Platygaster otandjoboliensis, Buhl, 2014

Buhl, Peter Neerup, 2014, New species and new records of Platygastrinae and Sceliotrachelinae from Togo (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae), African Invertebrates 55 (1), pp. 68-68 : 97-98

Platygaster otandjoboliensis sp. n.

Figs 55–58

Etymology: Named after the Otandjoboli river at the type locality.

Diagnosis: Head almost 1.4× as wide as mesosoma, hyperoccipital carina weak but complete; female A4 and A9 each as long as wide; scutellum evenly convex, sparsely setose; female metasoma 0.8× as long as rest of body, striated to 0.4 of length, medially to 0.25.

Description:

Female.

Body length 1.0 mm. Black; A1–A5, mandibles and legs including coxae mediumdark brown; trochanters, apical half of fore femora, most of fore tibiae, base of mid and hind tibiae, and segments 1–4 of all tarsi light brown; A6–A10 blackish brown. Head from above ( Fig. 55 ) 2.1× as wide as long, almost 1.4× as wide as mesosoma (22:16); occiput almost smooth, with traces of weak transverse wrinkling and about 20 seta-implantations on central part of occiput (behind ocellar area); hyperoccipital carina weak but complete; vertex finely reticulate (not transversely so), with three weak and incomplete transverse carinae just in front of hyperoccipital carina; frons with weak reticulate sculpture, in lower two-thirds becoming fan-like out from a smoother impressed midline, with transverse wrinkles just above antennal insertions. Eyes virtually bare. OOL=1.1 LOL. Head in frontal view 1.1× as wide as high. Antenna ( Fig. 56 ) with A1 0.85× as long as height of head, shorter than distance between inner orbits (13:14); A9 as long as wide. Mesosoma slightly more than 1.4× as long as wide (23:16), 1.15× as high as wide. Sides of pronotum smooth, with sparse, long setae (approximately 20). Mesoscutum smooth, with few setae, most of them situated laterally and along imaginary notaulic courses; notauli restrictively evident at hind margin; mid lobe posteriorly blunt, slightly but distinctly extended to base of scutellum; scuto-scutellar grooves each with about seven long setae. Mesopleuron smooth. Scutellum ( Fig. 57 ) evenly convex, smooth, sparsely setose. Metapleuron reticulate, with moderately dense pilosity all over. Propodeal carinae parallel, well separated, in area between them very slightly transverse. Fore wing 0.8× as long as entire body, 2.4× as long as wide, almost clear, with fine and dense microtrichia; length of marginal cilia 0.07× width of wing. Hind wing 5.3× as long as wide, with two hamuli; length of marginal cilia 0.25× width of wing. Metasoma ( Fig. 58 ) 0.8× as long as head and mesosoma combined, 0.9× as wide as mesosoma. T1 with seven longitudinal carinae, three of them (the two lateral ones and the medial one) slightly more strongly developed than the rest. T2 with two basal foveae which are finely striated to 0.4× length of tergite, between foveae striated to 0.25 of length. T3–T5 smooth, with setae inserted in rather deep punctures: 10 on each of T3–T4, 12 on T5. T6 with fine rugosity and 10 setae in punctures that are not quite as deep.

Comparison:This species runs to P. nigeriana Buhl, 2004 , or P. terco Sundholm, 1970 , in Buhl’s (2011 b) key, but both these species have the head only 1.2× as wide as mesosoma; the first­mentioned species also has longer basal flagellar segments, a more setose and lower scutellum and longer and more pointed metasoma than P. otandjoboliensis . P. terco also has more slender antennae and LOL more than twice as long as OOL.

Holotype: ♀ TOGO: Région des Plateaux, Otandjobo near Zogbégan (SE of Badou), at river Otandjoboli (07°34'42"N 00°41'37"E), 21.iv. 2008, 500 m, at river, swept, cocoa plantation, M. von Tschinhaus.

Figures

Figs 55–58.Platygaster otandjoboliensis sp.n., female:(55) head in dorsal view;(56) antenna;(57) scutellum and propodeal carinae in lateral view; (58) metasoma in dorsal view.