Cyrteumenes laevifrons, Selis, 2025

Cyrteumenes laevifrons sp. nov.

( Figs 19 View FIGURE 19 , 63E View FIGURE 63 )

Diagnosis. Cyrteumenes laevifrons sp. nov. belongs to the group of species with globular mesosoma, elongate T1 and sparsely punctate metasoma together with C. mochii Borsato and C. propodealis sp. nov., from which it is readily distinguished by the sparsely punctate frons with flattened interspaces as wide as puncture diameter ( Fig. 19C View FIGURE 19 ).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♂ labelled“ CASENT /2046456 // MADAGASCAR:Prov./ Fianarantsoa, Ranomafana / JIRAMA water works, 690m / 21°14.91'S 47°27.13'E / 10–14 Jan 2002, R. Harin’Hala // CASLOT 011159 / malaise near river / MA-02-09D-11 // Cyrteumenes laevifrons / HOLOTYPUS ♂ / Det. Marco Selis 2025 [red label]” ( CAS, code CASTYPE21744) GoogleMaps . PARATYPES: District de Fanovana, Forets humides, IX–X.1938, leg. C. Lamberton, 1♀ ( AMNH, code AMNH _ IZC00418849 ) ; Fianarantsoa, Parc Nacional Ranomafana, Bell Vue Trail , 21.2600S 47.426667E, 1000 m, 21.XII.1999, leg. M.E. Irwin & E.I. Schlinger, 1♂ ( CAS, code CASENT3003727 ) GoogleMaps ; Fianarantsoa, PN Ranomafana, Belle Vue at Talatakely , 21.2665S 47.420167E, 1020 m, 22–28.XI.2001, leg. R. Harin’Hala, 1♂ ( MSVI, code CASENT2046468 ) GoogleMaps ; Fianarantsoa, PN Ranomafana, Vohiparara , 21.226167S 47.369833E, 1110 m, 15–25.VII.2002, leg. R. Harin’Hala, 1♂ ( CAS, code CASENT2053890 ) GoogleMaps .

Description. Male holotype ( Fig. 19B View FIGURE 19 ). Body length 7.0 mm; fore wing length 6.5 mm.

Head 1.25× as wide as high. Clypeus in frontal view 1.25× as wide as long, free apical part much shorter than interocular part, apical margin very narrowly emarginate, 0.2× as wide as clypeus, small apical teeth short and wide with bluntly pointed apex, lateral margins of free apical part shortly lamellate in basal half; clypeus in lateral view very weakly convex. Vertex 1.4× as long as ocellocular distance, flattened and weakly sloping posteriorly. Gena 0.6× as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus, gena in dorsal view shallowly bulging behind eye and then strongly converging posteriorly; occipital carina complete, fine and sharp, strongly bent in lower half. F1 1.5× as long as wide and 1.1× as long as F2, F2–F4 longer than wide and becoming progressively shorter, F5–F8 wider than long, F9 longer than wide, F11 long and thin with sharply pointed apex, needle-like, very weakly curved basally; F9 with tyloid as a subtriangular and shiny flattened area on which F11 lies at rest. Mesosoma 1.4× as long as wide, more or less globular and dorsally convex in lateral view. Pronotum with nearly straight and anteriorly converging sides, humeri right-angled and pointed in dorsal view and bluntly angled in anterior view; pronotal carina complete, very shortly lamellate and hyaline on dorsal face, very fine and almost evanescent below humeri, blunter on lateral faces; pretegular carina absent; dorsal and lateral faces of pronotum forming a smoothly rounded surface. Mesoscutum with extremely shallow indications of notauli at anterior and posterior ends. Scutellum wider than long, convex and somewhat medially bulging in lateral view, anterior margin narrowly furrowed and shallowly depressed medially; axillary fossa small and rounded, slightly smaller than one ocellus. Metanotum strongly sloping, nearly vertical, weakly convex and shallowly bulging centrally. Tegula weakly campanulate and about as long as wide, with outer margin weakly bent in anterior half, posterior lobe short and wide with pointed apex equaling parategula; parategula scythe-shaped, flattened laterolaterally and with sharply pointed apex. Mesepisternum evenly convex and with barely developed sulci; epicnemial carina completely absent. Propodeum short and strongly sloping, strongly and evenly convex in lateral view; dorsal faces of propodeum strongly sloping and convex, narrowly meeting medially but without forming a distinct surface behind metanotum, separated by a median longitudinal furrow; lateral faces of propodeum flattened, separated from dorsal faces only by a very short and shallow folding of the cuticle; posterior face of propodeum forming a semi-elliptical depression, bearing a median crenate furrow and a short strong carina at its bottom; submarginal carina of propodeum strongly developed in a wide and subtriangular lamellar lobe, widely rounded at apex. T1 elongate pyriform, 2.15× as long as apically wide, with a very short basal stalk and then sub-triangularly expanded with convex sides, basal stalk transversely tuberculate in the middle; T 1 in lateral view sub-triangularly raised on basal stalk, then evenly convex except for shallow subapical depression. T2 slightly longer than wide and bell-shaped, constricted basally and much wider apically than basally, sides convex; apical margin of T2 with a long brownish lamella very shallowly separated from rest of surface by a series of shallow oblique punctures. S1 elongate bell-shaped, with a very narrow and apically constricted basal stalk and a sub-triangularly expanded posterior part with shallowly tuberculate posterior angles. S 2 in lateral view obliquely sloping basally and then very shallowly depressed, the two surfaces separated by a shallow fold of the surface; apical margin of S2 lamellate similar to T2, but lamella slightly shorter. S7 flattened with evenly rounded apex.

