Malasigalphus pubiscutellum, Belokobylskij, 2025

Malasigalphus pubiscutellum sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 , 4 View FIGURE 4

Type material. Holotype: female, “ Madagascar, Toliar Province , Massif du Makay, 21°36.415′S, 45°06.769′E, 12.01.2011, V. M. Gnezdilov [leg.]” ( ZISP). GoogleMaps

Description. Female. Body length 10.9 mm; fore wing length 9.3 mm.

Head. Width of head (dorsal view) 2.0 × its median length, 1.2 × width of mesoscutum. Vertex distinctly convex. Occipital carina coarse, complete (not interrupted dorsally), fused below with hypostomal carina. Temples behind eyes (dorsal view) distinctly roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.45 × longer than temple. Frons weakly but visible concave, with rather highly protruding the thickened median lamella, without lateral crests. Ocellar triangle situated on raised triangular area (stemmaticum); ocelli medium-sized, with anterior ocellus slightly smaller than lateral ocelli, arranged in obtuse triangle with base 1.4 × its lateral sides. POL 1.6 × Od of lateral ocelli, 0.6 × OOL. Eye glabrous, 1.4 × as high as broad. Malar suture absent. Malar space 0.3 × height of eye, 0.8 × basal width of mandible. Face 1.3 × wider than its medial height. Clypeus straight ventrally; clypeal suture very shallow. Mandible relatively narrow, weakly twisted in distal half. Maxillary palpus weakly thickened (especially third segment) and relatively long.

Antenna. Antenna thickened, distinctly setiform, with 45 elongated antennomeres. Scapus wide, 2.0 × longer than its maximum width (lateral view), about 7.0 × longer than pedicel. First flagellomere 3.7 × longer than its apical width, 1.6 × longer than second flagellomere. Length of penultimate flagellomere 1.6 × its width, 0.6 × as long as apical flagellomere; the latter obtuse.

Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.45 × its maximum height. Notauli complete, but shallow and rather wide, very shallow posteriorly, crenulate. Prescutellar depression deep and long, almost smooth, with single median carina, 0.4 × as long as scutellum. Scutellum without visible lateral carinae and posterior transverse depression, entirely coarsely rugulose. Metanotum medio-dorsally with two distinct and convergent posteriorly carinae, with sculptured small area posteriorly. Precoxal sulcus shallow, wide, oblique, slightly curved, coarsely rugulose-striate, running along almost all lower part of mesopleuron.

Wings. Length of fore wing 2.8 × its width. Pterostigma relatively short and narrow, about 4.0 × longer than its maximum width. Radial (marginal) cell distinctly shortened; anterior margin of radial (marginal) cell 1.5 × longer than pterostigma and 2.0 × longer than distance from apex of radial (marginal) cell to apex of wing. Radial vein (r) arising distinctly behind middle of pterostigma, its first abscissa (r) 1.7 × longer than maximum width of pterostigma. Second abscissa of radial vein (3-SR) distinctly convex, 1.7 × longer than first abscissa (r), 0.7 × as long as the convex and weakly broken third abscissa (SR1), 1.5 × longer than first radiomedial vein (2-SR). First abscissa of medial vein (1-SR+M) straight. Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell relatively short, not widened distally, 2.0 × longer than its maximum width. Discoidal (discal) cell relatively long and wide, 1.9 × longer than its maximum width. Nervulus (cu-a) postfurcal and inclivous, distance (1-CU1) between nervulus (cu-a) and basal vein (1-M) 0.45 × nervulus (cu-a) length. Submedial (subbasal) and anal (plical) cells basally glabrous and shining. Hind wing 4.2 × longer than wide. Radial (marginal) cell weakly widened basally (before distinct and pigmented transverse radial vein (r)), than distally subparallel. Second abscissa of mediocubital vein (1-M) almost as long as first abscissa (M+CU), 2.2 × longer than basal vein (1r-m). Second cubital abscissa (2-CU) distinctly sclerotised, dark, long.

