Thaumasura keralica Binoy, 2022

Thaumasura keralica Binoy , nom. nov. ( Figs 1 & 2)

https://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ 460A3038-5B68-4E71-A559-B89ADAE4CFB6

Thaumasura indica Sureshan & Binoy, 2019:488–493 , Holotype ♀ (ZSIK).

Type material. Holotype ♀, mounted on triangular card. India: Kerala, Idukki district, Elappara ( 09°38'18.1"N and 76°58'56.8" E, 1030 m), 23.v.2019, Coll. C. Binoy, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV. 12755 GoogleMaps ; Paratype ♂, same details as that of Holotype. ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.12756

Diagnosis. Female ( Fig. 1). Head 2.0 × as wide as long and in front view as wide as high in dorsal view; lower margin of clypeus emarginate, malar sulcus distinct; gena striate reticulate; malar space 0.5× eye length in profile; POL almost equal to OOL; antenna with scape just short of reaching anterior ocellus, widened in the upper half, pedicel distinctly longer than all the remaining segments; mesoscutum 1.2× as wide as long, transversely striate reticulate in the upper half and punctate reticulate in the lower half; propodeum medially 0.2× median length of scutellum, median area narrow, almost shiny with rugae forming irregular foveae, plicae and post-spiracular sulcus absent; fore wing with basal cell completely hairy, speculum closed below; petiole transverse, posterior margin of Gt 1 straight and smooth, Gt 2 –Gt 5 emarginate, Gt 6 straight; Gt 2 –Gt 4 transverse striate reticulate, finer on Gt 2, more than half of Gt 5 distinctly transverse striate reticulate, rest of tergites microreticualte; gaster (excluding ovipositor) 1.6× as long as rest of the body; syntergum 0.65× as long as ovipositor sheaths.

Male. ( Fig. 2) Similar to female but differs in the structure of propodeum; gastral petiole wider than long, basal half with carinae and hind part smooth and shiny, gaster beyond Gt 1 tubular, hind margin of Gt 1 with sharp indentation, all tergites shiny.

Distribution. India, Kerala ( Binoy & Sureshan, 2020).

Note. Binoy and Sureshan (2020) reported the first valid discovery of the genus Thaumasura from the Indian subcontinent and formally compared with T. brevicaudata and T. femoralis describing the new species naming it as T. indica looking past the combination with Balcha . Considering that this name is already preoccupied by Thaumasura indica Mani and Kaul , a replacement name, Thaumasura keralica nom. nov., is proposed for it under the provisions of Article 60 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ( Ride et al., 1999). The new name refers to the Indian state of Kerala from where the holotype was collected.