Pristomerus khoikhoi, Rousse & Noort, 2015

Rousse, Pascal & Noort, Simon van, 2015, Revision of the Afrotropical species of Pristomerus (Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae), with descriptions of 31 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 124, pp. 1-129 : 58-60

Pristomerus khoikhoi sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C10B9AAB-BA87-4421-81A6-DE6331803CF9

Fig. 16

Diagnosis

Small; mostly black with legs mostly yellowish-orange; face moderately punctate; clypeus transverse, ventrally smooth; remainder of head coriaceous to finely granulate; inner margins of eyes subparallel; malar line very long; antenna short and slender with 19–25 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere strongly elongate; mesosoma laterally moderately to densely punctate with speculum ventrally smooth, mesoscutum coriaceous with notaulus punctate, scutellum smooth; female femoral tooth small; ovipositor moderately long, strongly sinuous apically. Male with ocelli weakly enlarged, hind femur swollen and femoral tooth stronger.

Differential diagnosis

Small and mostly black, apparently restricted to the south of South Africa. Differentiated from all other species of Pristomerus by the combination of the coriaceous mesoscutum, the smooth scutellum, the short antenna and the very long malar line.

Type material

Holotype

SOUTH AFRICA: ♀, “ SOUTH AFRICA, Western Cape, Rocherpan Nature Reserve, 32°36.802’S 18°18.150’S, 9 m, 29 September 2012, P. Rousse, Sweep, West Coast Strandveld RP12–STR1–S16, SAM–HYM–P047392” ( SAMC).

Paratypes

SOUTH AFRICA: 1 ♂, same label data ( SAMC); 1 ♂, same label data except: “ 28 September 2012 RP12– STR1–S04 SAM–HYM–P047393” ( SAMC); 1 ♀, “South Africa, W. Cape, Koeberg Nature Reserve, 33°37.622’S 18°24.259’S, 20 Mar–17 April 1998, S van Noort, Malaise trap, KO97–M30, West Coast Stranveld SAM–HYM–P047394” ( SAMC); 1 ♀, same label data except: “ 3–31 October 1997, KO97–M12 SAM–HYM–P047395” ( SAMC); 2 ♂♂, “South Africa, W. Cape, Klein River lagoon, 10 m, 34°25.707’S 19°21.494’S, 16 May 1998, S. van Noort, Sweep, WB 97–S68, South Coast Strandveld, Leucodendrum species SAM–HYM–P040392” ( SAMC); 4 ♂♂, “S. Africa. R. E. Turner. Brit. Mus. 1921–210. Mossel Bay, Cape Province. April 1921 ” ( BMNH); 1 ♂, same label data except: “1921–248, May. 1921 ” ( BMNH); 1 ♂, same label data except: “1921–353, Aug. 1921 ” ( BMNH); 2 ♂♂, same label data except: “1930–402, vi-vii. 1930” ( BMNH); 1 ♀, “Hendrik Verwoerd Dam 12.3. 69 L. C. Starke, ACP 5727” ( SANC); 1 ♀, “South Africa, C. P. Fort Beaufort, 32.46S 26.38E. 01.xii.1983 GL Prinsloo NC Grobbelaar” ( SANC).

Other material

SOUTH AFRICA: 1 ♀, 5 ♂♂, “South Africa, W. Cape, De Hoop Nature Reserve, 34°28’S 20°28’E, near Koppie Alleen, 40 m alt., 28 September 1995, S. van Noort, Sweep, Strandveld including Sideroxylon inerma SAM–HYM–P047161” ( SAMC); 1 ♀, “Knersvlakte, Namaqualand, Mus. exped., Oct. 1950, SAM–HYM–P001201” ( SAMC).

Description

Female (5 specimens)

B 3.5–4.2; A 1.9–2.3; F 2.5–3.1; CT 1.8; ML 0.9; POL 1.6; OOL 1.3; Fl n-1 1.5; ASM 2.3; OT 1.6–1.8; FFT 1.

COLOUR. Mostly black with lighter yellowish-orange and pale yellow parts; yellowish-orange: clypeus, scape, pedicel, fore and mid legs; pale yellow: mandible, tegula and metasomal sternites; metasoma sometimes dark testaceous from tergite 3; hind leg testaceous with coxa black and tibia medially pale yellow; wings hyaline, venation brown.

HEAD. Face mid-longitudinally bulging, moderately punctate; clypeus transverse, dorsally sparsely punctate and ventrally smooth, its ventral margin strongly and evenly convex; malar line very long; frons finely coriaceous; vertex and temple coriaceous; occipital carina joining hypostomal carina near mandible base; ocelli reduced; antenna short and slender with 22–25 flagellomeres, penultimate flagellomere distinctly elongate.

MESOSOMA. Moderately elongate; pronotum bluntly longitudinally crenulate, postero-dorsally smoother; mesopleuron and metapleuron moderately to densely punctate, punctation coarser on metapleuron, with a shallow oblique and coarsely striate furrow below speculum, speculum ventrally smooth; mesoscutum coriaceous with some punctures on median lobe and along notaulus, punctures fused into transverse rugosities apically; notaulus moderately deep; scutellum nearly smooth; propodeum shallowly rugose punctate, area petiolaris transversely strigose; area superomedia elongate. Wings. Pterostigma unusually enlarged, its anterior transverse margin 1.5× longer than its maximal mid-longitudinal length. Legs. Femoral tooth small.

METASOMA. Tergite 2 and apex of tergite longitudinally aciculate, following tergites coriaceous; thyridium subelliptic, oblique; ovipositor moderately long, strongly sinuous apically.

Male (12 specimens)

B 4.4–4.6; A 2.1–2.4; L 3.3–3.5; POL 1.4; OOL 1.1. Ocelli weakly enlarged; femur swollen, femoral tooth stronger; otherwise similar to female.

Distribution

South Africa.

Figures

Fig. 16. Pristomerus khoikhoi sp. nov. Holotype, ♀. A. Habitus, lateral view. B. Head, mesosoma, dorsal view. C. Head, anterior view. D. Propodeum, dorsal view. E. Mesosoma, lateral view. F. Hind tibia, lateral view (inset: data labels).