Cyrtolabulus nivosus, Selis, 2025

Cyrtolabulus nivosus sp. nov.

( Figs 25B–D View FIGURE 25 , 63M View FIGURE 63 )

Diagnosis. Cyrtolabulus nivosus sp. nov. belongs to the group of Malagasy Cyrtolabulus presenting S2 much longer than T2 and broadly rounded apical margin of T3, and within this group it is similar to Cyrtolabulus madli Gusenleitner due to largely absent pronotal carina, small tegula without expanded posterior lobe, broadened and subtriangular tegula, vertical propodeum without a dorsal face, strongly convex dorsal surface of T1, and T2 with a V-shaped depression. The two species are, however, easily distinguished, as C. nivosus sp. nov. presents the following characters: parategula forming a quarter of circle and apically right-angled ( Fig. 25D View FIGURE 25 ), shorter (1.35× in ♂ and 1.45–1.55× in ♀) and more sparsely punctate T1 ( Fig. 25C View FIGURE 25 ), T2 wider than long and with sparsely punctate basal sloping part ( Fig. 25B View FIGURE 25 ), much denser and brighter pubescence that is strongly silvery on sides of head and mesosoma ( Fig. 25C View FIGURE 25 ), male F11 short and conical and reaching middle of F9 ( Fig. 25B View FIGURE 25 ), and female clypeus shallowly emarginate at apex and with sparse shallow punctures ( Fig. 25B View FIGURE 25 ).

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♂ labelled “ CASENT / 2174874 // MADAGASCAR: Tulear / Tsimanampetsotsa National / Park , Mitoho Forest plateau / 24–29 October 2008 / 24°2.91'S 43°45.14'E // Calif. Acad. of Sciences / coll: M.Irwin, R.Harin’Hala / malaise, dense dry forest / elev 150 m MG-53A-01 // Cyrtolabulus nivosus / HOLOTYPUS ♂ / Det. Marco Selis 2024 [red label]” ( CAS, code CASTYPE21747) GoogleMaps . PARATYPES: same data as holotype, 4♀ ( CAS, codes CASENT2174861 , CASENT2174879 ; MSVI, codes CASENT2174865 , CASENT2174878 ) GoogleMaps ; same locality as holotype, 23–31.I.2009, 1♀ ( CAS, code CASENT2174869 ) GoogleMaps ; same locality as holotype, 18.II–11.III.2009, 1♀ ( CAS, code CASENT2174945 ); Tulear , Ankazomena, 8 km N of Ambohimahavelona village, 23.430333S 43.834145E, 122 m, 21–31.X.2008, leg. M. Irwin & R. Harin’Hala, 1♀ ( CAS, code CASENT2174885 ) GoogleMaps .

Description. Male holotype ( Fig. 25C View FIGURE 25 ). Body length 5.5 mm; fore wing length 4.0 mm.

Head 1.25× as wide as high. Clypeus in frontal view 1.05× as wide as long, free apical part slightly shorter than interocular part, apical margin shallowly emarginate and narrow, 0.2× as wide as clypeus, apical teeth obtuse and subtriangular with bluntly pointed apex; clypeus in lateral view weakly and evenly convex. Interantennal space with a sharp longitudinal carina originating near upper limit and extending on frons, almost reaching level of upper limit of ocular sinus. Vertex 1.7× as long as ocellocular distance, flattened and evenly sloping, so that occipital carina is placed below the upper limit of eye. Gena 0.7× as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina sharp and shortly lamellate, higher on vertex and gena, much finer on transition between the two parts, bluntly and shallowly bent on ventral half. F1 1.15× as long as wide and 0.9× as long as F2, F2 slightly longer than wide, F3 and F9 subquadrate, F4–F8 transverse; F11 subconical and small, weakly curved in lateral view and with pointed apex not reaching base of F9, ventral face of F9 with a shallow subtriangular depression. Mesosoma 1.5× as long as wide, with subparallel sides. Pronotum with straight and weakly converging sides, very weakly sinuate behind humeri, which are right angled and barely projecting; pronotal carina shortly developed only on humeri and near ventral corner of lateral faces, shortly lamellate and right-angled on humeri; pretegular carina absent; dorsal faces of pronotum clearly separated from anterior face despite absence of pronotal carina. Scutellum wider than long, weakly but distinctly convex in lateral view, posterior margin placed below level of anterior margin; axillary fossa small and rounded, smaller than one ocellus. Metanotum strongly sloping, nearly vertical and divided into two faces by a transverse carina; anterior face nearly vertical and very short in the middle, posterior face sloping and subrectangular, somewhat depressed in the middle; transverse carina straight in the middle and then raised in two rounded lobes at sides. Tegula small, about as long as wide, outer margin evenly curved except short straight portion at anterior end, posterior lobe short and wide, apically right-angled and equaling parategula; parategula wide and flattened, anterior margin evenly curved and meeting at a right-angle the transverse posterior margin, therefore appearing as a quarter of circle. Mesepisternum evenly convex and anteriorly abruptly separated from epicnemium, but lacking epicnemial carina, posteriorly with a short and sharp carina originating from ventral apex of epimeron, which is flattened and not clearly separated from mesepisternum. Propodeum short and falling vertically from posterior margin of metanotum, in lateral view appearing weakly and evenly convex; dorsal faces of propodeum strongly sloping, weakly and evenly convex, not touching each other behind metanotum; lateral faces of propodeum flattened except for shallow depression above submarginal carina, clearly separated from dorsal faces but lateral carinae barely indicated; posterior face of propodeum forming a semi-elliptical depression, shallow above and becoming deeper ventrally, with two deep pits separated by a sharp longitudinal carina at lower end, smoothly passing into dorsal faces on sides; submarginal carina of propodeum developed in a short and subtriangular translucent lamella above each valvula, lamella directed vertically and compressed laterolaterally; propodeal valvula largely not fused with submarginal carina, subtrapezoidal and sloping mediolaterally. T1 semielliptical in dorsal view, with convex and posteriorly diverging sides, 1.35× as long as apically wide; T 1 in lateral view domed, strongly and evenly convex except for shallow and wide preapical furrow and weakly thickened apical margin. T2 wider than long, constricted basally and much wider apically than basally, with a wide and very shallow broad-V-shaped depression, more evident in lateral view; apical margin of T2 lamellate and preceded by a distinct thickening of the tergite. T3 large and broadly rounded, preapically thickened similar to T2 and apically with a lamellar margin widened in the middle and shortened on sides. S1 with a short parallel-sided basal stalk and with a large subtriangular expanded area covering most of the ventral surface of the tergite, with blunt and shallow ridges running parallel to the lateral margins. S2 enlarged and with broadly rounded posterior margin, obliquely cut-off in lateral view and much longer than S2, its apex equaling apex of T3 and forming with it a clam-like structure containing the following segments; apical margin of S2 lamellate like on T2, but preapical thickening barely indicated; S 2 in lateral view weakly sloping basally, then weakly and evenly convex to apex. T4–T7 and S3–S7 much less sclerotized than preceding segments, somewhat soft.