Legs. Hind femur weakly widened, 4.4 × longer than wide. Hind tibia slightly thickened, 7.8 × longer than its maximum width in distal quarter. Hind tarsus 0.9 × as long as hind tibia; its basitarsus thickened, 0.75 × as long as other segments combined; second segment 0.4 × as long as first segment, 1.4 × longer than fifth segment (without pretarsus). Claws small and similar size in all tarsi, cleft apically and bifurcate.

Metasoma. Shape of metasoma clavate. First tergite long and narrow, with distinct subpointed spiracular tubercles in basal 0.2, distinctly and almost linearly widened to subapex and weakly narrowed to apex, dorsope and laterope absent; tergite with short medial depression and fine postero-lateral depressions. Length of first tergite 1.8 × its maximum subposterior width and 1.8 × length of propodeum; maximum width of tergite 2.3 × its minimum width. Suture between second and third tergites distinct, shallow and narrow. Length of second tergite 1.1 × its basal width, 0.5 × length of third tergite. Third tergite posteriorly distinctly but not strongly curved down, with flange, weakly curved up medioposteriorly. Ovipositor sheath very short, wide, hidden under third tergite.

Sculpture and pubescence. Vertex entirely coarsely and curvedly striate with rugulosity between striae. Frons almost entirely smooth medially in cavity, densely and coarsely reticulate laterally; face densely and coarsely reticulate-areolate, with vertical medial carina; temple coarsely areolate-striate. Mesoscutum distinctly punctate in anterior half and faintly rugulose-punctate to almost smooth in posterior half; scutellum entirely coarsely rugoseareolate. Mesopleuron almost entirely densely and distinctly reticulate-punctate and with striation partly. Propodeum entirely coarsely reticulate-areolate, without delineated areas. Hind coxa and femur mostly smooth, with rather dense and fine punctation. First metasomal tergite almost entirely densely and coarsely reticulate-areolate, with longitudinal sublateral carinae in basal 0.7. Second and third tergites entirely small and densely reticulate-areolate. Scutellum and axillae with very dense long erect white setae. Propodeum mostly with long dense and white erect setae.

Colour. Body mostly black, first metasomal tergite posteriorly in narrow transverse stripe yellow, second tergite with small yellow triangle latero-posterior spots; posterior flange of third tergite yellow. Antenna entirely black. Palpi mostly pale yellow, darkened only basally. Fore femur dark brown, fore and middle tibiae entirely, hind tibia shortly basally and fore and middle tarsi (except pretarsi) whitish yellow. Ovipositor sheath black. Wings hyaline in basal 0.7, distinctly infuscate in distal 0.3. Pterostigma reddish brown to dark reddish brown distally. Tergula black.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology. Named from a combination of the “pubes” (Latin for pubescence) and “scutellum” because the scutellum in new species covered by dense and long white setae.

Comparative diagnosis. The new species differs from the type species of the genus, M. petiolaris , in having the median carina of frons rather high (low in M. petiolaris ), occipital carina coarse dorsally (weak dorsally in M. petiolaris ), clypeus entirely densely reticulate-rugose (large smooth in M. petiolaris ), notauli relatively shallow posteriorly (entirely deep in M. petiolaris ), scutellum and propodeum with dense and long white erect setae almost entirely (without or with less long setae in M. petiolaris ), third radial abscissa (SR1) in fore wing weakly broken (straight in M. petiolaris ), second radial abscissa (3-SR) distinctly curved (weakly curved in M. petiolaris ), nervulus (cu-a) postfurcal (interstitial in M. petiolaris ), hind femur 4.4 × longer than its maximum width (5.9 × in M. petiolaris ), first tergite narrowed subapically and without latero-posterior depressions (not narrowed subapically and with latero-posterior depressions in M. petiolaris ), length of first tergite 1.8 × its apical width (2.7 × in M. petiolaris ), and fore femur brown (yellowish brown in M. petiolaris ).

Remarks. The male included in M. petiolaris ( Quicke et al. 2008) , according to the photo ( Quicke et al. 2008, p. 2710) perhaps actually belongs to the described here the new species M. pubiscutellum sp. nov.