Frons with deep punctures separated by flattened interspaces mostly as wide as one puncture diameter, punctures becoming sparser on vertex; gena with scattered smaller punctures, interspaces as wide as several puncture diameters; clypeus sparsely micropunctate, with few scattered punctures that are deeper and more evident on disc. Mesosoma punctate similar to vertex, but punctures deeper and slightly larger, most interspaces wider than puncture diameter, strongly shiny; anterior face of pronotum with few punctures on extreme sides; scutellum with few scattered punctures; metanotum with a band of small deep punctures in anterior half; tegula smooth and shiny with very sparse micropunctures; sides of mesosoma shinier than dorsal face, dorsal plate of metaepisternum strongly striate, ventral plate of metaepisternum and lateral faces of propodeum with sparse series of small deep punctures separated by very shiny and smooth interspaces; dorsal faces of propodeum densely micropunctate anterolaterally and becoming smooth medially, with few scattered deep punctures; posterior depression of propodeum with few fine punctures. T1 with some small but coarse punctures on basal stalk, apical expanded part sparsely micropunctate with very sparse small punctures separated by interspaces as wide as several puncture diameters, thickened apical margin impunctate; T2 densely micropunctate, punctures oblique and very shallow, weakly visible, much sparser basally and progressively becoming denser apically, preapical area of T2 impunctate except for a series of small punctures bordering the apical lamella; T3–T7 micropunctate, with micropunctures becoming progressively finer and sparser, T3 with a preapical series of shallow punctures in the middle; S1 strongly shiny, apical expanded part with sparse deep punctures; S2 similar to T2 but punctures sparser and slightly more evident; S3–S6 similar to respective tergites but micropunctures slightly more impressed; S7 shagreened and sparsely micropunctate. Head and mesosoma with dense and short brownish pubescence; frons, clypeus, pronotum, metanotum, mesepisternum and propodeum with sparse longer erect setae, those on mesepisternum apically bent; clypeus with dense and long silvery pubescence; metasoma with very short pubescence, becoming progressively longer and denser from S3 to S7, basal stalk of T1 with sparse long setae.

Bright to dark red;following parts black:inner margin of mandible,posterior margin of pronotum,metaepisternum and lateral faces of propodeum, posterior depression of propodeum, basal third of T1 and S1, coxae and most of femora; following parts ivory: clypeus except apical margin and central spot, interantennal space, anterior band on pronotum widening laterally and reaching posteroventral margin on humeral region, wide median band on scutellum, narrow apical margin of T1, T2 and S2; T3–T7 and S3–S7 ferruginous-orange. Wings fusco-hyaline with brown tinge becoming stronger on costal margin.

Female. Differing from the male as follows: free apical part of clypeus almost as long as interocular part, medially projecting in a narrow and weakly emarginate apical margin; T1 more elongate and with proportionally longer basal stalk; clypeus with a red longitudinal band running from basal to apical margin.

Variability. The male paratype from Vohiparara (CASENT2053890) has a rounded yellowish spot at the bottom of the ocular sinus. The male paratype from Belle Vue at Talatakely (CASENT2046468) has a generally darker pattern with more extended black parts and a more extended median marking on clypeus, starting from the basal margin and apically connected to a red band along the apical margin of the clypeus, dividing the ivory clypeal pattern in two lateral bands. The male paratype from Belle Vue Trail (CASENT3003727) and the female paratype from Fanovana (AMNH_IZC00418849) have a much more extensive and brighter red background color and the pale markings are yellow instead of ivory. The four available males show some morphological variation in length and thickness of F11, convexity of scutellum, length of the basal stalk of T1, thickness of apical part of aedeagus and sharpness of ventral lobes of aedeagus; the different development of the above-mentioned characters occurs randomly in the various specimens and is in line with the variability observed in other species of Cyrteumenes , for which reason the four specimens are considered here as conspecific.

Distribution. Madagascar: Fianarantsoa, Toamasina ( Fig. 63E View FIGURE 63 ).

Etymology. The species epithet is a combination of the Latin words laevis (= smooth) and frons (= forehead), in reference to the sparsely punctate frons of this species.