Discleroderma plymouthoides Azevedo, Vargas & Colombo, 2020

Azevedo, Celso O., Vargas, Juan M. & Colombo, Wesley D., 2020, Synopsis of world Discleroderma Kieffer (Hymenoptera, Bethylidae), Zootaxa 4742 (3), pp. 467-480 : 475-476

Discleroderma plymouthoides Azevedo, Vargas & Colombo , sp. nov.

Fig. 3 E–H

Description, female. Body 4.62 mm long. Forewing 2.39 mm long. LH 0.8 mm. WH 0.81 mm. WF 0.42 mm. HE 0.35 mm. WOT 0.15 mm. OOL 0.22 mm.

Color. Body dark castaneous, almost black, anterior margin of clypeus pale castaneous, antenna dark castaneous, distal flagellomeres almost black, mandible castaneous, darker at proximal, ventral, and distal margins, malar space and area of hypostoma castaneous, palpi light castaneous. Legs dark castaneous, tarsi lighter, forewing subhyaline, hind wing infuscated, veins castaneous.

Head. Head subquadrate in dorsal view, lateral margin fully little outcurved, wider at eye level, vertex evenly outcurved. Gena visible in dorsal view. Malar space large, about 0.5 × as long as proximal mandibular width. Malar sulcus complete. Anterior clypeal margin distinctly thicker medially, and deeply emarginated. Mandible with dorsal margin outcurved, ventral margin incurved. Pedicel about 1.5 × as long as flagellomere I; mid flagellomeres slightly longer than wide. Frontal angle of ocellar triangle acute. Anterior ocellus crossing supra-ocular line. WH 1.02 × LH; WF 0.52 × WH; WF 1.2 × HE; OOL 1.48 × WOT. Intertorular space about as wide as torular diameter. Frons coriaceous, punctures small, shallow and very sparse. Frontal line short. Hypostomal carina conspicuous, evenly arched, not angulate medially. Occipital carina visible on dorsal view, absent on ventral half.

Mesosoma. Dorsum of thorax coriaceous and punctured as frons. Pronotal flange short, surface subvertical. Anteromesoscutum medially longer than mesoscutellum. Notauli absent. Parapsidal signum almost complete anteriorly, conspicuous, curved posteriorly, converging posterad. Mesoscutum-mesoscutellar sulcus deep, straight medially and arched posterad laterally, slightly dilated laterally. Metapectal-propodeal disc with transverse anterior, metapostnotal median, first metapostnotal lateral and transverse posterior carinae; metapostnotal median carina complete; first metapostnotal lateral carina straight, incomplete posteriorly and somewhat irregular, lateral margin straight, parallel, disc coriaceous, stronger between and around first metapostnotal lateral carinae; anterior corner of disc with cavity larger than space between metapostnotal median and metapostnotal-propodeal carinae. First abdominal spiracle elliptical, located on dorsal surface of metapectal-propodeal disc, not intercepted by lateral carina. Propodeal declivity weakly coriaceous, without median carina. Lateral surface of metapectal-propodeal complex weakly coriaceous. Mesopleuron weakly coriaceous, transepisternal line present only anteriorly, central pit small. Forewing with prestigmal abscissa of R1 0.82 × as long as Rs&M. Hind wing with one proximal and three distal hamuli, first distal hamulus distinctly far from two others. Mesotibia not spinose, but with dense thick setae.

Metasoma. Tergite III with one pair of very inconspicuous minute nodule, almost imperceptible, connected by very inconspicuous carina; tergite IV with one pair of very large spoiler-shaped tubercles connected by transverse carina, tergite V with pair of large callus-shaped tubercles connected by transverse carina. Inter-tubercular space 2.0 × outer-tubercular space for both metasoma segments IV and V.

Material examined. MADAGASCAR: Majunga Analamanitra Forest , 14 km NE of Misinjo, 23-30 October 2007, 16° 8’ S 45° 42’ E, Calif. Acad. of Sciences, coll: M.Irwin, R . Harin’Hala, Malaise, dense dry forest, elev 65 ft MG-38-06 ( CASC, CASLOT 040390 )

Etymology. The specific epithet plymouthoides comes from the vintage car Plymouth and the suffix - oides from Latin which means similar to. It is an allusion to the shape of tubercles on metasomal tergite IV, which resembles the spoiler of a 1958 Plymouth.

Remarks. This species differs from all other Discleroderma by having a cavity larger than space between metapostnotal median and metapostnotal-propodeal carinae on the anterior corner of the metapectal-propodeal disc and a pair of large spoiler-shaped tubercles on metasomal tergite IV.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A–D. Discleroderma concursum sp. nov., ♀. A. Habitus; B. Head, dorsal view; C. Mesosoma, dorsal view; D. Metasomal process, lateral view. E–H. Discleroderma plymouthoides sp. nov., ♀. E. Habitus; F. Head, dorsal view; G. Meso- soma, dorsal view; H. Metasomal process, lateral view. Scales-bars: 200μm, except 500μm for A and E; 100μm for D and H.