Conura leucotela (Walker, 1862)

Brotto, Thales Renan De Aguiar & Tavares, Marcelo Teixeira, 2021, Review of the leucotela species-group of Conura (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) from Amazon rainforest, Zootaxa 4942 (3), pp. 409-427 : 411-413

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4942.3.5
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FF2841C8-D952-44E0-83AC-75C3FA5953EC
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4604426
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A3AD23-625E-C669-FF29-7EA5FB952901
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Conura leucotela
status

Treatment

The leucotela species group

Species group diagnosis. Head 0.3–0.5× as long as wide; frontovertex 0.7–0.8× as long as head height; antennal scrobes not very deep ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 , 3B View FIGURE 3 , 5B View FIGURE 5 ); interantennal projection fairly convex, carinate in middle ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 , 3B View FIGURE 3 , 5B View FIGURE 5 , 7B View FIGURE 7 , 8B View FIGURE 8 ); antennae inserted slightly above level of lower eye margins ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 , 3B View FIGURE 3 , 5B View FIGURE 5 ); scape barely reaching vertex ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 , 3B View FIGURE 3 , 5B View FIGURE 5 ); lower face striolate, or strigose, with transverse carina ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 , 3B View FIGURE 3 : TC) or raised stripe ( Figs 1B View FIGURE 1 : RS) below antennal foramen; left mandible with 2 teeth, right mandible with 3 teeth, teeth sharp, of same length, with wide lamina on lower edge; malar sulcus broad, distinctly delimited by complete internal and external carinae, the external carina extended behind eye and delimiting a postorbital furrow; genal carina present up to level of half eye height; occipital carina absent, occiput contiguous with gena and vertex, without a slope; postocciput without dorsal carina; pronotal carina present laterally, absent dorsally ( Figs 1C View FIGURE 1 , 3D, 3E View FIGURE 3 , 5E View FIGURE 5 ); mesosoma 1.0–1.2× as long as wide; mesoscutum with umbilicate fovea; notauli superficial, tending to be shallow ( Figs 1C View FIGURE 1 , 3D, 3E View FIGURE 3 , 5E View FIGURE 5 ); mesoscutellum 0.9–1.2× as wide as long, with frenal carina as narrow lamina; metascutellum distinct from lateral panel of metanotum; mesopleuron with anterior face almost forming a perpendicular angle with body axis ( Figs 1A View FIGURE 1 , 3A View FIGURE 3 , 5A View FIGURE 5 , 7A View FIGURE 7 , 8A View FIGURE 8 ), without ventral carina; metapleuron with umbilicate fovea; propodeum short, strongly sloping, irregularly areolate, anterior costula irregular or conspicuous throughout, posterior costulae conspicuous throughout ( Figs 2A View FIGURE 2 , 4A View FIGURE 4 , 6A View FIGURE 6 ); procoxa with flat faces and sharp edges, not carinate, outer face setose; metafemur with 10–15 small teeth, basal tooth longer than following teeth, but without inner tooth; metatibia with apical spine short. Female with petiole 0.1–0.6× as long as wide, tending to be joined to dorsal side of gaster ( Figs 4D View FIGURE 4 , 6D View FIGURE 6 ); Gt7+8 0.3–1.1× as long as Gt1–Gt6 combined ( Figs 2C View FIGURE 2 , 4D View FIGURE 4 , 6D View FIGURE 6 ). Male with petiole about 0.6–1.5× as long as wide; phallobase distinctly elongate, with parallel sides, closed ventrally, with ventral frame only visible at apex, emarginate at apex near lamina; phallobase volsellar digiti emarginate on their outer edge; phallotreme broadly open.

Remarks. The diagnosis above follows Delvare (1992), except the underlined features which are proposed here. The head of species of the leucotela group is similar to that of referator group species, but narrower (frontovertex 0.8–0.9× as long as head height). The transverse carina below the antennal foramen was proposed as a synapomorphy for the exinaniens complex, but it is present in only five of its eleven species groups (dimidiata, exinaniens, leucotela , referator, and similis groups). In the leucotela group, C. leucotela has a raised strip rather than a carina ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 : RS).

It was not possible to observe the condition of the postocciput (depressed or not) nor the condition of the anterior margin of pronotum (curved or not) for the species treated here because all of them are represented by singletons and it would be necessary to dissect the specimens to observe these features. The lack of an evident strong depression on the postocciput would suggest that the anterior margin of the pronotum is slightly curved upward or not curved at all. The anterior margin of the pronotum has an inconspicuous and narrow anterior sulcus, which is bordered posteriorly by a carina ( Fig. 3D View FIGURE 3 ). This sulcus is conspicuous in other groups of the exinaniens complex (e.g., exinaniens, referator, similis, surumuae, transidiata groups).

In the exinaniens complex, only the leucotela and the referator groups have females with a very short petiole. Females of both groups also have a long gaster, with all the gastral segments of approximately the same length in the referator group, but only Gt7+8 distinctly elongated in the leucotela group.