Frons with small deep punctures, sparser ventrally and becoming denser dorsally, interspace micropunctate and on disc as wide as puncture diameter; vertex punctate similar to frons but interspaces wider and very shiny; gena with punctures becoming progressively sparser ventrally; clypeus with very sparse small and barely visible punctures. Mesosoma with punctures similar to frons but larger; dorsal faces of pronotum with interspaces densely micropunctate and about as wide as puncture diameter, anterior face with slightly smaller punctures and smooth shiny interspaces, lateral faces with much sparser small punctures; mesoscutum with irregular interspaces, 0.5–2.0× as wide as puncture diameter and more shiny than on pronotum, parategula smooth with sparse fine punctures; scutellum similar to mesoscutum but punctures slightly smaller; metanotum almost entirely smooth and shiny, with few fine punctures on posterior face; tegula shiny, smooth on disc and irregularly microsculpted laterally; mesepisternum with very sparse fine punctures barely visible due to dense pubescence; dorsal faces of propodeum strongly shiny with dense very fine micropunctures, few small deep punctures present only along outer margin, disc entirely impunctate; lateral faces of propodeum with deep small punctures, separated by about their diameter; posterior face of propodeum strongly shiny with sparse deep punctures. T1 largely impunctate and smooth on basal sloping part, then densely micropunctate and with small deep punctures separated by about their diameter, sides much more densely micropunctate and barely punctate, preapical furrow with sparse and shallow small punctures; basal sloping part of T2 densely micropunctate and with few very fine punctures, disc of T2 with small deep punctures with interspaces 1.0–3.0× as wide as punctures diameter, punctures becoming larger on sides, preapical thickening largely impunctate and followed by a series of larger punctures bordering the base of the apical lamella; T3 with smaller and sparser punctures than T2, larger on disc and gradually becoming much finer laterally, disappearing before reaching lateral margins, preapical thickening followed by a series of larger punctures similar to T2, but punctures more irregularly arranged; S1 with small deep punctures, interspaces as wide as several puncture diameters and sparsely micropunctate, shiny; S2 shiny and sparsely micropunctate, macropunctures finer and sparser basally and on disc, becoming larger and denser on basal corners and apically, generally punctures smaller on black anchor-shaped marking and larger on pale markings, shallow preapical thickening impunctate and followed by an irregular series of larger punctures bordering the apical lamella; T4–T7 and S3–S7 densely shagreened and matte. Densely pubescent; pubescence on head and mesosoma white with very pale golden reflections on dorsal face, becoming silvery on sides and ventrally, much longer and denser on face, gena, mesepisternum and propodeum where it almost completely hides the underlying surface; dense short erect setae on head and mesosoma, sparser and shorter on clypeus; T1 with very dense pale long pubescence, denser on sides; rest of metasoma with dust-like grayish pubescence, some very sparse and short oblique setae on S2.

Black; following parts red: narrow band along posterior margin of pronotum, posterior margin of scutellum, T1 except basal black spot, lunate marking at apex of S1, and suffused dark spots along apical band of T2; following parts ivory-yellow: clypeus except narrow apical margin, mandible except teeth, lower face of scape, regular anterior band on pronotum excised in the middle, posterior angles of scutellum, most of metanotum, suffused inner margin on tegula, parategula, large circular spot on mesepisternum below tegula, spots on apical corners of propodeum, narrow apical band on T1, lateral oblique spots and narrow apical band on T2, apical band on T3 narrowing laterally, large lateral spots and three times widened apical band on S2 leaving a narrow anchor-shaped black marking in the middle, ventral face of all coxae, outer face of fore and mid legs, small and irregular apical spot on hind femur, line on outer face of hind tibia originating from base but not reaching apex. Wings hyaline with weak brownish tinge along costal margin.

Female. Differing from male as follows: apical margin of clypeus slightly wider and with more acute apical teeth, T1 longer, 1.45–1.55× as long as apically wide, and less densely punctate.

Variability. The female paratypes show some very subtle variations in the extension of the pale markings on metasoma, especially on S2 they can be smaller leaving a thicker black anchor-shaped marking or largely fused and reducing the black marking to some irregular spots.

Distribution. Madagascar: Toliara ( Fig. 63M View FIGURE 63 ).

Etymology. The species epithet is the Latin adjective nivosus , - a, - um (= snowy, covered in snow), in reference to the bright and dense pubescence covering the sides of the mesosoma.