Pison kurandae Pulawski, 2018

Pulawski, Wojciech J., 2018, A Revision of the Wasp Genus Pison Jurine, 1808 of Australia and New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65, pp. 1-584 : 242

Pison kurandae Pulawski , species nova

Figures 557 -559.

NAME DERIVATION.– Kurandae is the Latin genitive case of the place name Kuranda in the Far North Queensland, near which the holotype was collected .

RECOGNITION.– The female of Pison kurandae (the male is unknown) is characterized by the unsculptured and asetose area on each side of the oral fossa, the unsculptured area being delimited externally by a short psammophore. A number of other species share these characterictics, but P. kurandae differs from them by the following combination of characters: body all black, with silvery setae; free margin of the clypeal lamella slightly arcuate, with the lateral corner obtusely angulate ( Fig. 557 ); about the posterior half of the tegula unsculptured; propodeum with a longitudinal carina separating the side from the dorsum and the posterior surface; forefemoral venter with a short psammophore.

DESCRIPTION.– Frons dull, finely punctate, punctures less than one diameter apart. Occipital carina slightly expanded ventrally (about as high as 0.3 × midocellar diameter), joining hypostomal carina. Gena narrow in dorsal view (Fig, 558). Labrum not emarginate. Anteromedian pronotal pit transversely elongate, twice as long as midocellar diameter. Scutum foveate along flange, with short longitudinal ridges adjacent to posterior margin; scutal punctures well defined, mostly less than one diameter apart, but many punctures on disk one diameter apart. Tegula not enlarged. Mesopleural punctures well defined, nearly contiguous, many interspaces merging ino irregular, mainly vertical ridges. Postspiracular carina present, about as long as midocellar diameter. Metapleural sulcus costulate between dorsal and ventral metapleural pits. Propodeum with irregular longitudinal carina separating side from dorsum and posterior surface and extending from gastral socket area toward spiracle; dorsum irregularly, obliquely ridged; side conspicupusly, longitudinally ridged dorsally, finer anteroventrally (ridges oriented vertically), and even finer posteroventrally (riges oriented longitudinally), punctate between ridges; posterior surface reticulate-striate, with several conspicuous ridges radiating up from gastropropodeal articulation. Posteroventral forefemoral surface minutely punctate, punctures about one diameter apart. Hindcoxal dorsum with outer margin sharply carinate apically. Outer surface of hindtibia with evanescent spines. Punctures of tergum I, anterior of apical depression, well defined, averaging about one diameter apart. Sterna punctate throughout, apicomedian punctures of sternum II about 1-2 diameters apart.

Setae silvery, appressed on frons (a few setae suberect), on postocellar area, and tergum I; not concealing integument on clypeus. Genal setae: see below. Apical depressions of terga with ill-defined, silvery, setal fasciae.

Body all black.

♀.– Upper interocular distance equal to 0.56 × lower interocular distance; ocellocular distance equal to 0.3 × hindocellar diameter, distance between hindocelli equal to 0.8 × hindocellar diameter; eye height equal to 0.98 × distance between eye notches. Free margin of clypeal lamella slightly arcuate, lateral corner obtusely angulate ( Fig. 557 ). Dorsal length of flagellomere I 2.3 × apical width, of flagellomere IX 1.2 × apical width. Lower gena, mandibular posterior margin, and

Figures

FIGURES 557-558. Pison kurandae Pulawski, sp. nov., female. (557) Clypeus and mandibles; (558) Head in dorsal view. FIGURE 559. Collecting locality of Pison kurandae Pulawski, sp. nov.