Masona prognatha van Achterberg, 1995

Pos, Davide Dal, Broad, Gavin R. & Martens, Abigail P., 2024, Small jewels: two new species of the rare genus Masona van Achterberg (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea, Braconidae), with a catalogue of world species and comments on the peculiar morphology of the genus, European Journal of Taxonomy 925 (1), pp. 135-160 : 149-151

Masona prognatha van Achterberg, 1995

Figs 3 , 10

Masona prognatha van Achterberg, 1995: 100–101 (description, key, distribution, images).

Masona prognatha – Yu et al. 2016 (catalogue). — Quicke et al. 2019a: 588 (notes); 2019b: appendix S1 (list).

Differential diagnosis

Masona progantha can be easily distinguished from all the other species of the genus by the following morphological features: (1) scutellum absent (present in M. bulbofemoralis , M. neon sp. nov., and M. popeye ); (2) processess on head absent (present in M. wow sp. nov.); (3) antenna as long as metasoma and head combined (longer in M. similis and M. infuscata ); (4) precoxal sulcus present (absent in M. similis and M. infuscata ); (5) occipital carina short, not reaching the ventral margin of the gena (well-developed in M. similis and M. infuscata ).

Original type series

Holotype (by original designation)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA • ♀; Florida, Monroe Co., Big Pine Key ; 3 May–3 Aug. [19]85; S. and J. Peck leg.; CNC.

Paratypes

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA • 6 ♂♂; CNC, RMNH • 2 ♀♀; CNC .

Material examined

Holotype

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA • ♀; “[White label] FLA: MonroeCo. / BigPineKey ,Watson / Hammock,S&JPeck / 3.V-3.VIII.85,malaise / FIT\.hardwoodhammock // [Red label] ♀ Masonia gen. nov. / prognatha sp. nov. / C. van Achterberg, 19 92 / HOLOTYPE // [Red label] HOLOTYPE / Masona / prognatha / CNC No. 22593 ”; CNC (images examined).

Male

Described in van Achterberg (1995).

Distribution

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Florida ( van Achterberg 1995) ( Fig. 3 ).

Remarks

In the original description, there is an inconsistency in the number of males and females. van Achterberg (1995: 100) listed “ 6♂♂ & 2♀♀ ” among the paratypes of the species. However, when the author listed the full locality data for each specimen, the number of males amounts to seven and that of females to one.

Known only from the original type series, this species has an interesting distribution: all specimens were collected in the Florida Keys (in Monroe Co., Florida, USA), except for a single specimen collected in mainland Florida at the Archbold Biological Station (Highlands Co., Florida, USA). It is very possible that Masona prognatha is associated with the hammock hardwood forests present in South Florida, and this apparently disjunct distribution is mainly due to a lack of sampling in the greater Miami area, between the Florida Keys and the Archbold Biological Station, where hardwood forests are still present as remnants (Fernández-Triana, pers. comm.).

Figures

Fig. 3. Distribution of Masona van Achterberg, 1995, in the southeastern USA.

Fig. 10. Masona prognatha van Achterberg, 1995, holotype, ♀ (CNC). A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, lateral view. Downloaded from the public CNC database (available also at https://www.cnc.agr.gc.ca/taxonomy/Taxonomy.php?id=3044).