Malagassodynerus concolor, Selis, 2025

Malagassodynerus concolor sp. nov.

( Figs 42 View FIGURE 42 , 65D View FIGURE 65 )

Diagnosis. Recognized by the following combination of characters: clypeus broadly and shallowly emarginate ( Fig. 42A View FIGURE 42 ), mesosoma elongate and almost parallel-sided ( Fig. 42A View FIGURE 42 ), anterior margin of pronotum broad V-shaped ( Fig. 42D View FIGURE 42 ), mesepisternum with blunt epicnemial carina abruptly separating it from epicnemium ( Fig. 42C View FIGURE 42 ), T1 shallowly depressed in apical half and with duplicated margin ( Fig. 42E View FIGURE 42 ), S2 evenly convex in lateral view, pattern dark brown-red with few pale markings on face of male ( Fig. 42A View FIGURE 42 ). The morphology of mesosoma, pronotum and T1 allow an immediate identification within Malagassodynerus .

Type material examined. HOLOTYPE: ♂ labelled “ CASENT / 2081312 // MADAGASCAR: Toliara / Forêt Vohidava 88.9 km N / Amboasary , 6–8 Dec 2006 / 24°14'26"S 46°17'16"E / Coll: B.L. Fisher et al. // CASLOT 035404 / malaise, 500m / BLF15694 // Malagassodynerus concolor / HOLOTYPUS ♂ / Det. Marco Selis 2024 [red label]” ( CAS, code CASTYPE21758). GoogleMaps

Description. Male holotype ( Fig. 42B View FIGURE 42 ). Body length 10.0 mm; fore wing length 9.0 mm.

Head 1.2× as wide as high. Clypeus in frontal view 1.05× as wide as long, free apical part about half as long as interocular part, apical margin emarginate and 0.3× as wide as clypeus, emargination 3.2× as wide as deep, apical teeth triangular and pointed with very short and week carinae; clypeus in lateral view evenly and weakly convex. Vertex 2.45× as long as ocellocular distance, almost evenly flattened in lateral view. Gena 0.85× as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina complete and sharp, very fine on vertex and becoming progressively stronger on gena, where it is shortly lamellate and thick. F1 1.8× as long as wide and 1.4× as long as F2, F2–F4 slightly longer than wide, F5–F9 subquadrate, F11 finger-shaped, in lateral view evenly and weakly curved and rounded at apex, reaching base of F8, in dorsal view curved outwards, F4–F8 slightly nodose in lateral view. Mesosoma 1.4× as long as wide, almost parallel-sided and weakly converging anteriorly. Pronotum with straight and weakly converging sides; pronotal carina complete and shortly lamellate, becoming very blunt below pronotal fovea, in dorsal view it is broadly V-shaped and projection anteriorly on humeri, in anterior view the carina is emarginated in a V-shape in the middle; pretegular carina well-developed and sharp. Mesoscutum evenly and weakly convex in lateral view. Scutellum very weakly convex but with anterior margin distinctly placed above level of mesoscutum, anterior margin crenulate even if little evident in median third; axillary fossa small and elliptical, about half as wide as an ocellar diameter. Metanotum strongly sloping, nearly vertical, and evenly convex. Tegula slightly longer than wide, outer margin evenly convex, posterior lobe short and right-angled, not equaling parategula; parategula digitiform and strongly curved in apical half, shallowly depressed medially. Mesepisternum weakly and dorsoventrally evenly convex, abruptly separated from epicnemium by very blunt epicnemial carina running for most of its length below epipleural suture; epimeron weakly projecting at its lower end. Dorsal margin of metaepisternum produced in a sharp margin slightly lobate at posterior end. Propodeum short, in lateral view falling nearly vertically from posterior margin of metanotum; dorsal faces of propodeum widely separated above and nearly vertical, separated from posterior depression only by a shallow angled and change in sculpture; lateral faces of propodeum flattened, posterodorsally margined by blunt lateral carina markedly separating them from dorsal faces; posterior face of propodeum concave, forming two transverse pits above propodeal orifice, mid-line with short and narrow basal fovea, about one-third as long as median length of metanotum, strongly but bluntly carinate below; submarginal carina of propodeum forming a short rounded lobe at upper end of valvula, with which it is completely fused. T 1 in dorsal view subtriangular, with weakly convex and anteriorly converging sides, about as long as apically wide; T 1 in lateral view raising obliquely behind insertion of suspensory ligament, weakly bulging just behind middle, and then weakly depressed up to shallowly reflexed apical margin; apical margin of T1 thickened and duplicated, with a preapical shallowly reflexed ridge separated from the apical translucent margin by a steep step. T 2 in dorsal view about as long as wide and with convex sides, distinctly wider than T1 and much wider apically than basally; apical margin of T2 somewhat duplicated, with an extremely shallow preapical ridge. S 2 in lateral view evenly convex.

Head and mesosoma with deep punctures, interspaces densely micropunctate and very narrow on frons and about as wide as puncture diameter on mesosoma; clypeus with rounded shallow punctures, interspaces micropunctate and mostly wider than puncture diameter; mesepisternum with wider interspaces and micropunctures less marked; punctures on metanotum smaller and denser; propodeum matte due to shagreen and micropunctures, dorsal faces with punctures similar to metanotum but sparser, posterior face irregularly punctate and shallowly striate, lateral faces with scattered small punctures. Metasoma silky-shiny due to fine shagreen; T1 with very fine and scattered punctures on anterior sloping part, then with deep oblique punctures of variable size and density; T2 with oblique punctures, very fine and sparse basally and becoming progressively larger and denser apically and on sides; T3–T5 with dense and deep punctures, finer basally and coarser apically; T6–T7 with scattered fine punctures, little visible on T7; S1 with sparse deep punctures; S2 similar to T2 but punctures deeper and sparser; S3–S7 with punctures much sparser than on respective tergites. Covered in short pale brown-yellow pubescence, generally short and appressed and visible in incident light, with short erect setae on frons and long fine setae on sides of propodeum; pubescence on propodeum denser and slightly longer, pointing upward on dorsal faces and then curving to point downward on posterior face; pubescence on metasoma dust-like, with short erect setae on T3–T7 and apex of tergites; apical margin of S7 with a dense and regular brush of yellowish-white setae.

Dark red-brown, brighter on head, mesoscutum, upper plate of mesepisternum, apical tergites and sternites, and legs. Basal triangle of mandible, apical half of clypeus and interantennal space pale yellow. Wings hyaline with very weak yellowish tinge, venations darker at extreme base and apex, very pale in the middle.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution. Madagascar: Toliara ( Fig. 65D View FIGURE 65 ).

Etymology. The species epithet is the Latin adjective “ concolor ” (= of uniform color), in reference to the monochromatic meso- and metasoma, lacking the yellow markings of the similar M. scutellatus .