Astromesitius indistintus ( Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011 ) 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 : 13-15

Astromesitius indistintus ( Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011) gen. et comb. nov.

Figs 1D , 2C , 3D , 4D , 6B

Diagnosis

Body 2.2 mm long. LFW 1.2 mm. Wings clear hyaline; head and mesosoma orange; metasoma dark castaneous. Head longer than wide. Malar space shorter than VOL, convergent anteriorly. Frons weakly foveolate. Ocelli small. Mesosoma with pronotal disc shorter than wide, weakly foveolate, with side straight, posterior margin concave; longitudinal pronotal sulcus absent. Antero-mesoscutum coriaceous. Metapectal-propodeal complex as long as metapectal-propodeal complex half-width, with longitudinal ridge between metaposnotal median carina and metaposnotal-propodeal suture; metaposnotal surface areolate; posterior spine of metapectal-propodeal complex present, short, thick, divergent. Propodeal declivity areolate. 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 dense hairy; aedeagus slender, with apex aligned with paramere apex, apical margin rounded, lateral margin of basal portion slightly convex.

Material examined

Paratype

YEMEN • 1 ♂; Lahj; Aug. 2000; Malaise trap; A. van Harten & A. Sallam leg.; UFES .

Remarks

This species was originally described in Metrionotus ( Móczár 1970a) from the United Arab Emirates ( Barbosa & Azevedo 2011). We examined one male type, the paratype, from material deposited at UFES, and the analyses reveal that its characteristics perfectly fit Astromesitius gen. nov., including the star-shaped hypopygium. 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. 6. Habitus of Astromesitius gen. nov. A. A. carbonarius (Móczár, 1970) gen. et comb. nov. (UFES 56168) B. A. indistintus (Barbosa & Azevedo, 2011) gen. et comb. nov. (paratype, UFES).