Scelio turbidus Yoder, 2009

Yoder, Matthew, Polaszek, Andrew, Masner, Lubomir, Johnson, Norman & Valerio, Alejandro, 2009, Revision of Scelio pulchripennis - group species (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea, Platygastridae), ZooKeys 20 (20), pp. 53-118 : 109-112

Scelio turbidus Yoder , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:30053E8F-C9AE-4356-89FB-7B6354F5164B urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:238052

Figs 3,7,115–120; Morphbank 28

Description. Female body length: 3.80–3.99 mm (n=7). Color of antenna in female: concolorous, brown to dark brown throughout. Color of head in female: black. Color of mesosoma in female: dark brown to black. Color of coxae in female: brown to dark brown. Color of leg past coxa in female: brown to dark brown. Color of metasoma in female: brown to dark brown.

Sculpture of lower frons in female: slightly flattened irregular rugulae with no or only extremely slight transverse orientation, in some specimens rugulae tending to arcs. Sculpture of ventrolateral frons in female: slightly flattened rugulae often with some dorsoventral trend. Form of malar sulcus in female: sulcus percurrent, slit, groove or carina extremely narrow but course well defined. Sculpture of upper frons of female: rugulose, sculpture slightly flattened. Sculpture of dorsal head between and posterior to lateral ocelli in female: rugulose, obliterated in spots or not. Mandible of female: upper tooth typically developed, lower tooth very short but clearly present, truncate to pointed.

Transverse pronotal carina in female: well developed, linear or with extremely slight deviations, contiguous with mesoscutum or interrupted by a single subpolygonal cell, anterior shoulder relatively abruptly transitioned to anterior pronotum. Sculpture of medial mesoscutum in female: flattened irregular longitudinal striae with many transverse divisions, roundly reticulate in parts, sculpture obliterated in two small bands just posterior to anterior margin, bands not reaching posterior margin of mesoscutum. Sculpture of notaular course in female: more or less undifferentiated to slightly more robust and coarse relative to medial sculpture. Sculpture of lateral mesoscutum in fe-

Figures ΙΙ5–Ι20 .68 Scelio turbidus sp. n. (OSUC 223095). ΙΙ5 Habitus, dorsal view ΙΙ6 Habitus, lateral view ΙΙ7 Head and mesosoma, dorsal view ΙΙ8 Head and mesosoma, lateral view ΙΙ9 Head, anterior view Ι20 Medial metasoma, dorsal view. Scale bars in millimeters.

male: absent, or with obliterated patch that covers at least 1/2 of area. Sculpture of mesoscutellum in female: slightly flattened and polished longitudinal striae, with no to few reticulations. Sculpture of lateral pronotum in female (excluding interstitial sculpture): with smooth to obliterated patch immediately below lateral epomial carina, otherwise reticulate with few to moderate longitudinal elements. Pronotal verricule in female: apparently absent. Pronotal setal patch posteroventral to end of lateral epomial carina in female: dense (around 5 to many) small patch of appressed to slightly semi-decumbent setae. Sculpture of mesopleural depression in female: predominantly longitudinally striate. Pilosity of anteroventral metapleuron in female: glabrous, or sparsely setose. Dorsal surface of hind tibia in female: typical distribution and moderate length, setae appressed to loosely appressed, more or less straight. Shape of hind femur in female: wide, dorsal surface distinctly convex and more strongly arched than ventral. Basal pigmented spot of fore wing in female: percurrent from submarginal vein to posterior margin, striplike (a band), divided only by hyaline course of M+Cu. Basal fascia of fore wing in female: subrectangular, striplike, percurrent from anterior to posterior margin. Apical fascia of fore wing in female: broad, more or less semi-circular, only slightly lightened, without lighter patch posteriorly, gradually lighter to apex of fore wing.

Sculpture of dorsal T 1 in female: polygonal-reticulate, interstices more or less smooth. Sculpture of dorsal T 2 in female: fine parallel to slightly reticulate striae with minutely colliculate to transverse sculpture within interstices. Sculpture of anterior T2 through anterior depression in female: interrupted with by a smooth strip, majority of sculpture not contiguous with that of posterior T2. Sculpture of dorsal T 3 in female: fine parallel to irregular longitudinal striae, with reticulation absent to moderately present, but not forming dense reticulations. Medial sculpture of T 4 in female: present, obliterated to smooth. Medial sculpture of T 5 in female: obliterated to smooth. Sculpture of T2–T5 curved transition from dorsal to lateral terga in female: sculptured. Profile of female metasoma in lateral view: dorsal and ventral surfaces more or less evenly convex. Sculpture of lateral T2–T 6 in female: uniform longitudinal striae throughout. Pilosity of laterotergites in female: present on T1–T5.

Diagnosis. This species is most similar to S. habilis which shares the pattern of obliterated or smooth patches on the mesoscutum. Scelio turbidus is distinguished by the more or less striate sculpture of the mesoscutum (reticulate-rugulose in S. habilis ). Scelio turbidus may be distinguished from all other non-metallic species by the combination of the enlarged hind femur and the slightly flattened rugulose sculpture of the frons.

Etymology. Latin for “confused” in reference to the irregular sculpture of the face.

Link to distribution map. [http://osuc.biosci.ohio-state.edu/HymOnline/maplarge.html?id=238052]

Material examined. Holotype female: BOTSWANA: Botswana , Serowe, Farmer’s Brigade, IV-1989, Malaise trap, P. Forchhammer, OSUC 211627 (deposited in USNM) . Paratypes: (6 females) BOTSWANA: 3 females, OSUC 211446–211447 ( CNCI) ; OSUC 223095 ( OSUC) . SOUTH AFRICA: 3 females, OSUC 211445 , 211455 ( CNCI) ; OSUC 250709 ( SANC) . Other material: TANZANIA: 1 female, OSUC 250706 ( SANC).

Comments. Individuals of S. turbidus have a relatively well-developed vertical epomia, though it does not reach the anteroventral margin of the pronotum. Specimens are notably dorsoventrally flattened, and the propodeum is more or less perpendicular with the mesonotum. Specimens have whitish, semidecumbent setae (slightly more appressed than in S. habilis ) on the mesoscutum. All specimens observed have a smooth and shining strip devoid of sculpture at the base of the pronotal nucha. A single specimen from Tanzania (OSUC 250706) is tentatively included here, though it may represent a new species. It is somewhat intermediate between S. turbidus and S. habilis , though it has more in common with the former. It differs from all other specimens of S. turbidus by the color of pilosity of the mesoscutum (darker, brown), the sculpture of the lower frons (striate, not rugulose), the sculpture of the base of the pronotal nucha (sculptured throughout).