Anthidium (Proanthidium) amandum Kasparek, 2025

Anthidium (Proanthidium) amandum Kasparek sp. nov.

Barcode Index Number (BIN): BOLD:ADX0213 (generated from DNA sequences from Oman and Saudi Arabia).

Material. HOLOTYPE: Male ; SAUDI ARABIA: Jizan r., 3 km E Al Madayah [ 16.77°N 42.77°E]; 22.ii.2024; leg. M. Halada; CMK GoogleMaps .— PARATYPES: 1 ♂; same data as holotype; CMK.— Madinah, Badr Hunayn [ 23.79°N 38.80°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀; 30.iii.2025; leg. M. Halada; CMK.— Madinah, 40km SW Al Hinakiyah [ 24.69°N 40.12°E] GoogleMaps ; 3 ♀ 4 ♂; 28.iii.2025; leg. M. Halada; CMK.— Makkah, 25km SE Mecca [ 21.23°N 39.95°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀; 07.iv.2025; leg. M. Halada; CMK.— OMAN: nr. Taww village [ 23.49°N 57.95°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂; 03.iii.2018; NHMUK 010819723 About NHMUK .— Samed Ashan, Asswareej [ 22.82°N 58.15°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂; 05.i.2017; leg. Ali Al-Jahdhami; NHMUK.— Yalooni [Jalooni] [ 19.56°N 57.06°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂; 14.xii.1992; CMK.—Ash Sharqiyah Jaalan Bani Bu Ali [ 21.28°N 59.40°E]; 1 ♂; 15.iv.2013; leg. J. Halada; CMK.— Dhofar, 35 km N Thumrait, Hanfit [ 17.98°N 54.01°E] GoogleMaps ; 2 ♂; 21.ix.2023; leg. Ch. Schmid-Egger; CSE.— Dschanub asch-Scharqiyya, 20 km S Al Ashkharah , beach [ 21.69°N 59.48°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♀; 13.i.2025; leg. S. Hopfenmüller; CMK.— 10 km N Rustaq Ash Shibika [ 23.54°N 57.46°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂; 09.iii.2022; leg. Ch. Schmid-Egger; CSE.—Dhaufur Thumrait , 35 km N KF Desert Farm [ 17.97°N 54.00°E] GoogleMaps ; 3 ♀; 21.ix.2023; leg. W. H. Liebig; CSE.— YEMEN: Wadi Dawar NW Mukallah [ 15.15°N 48.43°E] GoogleMaps ; 2 ♀ 1 ♂; 20.x.2005; leg. J. Halada; CMK.— SE Sunak, Saywun [ 15.68°N 48.86°E] GoogleMaps ; 1 ♂; 10.x.2005; leg. J. Halada; CMK.

Other material examined: SUDAN: “G. R. S. Medani ” [= Gezira Research Station Medani] [ 14.39°N 33.54°E]; 1 ♀; 28.iv.1976; leg. Mrs. Kisha GoogleMaps ; NHMUK ( Ent. Coll. C 30846 / C.I.E. Coll. A. 3907) .

Diagnosis. This species is similar to A. minimum , but can be distinguished in both sexes by the presence of uninterrupted yellow tergal bands. In contrast, A. minimum exhibits lateral tergal bands that are slight interrupted medially. The junction where these two bands meet in A. minimum appears as a narrow, light reddish-brown line accompanied by a small, red-brown wedge-shaped incision on the anterior side—most clearly visible on tergite 2 ( T 2). Anthidium amandum is further distinguished from A. minimum by yellow legs, at most some black maculation on the inner face of the tibiae, while the legs of A. minimum have yellow legs with extensive red-brown and black maculation. No species-level differences were observed in the male genitalia or the shape of sternum 8 (S8) (see Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ).

Description. The species occurs in three distinct colour morphs, distinguishable by the ground colour of the mesosoma. Type A: both scutum and scutellum black; Type B: scutum black, scutellum red-brown; Type C: both scutum and scutellum red-brown.

Female: Total length: 7–8 mm. Intertegular distance: 1.8–2.2 mm; marginal cell length: 1.2–1.4 mm.— Head: Clypeus, lower paraocular area, narrow upper paraocular stripe along eye orbit, supraclypeal area, gena, and preoccipital area yellow; remainder black or red-brown. Mandible yellow, teeth brown; 7-10 teeth (5 large and variable number of small teeth). Antenna light reddish-brown; scape yellow beneath.— Mesosoma : Scutum black or red-brown, finely punctate; boomerang-shaped anterolateral yellow band; scutellum and axillae crescent-shaped, swollen; yellow with black or red-brown base of scutellum. Legs yellow.— Metasoma: T 1- T 5 with broad bicoloured red-brown and black depressions, very finely punctate, punctures almost to apical margin; depressions narrow laterally, longer medially; yellow tergal bands on disc uninterrupted. T 6 yellow, with narrow translucent lamella and apical string incision. Ventral scopa silvery-yellow.

Male: Total length: 7–8 mm. Intertegular distance: 1.9–2.3 mm; marginal cell length: 1.2–1.6 mm.— Head: Clypeus, lower paraocular area, narrow upper paraocular stripe along eye orbit, gena and preoccipital area yellow; upper paraocular stripe merged with preoccipital stripe in type B and C (separate in type A). Ground colour as scutum (per colour type). Antenna red-brown, scape yellow beneath. Clypeus trapezoid. Mandible yellow with three strong teeth. Face with long white hair, obscuring underlying structure ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ). Pronotal lobe with high anterior lamella. — Mesosoma : As in the female. Yellow longitudinal stripe next to the midline present in light individuals.— Metasoma: As in the female with black, dark brown and/or light red-brown depression and yellow disc. T 6 yellow with lateral acute projections and a broad, translucent semi-rectangular median projection. T 7 projecting, widely rounded, with translucent lamella. S6 semicircular with low lateral projection. S8 with truncate, median apical projection, obliquely sloping laterally ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ). Penis valves with strong, horn-like projections ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ).

Genetic analysis ( Table 1). In the phylogenetic tree, the clade groups with Anthidium , Subgenus Proanthidium , and is sister to A. minimum ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ). The haplotype network confirms the distinctiveness of these two taxa, with no intermediate haplotypes ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). The overall genetic distance (intergroup distance using the Tajima–Nei model) between these two taxa is 3.31%, with within-group distances of 0.54% in A. amandum and 0.35% in A. minimum .

Derivation nominis. The specific epithet amandum is derived from the Latin gerundive of amare, meaning “worthy of being loved” or “beloved.” It serves as a reference to Anthidium amabile (a name with a very similar meaning), which was previously used for a closely related sibling species. However, the latter name was found to be a junior homonym and thus rendered invalid under the rules of zoological nomenclature.

Distribution. This species is found along the southeastern flank of the Arabian Peninsula, ranging from Oman through Yemen to southern Saudi Arabia. Its range also extends westward to Sudan in Africa ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ).