Nysson ohli ( Schmid-Egger, 2011 ) Gadallah & Edmardash & Abu El-Ghiet & Al-Fifi, 2024

Gadallah, Neveen S., Edmardash, Yusuf A., Abu El-Ghiet, Usama M. & Al-Fifi, Zarrag I. A., 2024, New additions to the crabronid fauna of the Arabian Peninsula and Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera: Apoidea (Spheciformes): Crabronidae), new distribution records and new species, Zootaxa 5403 (5), pp. 549-570 : 554-557

Nysson ohli ( Schmid-Egger, 2011) , new combination

Figs 4 (A–C), 5(A–D)

Synnevrus ohli Schmid-Egger, 2011: 592 , ♂.

Diagnosis. Gastral terga double edged; body mainly small, 5.5 mm, black with little yellowish to whitish markings, thorax mainly black, without any ferruginous, T 1 mostly reddish ferruginous; whole antenna reddish, darkened towards tip, without any yellow; pronotum light yellow, reaching reddish ferruginous tegula; S 1 and S 2 as well as apical sternum bright reddish ferruginous; head and thorax densely closely alveolate; gena distinctly short, markedly edged below; occipital carina present; pronotum sharply angulate antero-laterally; propodeum with distinct lateral spine-like process.

Description. Body length: 5.5 mm.

Colouration ( Figs 4A–C , 5A–D ): Head (including clypeus), scutum, scutellum (except for yellowish base), metanotum and propodeum black; T 1 reddish ferruginous, with relatively large postero-lateral yellow markings; T 2–5 black, T 2 & T 3 with lateral transverse yellow bands; female pygidial plate reddish ferruginous, black at base; antenna dark brown, with scape, pedicel, and F1–4 reddish ferruginous; tegula and pronotal lobe reddish ferruginous, pronotum entirely pale yellowish; legs reddish ferruginous with some yellow dorsally on fore tibia and all dorsal surface of hind tibia; S 1 & S 2 as well as apical sternum bright reddish ferruginous, rest of gastral sterna darker; mandible yellowish, dark at tip; palpi reddish to yellowish. Wings slightly darkened, with dark brown veins.

Head ( Figs 4B, C , 5A ). Densely alveolate, alveolae finely dotted inside giving dull appearance; transverse elevation present between antennal sockets that is about as long as scape; eye margin with indistinct notch above middle, margins converging towards clypeus; clypeus coarsely shagreened except apex which is smooth and shiny, with sharp teeth along apex, free margin deeply emarginate medially, emargination flanked by conspicuous tooth on each side; labrum slightly exposed; scape and pedicel smooth and shiny, scape somewhat swollen towards apex; F1 & F2 each about as long as wide, remaining flagellomeres becoming gradually elongate, longer than wide; ocelli forming moderately elevated, densely coarsely punctate triangle, basal distance longer than lateral one; gena distinctly short, markedly edged below, dull; vertex and occipital carina faint.

Thorax ( Figs 4B , 5A ). Pronotum sharply angulate antero-laterally, slightly sunken below scutum, nearly smooth and shiny; scutum densely alveolate, somewhat elevated postero-laterally; scutellum and metanotum sculptured like scutum; propodeum shortened carinate above, posterior surface slanted, longitudinally ridged, with distinct lateral spine-like process that is densely clothed with whitish pubescence hiding underlying integument; mesopleuron densely alveolate, dull, with lateral tooth hardly differentiated from sculpture, lower part of mesopleuron shiner, with faint transverse ridges; metapleuron with smaller alveoles. Legs normal, mid and hind metatarsi relatively long and slender, about as long as to the following tarsomeres combined.

Gaster ( Fig. 5B–D ). Gastral T 1 sparsely punctate at base, with dense superficial punctures on remaining tergum, punctures separated by more than puncture diameter, integument alutaceous between punctures; T 2 & T 3 superficially punctate, punctures denser on T 4; pygidial plate triangular, narrowly rounded at apex, rugose-punctate, sharply edged laterally; S 2 with basomedian swollen rounded area, densely punctate laterally, sparser medially; S 3 & S 4 with dense micropuncture and lateral fringe of very short setae postero-laterally; S 6 densely punctate (except smooth narrow area mesally).

Material examined: 1♀, Sala Mountain (Jazan Province), 1186 m [17º04ʹ10.5ʺN 43º07ʹ43.3ʺE], 15.xi.2022, Malaise trap, in coffee orchards, Usama Abu El-Ghiet collector .

Distribution. Saudi Arabia (present study), United Arab Emirates ( Schmid-Egger 2011, as Synnevrus ohli ).

Comments. The double-edged gastral terga of the species attributes it to the genus Synnevrus A. Costa, 1859 based on Guichard (1986) and Nemkov (2001). However, in a cladistic analysis of the subfamily Bembecinae by Nemkov & Lelej (2013), based on morphological characters, Synnevrus was synonymized with Nysson Latreille. In a personal communication, W. Pulawski recognizes this synonymy because of some intermediate species.

Our female specimen greatly agrees with Schmid-Egger’s holotype male of the United Arab Emirates (2011) in having the thorax mainly black ( Fig. 5A ), with a yellow pronotum ( Fig. 5A ), scutellar base yellow ( Fig. 5A ), reduced yellow markings on the gaster ( Fig. 5B ), as well as the reddish ferruginous tegula and T 1 ( Fig. 5A, B ); the body sculpture; a sharply angulate antero-lateral side of the pronotum ( Fig. 4A ); antenna without any yellow. It differs from the male in having a larger body size (5.5 mm rather than 4.0 mm); S 1, S 2 and S 6 reddish ferruginous, and remaining sterna dark brown ( Fig. 5C ) (in the holotype male, the sterna are black with some reddish parts, and S 7 is reddish). It also resembles N. barrei Radoszkowski ( Nemkov 2001, as Synnevrus barrei ) in having the double-edged gastral terga; the presence of lateral spine on the propodeum ( Fig. 5A ); pronotum sharply angulate antero-laterally ( Fig. 4A ). However, it differs from N. barrei in having the thorax mainly black (mainly ferruginous in N. barrei ); body length 4.5 mm (in N. barrei , 6.0– 6.5 mm).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Nysson ohli (Schmid-Egger, 2011) (♀): A, habitus dorsally; B, lateral view of head and thorax; C, frontal view of head (showing teeth along clypeal apex).

FIGURE 5. Nysson ohli (Schmid-Egger, 2011) (♀): A, dorsal view of head and thorax; B, dorsal view of gaster; C, lateroventral view of gaster; D, dorsal view of last gastral terga and pygidial plate.