Astarteserphus grimaldii, ENGEL & HERHOLD & BARDEN, 2022

ENGEL, MICHAEL S., HERHOLD, HOLLISTER W. & BARDEN, PHILLIP, 2022, A proctotrupid wasp in Lebanese Lower Cretaceous amber (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupidae), Palaeoentomology 5 (5), pp. 439-444 : 441-442

Astarteserphus grimaldii sp. nov.

( Fig. 1 )

Holotype. ♀, AMNH LB-AE-137 , deposited in the amber collection, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA.

Etymology. The specific epithet honors our dear friend and colleague, David A. Grimaldi, for his decades of collaboration, friendship, and breadth of important contributions to the study of living and fossil insects.

Diagnosis. As for the genus (vide supra).

Locality and horizon. Lebanon: Bcharreh District, Bcharreh Mountains, Lower Cretaceous, A. Estephan coll.

Description. ♀: Total body length (as preserved) 1.08 mm; forewing length 0.75 mm, maximum width 0.32 mm (length about 2.34× width). Integument dark brown to black throughout except palpi light brown. Head apparently slightly wider than long (direct frontal view not possible as preserved), integument apparently smooth with dense setigerous punctures, head with abundant, fine, short setae although apparently less abundant on lower face; compound eyes comparatively small, occupying only about 50% of lateral head surface, hirsute, ocular setae about as long as setae of remainder of head, inner ocular margins roughly parallel; malar space elongate, almost as long as compound eye and longer than mandible, with faint indication of malar sulcus at margin; mandible short, triangular, with acute apical tooth, without subapical teeth, upper margin slightly concave; maxillary palpus tetramerous; labial palpus trimerous; clypeus short, half-moon shaped, apical margin straight, width subequal to mandible length; antenna long, apex extending in repose to petiole; antennal toruli separated from clypeal base by about 3× torular diameter; scape short, robust, length 1.7× apical width; pedicel short, length 1.1× apical width and about 0.5× length of scape; flagellomeres I–VII each slightly longer than wide, flagellomeres VIII–X each about as long as wide, flagellomere XI enlarged, length 1.8× its maximum width; flagellomere I longer than pedicel and slightly longer than flagellomeres II–X, flagellomeres II–VII subequal in lengths, flagellomeres VIII–X subequal in lengths; flagellomeres I–VII of subequal widths, flagellomeres VIII–IX of subequal widths and slightly wider than preceding flagellomeres; flagellomere XI slightly wider than all preceding flagellomeres and about as wide as scape; flagellomeres with fine, short, subdecumbent to suberect setae; vertex gently arched above upper tangent of compound eyes, ocelli in small triangle at about upper tangent of compound eyes.

Mesosoma longer than high, length 1.5× height; propleura producing a short neck; mesoscutum smooth, with scattered minute punctures, with notauli present as shallow furrows extending to posterior margin of mesoscutum, furrow more deeply impressed in anterior half, notauli simple (not areolate or foveolate), surface of mesoscutum gently arched and tapering anteriorly to meet pronotal posterior margin withoutdefinedanteriordeclivity;mesoscutumwithabundant, short (of similar lengths to ocular setae), fine, suberect, posteriorly sloped setae; mesoscutellum comparatively flat, sculptured as on mesoscutum, length approximately 0.5× mesoscutal length; metanotum not visible as preserved; dorsal surface of propodeum comparatively short, seemingly about as long as mesoscutellum, sculpturing of dorsal surface not visible as preserved, lateral surface apparently finely and irregularly areolate (ridges of individual areolae low); mesepisternum largely smooth with minute punctures although appearing faintly imbricate above; metepisternum as on mesepisternum, without demarcated area of smooth, polished, shiny integument compared to remainder of metepisternal surface.

Forewing length about 2.3× maximum width, with venation reduced, with only Sc+R, pterostigma, and r-rs sclerotized, 3Rs nebulous and darkly pigmented, all other veins, inclusive of C, lacking (not even present as spectral veins); pterostigma of modest size, triangular, length about 1.5× depth; r-rs originated at about pterostigmal midlength, length less than pterostigmal width; 3Rs short, straight, forming short marginal cell, apical margin of marginal cell distinctly shorter than pterostigmal length, pterostigmal length 1.8× marginal cell length along anterior wing margin; wing membranes hyaline and clear, with modest abundance of microtrichia, wing margins with marginal microtrichia numerous and short along anterior margin from pterostigma to apex, such setae longer along apex and rounded apex of posterior margin, then shorter again along posterior wing margin, anterior wing margin proximal to pterostigma with scattered, fine setae longer than marginal microtrichia but not as long as apical setae. Hind wing with only Sc+R present, with marginal microtrichia numerous along anterior wing margin, becoming elongate setae at apex and along apical third of posterior margin, then reducing in size again for remaining proximal portion of posterior wing margin.

Legs generally slender and with scattered erect to suberect, fine setae, those of tibiae more numerous than femoral setae; tibiae and femora long and slightly widening apically; trochantellus lacking; tibiae about as long as corresponding femora; tibial spur formula 1-2-2, spurs simple, outer metatibial spur distinctly shorter than inner metatibial spur; metafemur slightly swollen medially; basitarsi longer than each remaining tarsomere’s individual lengths, basitarsi about as long as combined lengths of tarsomeres II–IV, basitarsal lengths about 1.4–1.5× corresponding tarsomere V lengths; pretarsal claws simple and thin; arolium present, large.

Metasoma with metasomal tergum I and sternum I short, fused, forming short petiole, petiole shorter than metacoxa and visible from above, sculpturing distorted as preserved but apparently longitudinally striate; remaining terga smooth and largely glabrous; terga II–IV fused to form syntergum although two faint furrows run transversely across syntergum likely indicating points of fusion between original terga II, III, and IV; terga V–VII roughly subequal in length, not as high as syntergum, tergum VII shortening in height apically to meet tergum VIII; tergum VIII reduced, shorter than preceding segment and approximately 0.5× as high as base of tergum VII; sterna I–IV seemingly fused; ovipositor sheaths downcurved and gently arched apically, with scattered, long, erect, fine setae ventrally, without evident sculpturing.

♂: Latet.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Astarteserphus grimaldii gen. et sp. nov. (Proctotrupidae), holotype (AMNH LB-AE-137), in Lower Cretaceous amber from Bcharreh, Lebanon. A, Photograph of lateral habitus. B, Line drawing of forewing venation. C, Ventral view of head.