Properhyssalus szechowskii Belokobylskij, 2024

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Manukyan, Andranik R., 2024, Properhyssalus, a new fossil genus of braconid wasps close to the genus Rhyssalus Haliday (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rhyssalinae) from Baltic amber, Zootaxa 5415 (4), pp. 552-560 : 556-559

Properhyssalus szechowskii Belokobylskij , sp. nov.

Figs 1 , 2

http://zoobank.org/ F52DFA77-EDD2-4483-8666-042C39113969

Type material. Holotype: female, # B 4023 (KAM).

Type locality and horizon. Baltic amber; Late Eocene , Prussian Formation , Priabonian range (33.9–37.2 Ma). Southeast coast of the Baltic Sea, Primorskiy quarry, Yantarnyi, Kaliningrad Province, Russia .

Etymology. This species is named in honour Professor Wojciech Czechowski, well-known Polish myrmecologist and friend of the first author, who helped him very much during his work in the Museum and Institute of zoology PAN (Warsaw, Poland).

Description. Female. Body length 1.7 mm; fore wing length 1.6 mm.

Head. Head width ~ 1.8 × its medial length, 1.2 × mesoscutum width. Occiput weakly concave. Temple short, distinctly curvedly narrowed posteriorly (dorsal view). Transverse diameter of eye ~ 2.5 × longer than temple (dorsal view). Frons weakly concave, without medial carina or furrow. Ocelli medium-sized; OD ~ 0.5 × OOL. Eye 1.3 × as high as broad (lateral view). Face weakly convex, its width 1.3 × medial height with clypeus. Malar space 0.3 × height of eye, almost equal to basal width of mandible. Hypoclypeal cavity subcircular, its width almost equal to distance from cavity to inner margin of eye, 0.4 × width of face. Maxillary palpus long, ~ 1.4 × longer than height of head.

Antenna. Antenna slender, almost filiform, with 21 antennomeres, with distinct rhinaria (multiporous sensillum) in apical antennomeres, 1.2 × longer than body. Scape relatively short, ~ 1.5 × longer than maximum width, and 1.5 × longer than pedicel. First flagellomere approximately 4.0 × longer than its maximum width, 1.25 × longer than second flagellomere; second flagellomere ~ 2.8 × longer than its maximum width. Penultimate flagellomere approximately 2.2 × longer than its maximum width, 0.9 × as long as apical flagellomere; the latter without apical process.

Mesosoma. Mesosoma relatively long, ~ 2.0 × longer than its maximum height. Median lobe of mesoscutum weakly protruding forward, roundly convex anteriorly and without anterolateral corners. Notauli crenulate, deep anteriorly and shallow posteriorly. Prescutellar depression (scutellar sulcus) deep, mainly smooth, but with rare additional rugulae, ~ 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Subalar depression distinct and relatively wide, rugose-reticulate. Precoxal sulcus rather deep and wide, rugose-crenulate. Meso-metapleural suture finely and almost smooth.

Wings. Fore wing wide, 2.2 × longer than its maximum width. Pterostigma subtriangular, 4.0 × longer than its width. First (r) and second (3-SR) radial abscissae forming distinct obtuse angle; first abscissa (r) 1.2 × longer than maximum width of pterostigma. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 1.8 × longer than first abscissa (r), 0.5 × as long as the straight third abscissa (SR1), almost as long as the straight first radiomedial vein (2-SR). Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell not narrowed distally, ~ 2.5 × longer than its maximum width, 2.4 × longer than brachial (subdiscal) cell. Recurrent vein (1m-cu) rather short and interstitial. Discoidal (first discal) cell rather short and wide, 1.4 × longer than its maximum width. Nervulus (cu-a) postfurcal. Parallel vein (CU1a) only weakly curved basally, arising almost from middle of vein closed brachial (subdiscal) cell distally. Hind wing 4.5 × longer than its maximum width. First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) ~ 0.8 × as long as second and third abscissae combined (1-M). Recurrent vein (m-cu) present and distinctly antefurcal.

Legs. Hind coxa ~ 1.7 × longer than wide. Hind femur 3.0 × longer than its width. Hind tibia weakly widened towards apex, 1.7 × longer than hind femur, about 1.1 × longer than hind tarsus.

Metasoma. Metasoma ~ 0.7 × as long as head and mesosoma combined, 2.2 × longer than maximum width of metasoma. First metasomal tergite with complete, distinct and curved dorsal carinae, about 1.2 × longer than its apical width, 0.8 × as long as second and third tergites combined, 1.2 × longer than propodeum. Suture between second and third tergites narrow and almost straight. Second tergite 0.6 × as long as basal width, 1.3 × longer than third tergite. Combined length of second and third tergites 0.7 × as long as basal width of second tergite. Apical part of ovipositor evenly acuminate towards its apex. Ovipositor sheath about as long as mesosoma, 0.4 × as long as body and 0.4 × as long as fore wing.

Sculpture and pubescence. Head mainly smooth, face finely and sparsely punctate with rugulae. Mesoscutum entirely densely granulate. Mesopleuron mainly smooth, subalar depression rugose. Propodeum perhaps entirely smooth, with areas delineated by coarse carinae; areola relatively small and pentagonal, smooth; basal carina rather long, about as long as areola. Hind coxa and femur smooth. First metasomal tergite with coarse sublateral carinae, mainly rugulose-reticulate. Following tergites of metasoma entirely smooth.

Colour. Body entirely brown. Antenna pale brown in basal third and dark brown in remaining part. Palpi yellow. Fore and middle legs pale reddish brown to black, hind leg dark brown. Fore wing faintly infuscate. Pterostigma entirely brown.

Male. Unknown.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Properhyssalus szechowskii gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, B 4023) (A) Habitus, lateral view. (B) Head, front view. (C) Antenna, lateral view. (D) Head and mesoscutum, antero-dorsal view. (E) Head, mesosoma and first metasomal tergite, dorso-lateral view. (F) Head and mesosoma, sublateral view. (G) Medial part of hind wing.

FIGURE 2. Properhyssalus szechowskii gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, B 4023) (A) Body, subdorsal view. (B) Metasoma, lateral view. (C) Metasoma, ovipositor and hind leg, lateral view. (D) Apex of ovipositor, lateral view. (E) Wings.