Dicamptus maxipol Rousse & van Noort

Rousse, Pascal & van Noort, Simon, 2014, Afrotropical Ophioninae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae): an update of Gauld and Mitchell's revision, including two new species and an interactive matrix identification key, ZooKeys 456, pp. 59-73 : 61-62

Taxon classification Animalia Hymenoptera Ichneumonidae

Dicamptus maxipol Rousse & van Noort sp. n. Figs 2-3

Type material

(verbatim label data). HOLOTYPE ♀: SOUTH AFRICA, W. Cape, West Coast Fossil Park, (5.5 km 270° W Langebaanweg) 32°57.759'S, 18°05.519'E, 9-16 Oct 2002, S. van Noort, Malaise trap LW02-R4-M96, Rehabilitated slimes dam, SAM-HYM-P049469 (SAMC).

Diagnosis.

Orange with inter-ocellar area, most of mesosoma and apex of metasoma black; mandible not twisted, with a central tuft of hairs; clypeus wide, long and flat in profile; antenna short and stout with 56 flagellomeres; mesosoma laterally coarsely punctate to rugose-punctate, dorsally densely and more finely punctate; mesoscutum with notaulus distinct and relatively long; mesopleuron with epicnemial carina not distinct above lower corner of pronotum; propodeum anteriorly densely punctate, posteriorly coarsely rugose-reticulate; disco-submarginal cell with fenestra developed but without distinct sclerite; fore tibia with dense and long spines on outer surface; fore tibial spur with a vestigial basal membrane.

Differential diagnosis.

Differentiated from all other Dicamptus species in the world by the absence of distinct sclerites in the disco-submarginal cell; in the Afrotropical region, it seems related to Dicamptus neavei Gauld & Mitchell, 1978, which shares the dense spines on the tibia, the exceptionally reduced ocelli and a somewhat similar colour pattern; Dicamptus neavi is, however, a tropical species with shorter antennae, a stouter metasoma, and distinctly different alar indices with a distinct proximal sclerite in the disco-submarginal cell. In Gauld and Mitchell’s key ( 1978), Dicamptus maxipol is included in the following modified first couplet:

Description.

FEMALE (holotype). B 20.8; F 11.5; ML 1.2; CT 1.2; OOL 2.0; POL 1.2; FI 20%; F1-2 1.7; F20 1.2; AI 1.1; CI 0.5; ICI 0.7; SDI 1.1; NI 2.0.

Color. Orange interspersed with black; black: inter-ocellar area, entire mesosoma except for mesonotum and metanotum, base of tergite 1, tergite 5 and following, all coxae and trochanters except trochantelli; antenna orange, slightly darkening toward apex; wings hyaline, venation dark reddish to black except for pterostigma anteriorly light reddish.

Head. Mandible short and stout, without longitudinal groove, with a central tuft of long hairs, upper tooth barely longer than lower tooth; malar line long; clypeus long and wide, coarsely and densely punctate, rather flat in profile, somewhat swollen medially and ventrally, ventral margin strongly impressed; face strongly transverse, densely and coarsely punctate; frons rather smooth, upper head densely punctate; gena moderately swollen behind eyes; occipital carina complete and strong; antenna short and stout with 56 flagellomeres.

Mesosoma. Pronotum, mesopleuron and metapleuron coarsely and densely punctate, fading to rugose-punctate ventrally; anterior margin of pronotum simple; epicnemial carina short, indistinct above lower corner of pronotum; posterior transverse carina of mesosternum complete though ventrally weak; submetapleural carina not expanded anteriorly; mesoscutum densely and more finely punctate; notaulus long, moderate, distinct to anterior third of mesoscutum; scutellum densely punctate, carinate almost to apex; propodeum with anterior area densely punctate, anterior transverse carina complete, posterior area coarsely rugose-reticulate, abruptly declivous in profile and mid-posteriorly concave. Wings. Disco-submarginal cell with fenestra developed, without any distinct sclerite except a weak quadra centrally; Rs+2r hardly sinuate, slightly bent and thickened near pterostigma; Rs&M distal to cu-a by about its own width; hind wing with 7 hamuli. Legs. Fore tibia with dense and long spines on outer surface; fore tibial spur with a vestigial membrane basally to macrotrichial comb, membrane barely less than 0.1 × length of spur; hind coxa in profile 1.8 × as long as high; hind trochantellus mid-dorsally 0.2 × as long as wide; hind tarsal claws symmetrical with 8 pectinae.

Metasoma. Slender; tergite 2 in profile 2.7 × longer than high; thyridium large, oval, separated from anterior margin of tergite 2 by 1.3 × its own length; ovipositor not reaching beyond metasomal apex.

MALE. Unknown.

Etymology.

Named after the unusually reduced ocelli, and as a result the large POL. Noun in apposition.

Distribution.

South Africa (Western Cape).