Parascleroderma austrouralicum, Fadeev, 2022

Parascleroderma austrouralicum sp. nov.

( Figs 3–4)

Holotype. Male, Russia, Orenburg Prov ., Saraktashsky Distr. , 35 km SE of Saraktash Settlm., 8 km NNE of Kondurovka Settlm., 51°35′35.4″N 56°43′37.1″E, sweeping over grass, from midday to evening, 7.VIII.2021, K.I. Fadeev leg. ( ZISP). GoogleMaps

Description. Male. Measurements. TL ca 2.50mm;LFW 1.60mm;maximum forewing width 0.70 mm; hind wing length 1.25 mm; hind wing width ca 0.33 mm; LH 0.56 mm (in dorsal view); WH 0.51 mm; WF 0.33 mm; OOL 0.25 mm; LE 0.20 mm; AOL 0.07 mm; WOT 0.17 mm; DAO 0.03 mm; POL 0.10 mm; LM 1.06–1.08 mm; LP 0.12 mm; WP ca 0.50 mm; LMPD ca 0.28 mm; WMPD 0.33 mm; maximum width of sternum VII 0.29 mm; minimum width of sternum VII 0.20 mm; maximum length of genitalia 0.42 mm; maximum width of genitalia 0.50 mm.

Coloration. Head, mesosoma and metasoma almost black. Femur dark brown, antenna brown, tibia and tarsus light brown. Dental margin of mandible red-brown. Wings hyaline, veins beige. Eyes silver. Genitalia semitranslucent, yellow-brown, harpe and terminal parts of volsella dark to black.

Pubescence. Head covered with sparse short erected light setae in length up to diameter of ocellus. Body covered with sparse light setae. Antenna with dense short light setae in length up to one third of antennomere width.

Head (detached from body and mounted separately). Subrectangular and elongate, 1.08–1.10 times as long as wide. Posterior corners of head rounded in dorsal view. Mandible with five teeth, inner of them smaller than external. Labial palpi with two segments. Maxillary palpi missing. Clypeus small. Median clypeal carina low; median clypeal lobe with convex anterior margin in frontal view, obtuse, almost arcuate in dorsal view, with small low median rounded callus. Lateral clypeal lobes small, rounded. Frons with barely noticeable frontal line. Ocelli of equal diameter, relatively small, 0.10 times WF, arranged in obtuse triangle. Grooved area placed in front of anterior ocellus, 3.00 times as long as DAO. Posterior ocelli placed near occipital carina approximately at distance of ocellar diameter. Occipital carina low. Eyes medium-sized, glabrous, almost rounded, smaller than in P. astrakhanicum sp. nov., almost not extending to ventral side of head. Head covered with fine microreticulate sculpture and sparse scattered fine pits located at a distance of length of setae. Left antenna with remaining

12 antennomeres (out of

13). Ratio of lengths of first five antennomeres

10.0:3.0:4.5:5.0:4.5. Antennomeres II–XII 1.3–

1.9 times as long as wide.

Antennomere XIII long,

3.00 times as long as wide.

WH 0.90 times LH. WF

0.65 times WH. WF 1.65

times LE. OOL 1.50 times

WOT. POL 1.50 times

AOL. DAO 0.19–0.20

times WOT.

Mesosoma. Pronotum smoothed, pronotal flange with crudely wrinkled microreticulate sculpture anteriorly. Transverse pronotal carina barely noticeable (visible only in profile). Dorsal pronotal area subtrapezoidal,

without distinct angles and median furrow (or carina) anteriorly, with thin polygonal fine sculpture;

its posterior margin with smooth shallow median notch. Lateral margins of pronotal area concave. Propleuron elongated. Prosternum large, obtuse-triangular, 0.50 times as long as wide, with posterior margin slightly incurved. Prepectus large, not cellular or wrinkled. Anteromesoscutum elliptical, convex. Notaulus narrow, distinct, not cellular, its furrows converging and slightly widening posteriorly. Parapsidal signum weakly expressed, narrow. Mesoscutum–mesoscutellar sulcus arcuate, very narrow in median part. Metanotal fovea subtriangular. Metapectal–propodeal complex slightly wider than long, rounded posteriorly, its disk covered with fine microreticulate sculpture, not shiny. Median carina barely outlined in anterior third. Lateral carina low, located in anterior half of disc; transverse posterior carina absent. Left side of metapectal–propodeal complex with dent-shaped damage.

Wings. Forewing. Vein Rs & M reaching vein Sc+R at distance 1.50–1.60 times longer than pterostigma. Pterostigma smaller than in P. astrakhanicum sp. nov., about 0.60 times as wide as long. Poststigmal abscissa of vein R1 absent. Vein 2r-rs & Rs curved, without angular inflection or fracture.

Legs. Protrochanter long, up to one third of profemur length. Right metaleg lost, except metacoxa; right mesoleg separated from body.

Metasoma. Teardrop-shaped and moderately flattened, not longer than mesosoma, moderately petiolate, smooth and shining. Its segments with thin transverse reticulate pattern; tergites with transverse row of setae closer to posterior margin. Sternum VII with strongly incurved anteri- or margin and barely incurved posterior margin. Hypopygium subtrapezoidal, almost W-shaped, with anterior angles curved upwards, narrowed to its posterior margin, posterior margin incurved, posterior angels rounded, lateral margins very slightly incurved. Minimal width of hypopygium about 0.65 times maximal width, maximal width 2.6 times maximal length (without spiculum). Hypopygium with long median spiculum, that being 1.50 times as long as hypopygium, with a pair of long anteromedial apodemes laterally on anteri- or margin. Posterior margin of hypopygium with long setae up to 0.50 times as long as plate (without spiculum).

Genitalia broad, 1.10 times as long as wide. Their lateral sides convex. Aedeagus slightly shorter than paramere, close to broadly elliptical shape in dorsal view, not bottle-shaped, its apical part with two wedge-shaped lobes with blunt ends, those being noticeably deeply divided (up to third of length) by median notch; lateral sides of aedeagus with groove opposite basivolsella. Basivolsella swollen, volsella of complex shape, close to G-like form; cuspis with sclerotised finger-like process curved inwards and rounded apex; digitus with angular process directed inward in dorsal view and pointed process directed outward in ventral view. Apical part of paramere (harpe) flattened dorsoventrally, sclerotised, with round- ed apex, slightly curved inwards, pubescent at periphery, with very shallow notch on lateral margin near posterior end. Inner margins of basivolsella (directed towards aedeagus) concave.

Female. Unknown.

Comparison. This new species distinctly differs from all the known species of Parascleroderma in the combination of the following characters: (1) the transverse pronotal carina barely noticeable anteriorly; (2) the genitalia broad, with rounded posterior end of the harpe, the latter with a very small notch on the lateral margin near posterior end. The new species has only a weak modification of the anterior margin of pronotum in the form of a transverse carina (in dorsal view) and only a barely noticeable crest (in lateral view), which distinguish this species from European P. fuscipennis (Kieffer, 1905) , P. claripennis ( Móczár, 1966) and P. sulcatifrons (Kieffer, 1908) , which have the highly modified pronotum. The new species is similar to P. fuscipennis and P. claripennis described by Móczár (1966) in the general shape of the genitalia and hypopygium, but has rounded posterior ends of the harpe [ vs. angular in P. fuscipennis ] and differences in the shape of the apical lobes of aedeagus [ vs. translucent and rounded, according to the drawing in Móczár (1966) in P. fuscipennis ] and the shape of volsella, in particular, the basivolsella with a notch on the inner margin of the lateral side [ vs. non-concave in P. fuscipennis ]. The new species is close to P. claripennis in the shape of aedeagus, but has not so long and not pointed posteriorly apical lobes. The rounded posterior end of the harpe in P. austrouralicum sp. nov. resemble that in P. oriana Argaman, 1988 from Israel, but the new species differs from it in the presence of a notch on the lateral margin of the harpe, the shape of aedeagus, in particular, its thicker apical part, and the presence of a barely noticeable modification of the pronotum anteriorly. The new species also resembles Korean P. tetradenticum Lim et Lee S., 2011 , but differs from it in the unexpanded middle part of the aedeagus and in the widened, rounded and sclerotised ends of the harpe posteriorly ( vs. the harpe is elongated, narrow posteriorly). The new species resembles P. hindola Argaman, 1988 from Israel in the dark coloration and a rounded groove on the median part of posterior margin of pronotum, but differs in the shape of pronotum in profile. The difference from another new species from Russia is discussed in the key below.

Etymology. The species name reflects finding of it in the Southern Urals and is derived from the Latin word australis (southern) and the name of the Ural Mountains.

Distribution. Russia, Orenburg Province.

Bionomics. Unknown.