prefecture, Mongolian Autonomous County of Hoboksar, Motege Town, Motege village, 46°48′54″N, 85°48′18″E, 1181 m, 23. VII .2019, Tingjing Li (CNU) .

Diagnosis. Male (Fig. 44). Clypeus (Fig. 45) wholly with dense punctures; vertex with deep and dense to moderate punctures, POD 1.0× OOD; pronotal anterior carina strongly present but broadly absent at middle, dorsum of pronotum moderately punctate (Fig. 46); lateral side of pronotum (Fig. 47) ventrally strio-punctate; dorsum of propodeum coarsely and densely punctate, and medially without depression; ventral surface of mid femur smooth, without punctures nor setae; each of T1–T6 except base yellow; T3–T5 (Fig. 48) wholly densely punctate; T7 (Fig. 49) wholly with moderate punctures, and apex with deep notch and tipped lobes narrowly rounded.

Female. Head 1.3× wider than high in frontal view; anterior margin of clypeus straight; genal bridge absent; posterior width of pronotum 1.8× median length; head and mesosoma largely more or less dark ferruginous; dorsum of propodeum largely striate laterally, and medially with numerous deep punctures and without largely smooth area; pterostigma as small as CSM II and 1/3× CSM I; each of T1–T5 subapically with a row of punctures and medially absent forming incomplete groove; each of T2–T5 medially with dense punctures; lateral light spots on T2–T4 comparatively large, the distance between two lateral spots less than the length of the spot. No female specimens were collected in our study, and the description is referred to Boni Bartalucci (1992).

Distribution. China (Xinjiang); Turkey; Azerbaijan; Armenia; Iran; Jordan; Kazakistan; Russia; Turkenistan; Aribia; Greece.

Remarks. This is the first record of this species in China.