Amblyaspis sylvicola, Notton, David G., 2010

Notton, David G., 2010, A catalogue of the types of Platygastridae (Hymenoptera, Platygastroidea) at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, with brief notes on the history of the collection, Zootaxa 2358, pp. 1-24 : 5

Axestonotus sylvicola Risbec, 1950: 616 , figs 85a–c.

Current status. Amblyaspis sylvicola comb. nov.

Holotype Ƥ, Kenya, Mount Kenya ( MNHN). Holotype by monotypy.

Labels. Afrique or. anglaise/ Mt Kenya vers’t ouest/ zone des forêts/ Alluaud et Jeannel; Forêts infér’res/ (Podocarpus)/ 2400 m / janv.– fév.1912 st. 39; type; Muséum Paris ; Axestonotus / sylvicola Risbec [holotype Ƥ].

Remarks. The holotype is broken and obscured by glue, and has been soaked off and remounted on the same card. The metasoma, five of the legs and the apical two segments of one antenna are disarticulated. This specimen agrees well with the specimen described by Risbec, however, Risbec’s figure overemphasises the degree of elongation of this specimen. A second specimen labelled Axestonotus sylvatica [sic] in Risbec’s hand is not a type as it does not come from the type locality. It is probably one of the specimens referred to A. sylvicola subsequent to the original description ( Risbec 1958: 136). Contrary to Vlug (1995), Masner (1964b) and Muesebeck (1979) are followed here in considering Axestonotus and the other replacement names for Xestonotus (except Eoxestonotus ) as junior synonyms of Leptacis . The name Xestonotidae used by Vlug (1995) is an incorrect subsequent spelling of Xestonotidea and not a family group name. The type of Axestonotus sylvicola however, is neither a Leptacis , as it does not have a conical pointed scutellum, nor a Euxestonotus which might be expected if the synonymy in Vlug (1995) is followed to its logical conclusion, since it has no notauli, the course of each notaulus being represented only by a line of hairs. In fact it belongs to Amblyaspis which is clear from the form of the scutellum, which is densely and regularly hairy with the hairs forming a conical tuft behind, consequently it is transferred to Amblyaspis sylvicola comb. nov.