Heterischnus mkomazi Rousse & van Noort

Rousse, Pascal, van Noort, Simon & Diller, E., 2013, Revision of the Afrotropical Phaeogenini (Ichneumonidae, Ichneumoninae), with description of a new genus and twelve new species, ZooKeys 354, pp. 1-85 : 49-52

Heterischnus mkomazi Rousse & van Noort sp. n. Figs 27-28

Type material.

HOLOTYPE. Male: Tanzania, Mkomazi Game Reserve, Kisima Plot, 16 April– 2 May 1996, 4°06.06'S, 38°05.58'E, S. van Noort, Malaise Trap, Acacia / Commiphora bushland, SAM–HYM–P 016166 (SAMC). PARATYPE: 1 male: Senegal, Parc nat. Niokolo Koba, 24/12/80, B. Sigwalt leg. 2643 (MNHN).

Diagnosis.

Female unknown. Male: entirely bright yellow to yellowish–testaceous, flagellum brown with a pale median ring; head densely and shallowly punctate but vertex and temple smooth and polished; clypeus transverse, with very weak lateral protuberances and one strong truncate submedian tooth on ventral margin; hypostomal carina joining occipital carina at mandibular base; mesosoma laterally densely and coarsely punctate, mesonotum polished and sparsely punctate, propodeum transversely punctate reticulate; propodeal carination reduced to incomplete apical transverse carina; metasoma densely and coarsely punctate; gastrocoelus and thyridium indistinct. HdWi 1.3; HfWi 1.2; Ci 2.0; Mi 0.5; IOi 0.9; OOi 1.5; Fli1 3.0; Fli15 1.3; Fli33 2.2; OTi NA.

Description.

MALE (2 specimens). B 6.8-7.5; A 4.7-5.0; F 4.2-4.7 (Holotype B 7.5; A 5.0; F 4.7).

Color. Bright yellow overall, somewhat darker testaceous dorsally, with frons and inter–ocellar area black; flagellum dark brown with flagellomeres 12-16 pale yellow; wings hyaline, venation yellowish.

Head. Frons, face and clypeus densely and shallowly punctate; clypeus strongly transverse, its ventral margin sinuate with paired weak lateral protuberances and one strong and truncate submedian tooth; face hardly bulging medially; malar line moderate without distinct sculpture; vertex and temple smooth, polished; ocellar triangle barely wider than long; temple long and evenly rounded, head obviously swollen behind eyes; hypostomal carina joining occipital carina at mandibular base; antenna long and slender with 34-39 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Pronotum densely punctate with a large dorsal smooth area; mesopleuron densely and coarsely punctate, speculum smooth; metapleuron half similarly punctate to almost totally smooth; mesoscutum polished, deeply and moderately densely punctate grading toward apex to quite smooth; scutellum smooth to sparsely punctate; propodeum transversely punctate reticulate, mid–longitudinally concave; carination reduced to an incomplete apical transverse carina. Wings. Hind wing with distal abscissa of Cu1 joining 1/Cu& cu–a below its middle.

Metasoma. Metasoma densely setose; all tergites densely and coarsely punctate, punctation tending to be smoother toward apex; tergite 1 moderately slender, regularly widened to apex; gastrocoelus and thyridium indistinct.

FEMALE. Unknown.

Etymology.

Named after the holotype locality. Noun in apposition.

Distribution.

Senegal, Tanzania.

Comment.

Two males of this species have been collected. Surprisingly, the two collection sites are located at the two lateral extremities of the African continent, both specimens showing only slight differences in the density of punctation and the length of antennae. However, both localities fall within the arid Sahel belt that extends from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia and Somalia in the east, paralleling the southern edge of the Sahara desert. From the horn of Africa this arid habitat extends south down the eastern side of Africa through Kenya to northern Tanzania where Mkomazi Game Reseve is situtated. It must then be presumed that this species is far more widespread than indicated by the known distribution. We predict that the species will likely occur throughout the Sahel zone.