Testudobracon athashi Ranjith, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Sheeba, M.
name: Ranjith, A. P.
name: Narendran, T. C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Testudobracon
Testudobracon athashi

description: Testudobracon athashi Ranjith sp. nov.
(Figs 1–2)
Material examined. Holotype, female, (♀) “ India: Kerala, Kozhikode, Urakkuzhi, 29.xii.2015, coll. A.P. Ranjith ”. Paratypes, 1(♀) with same data as holotype, 1(♀) “ India: Kerala, Kakkayam, 30.xii.2015, coll. A.P. Ranjith ”, 1(♀) & 1(♂) “ India: Kerala, Panikkarkadavu, 29.xii.2015, coll. A.P. Ranjith ” (DZUC).
Description. Holotype, female, length 3.30 mm, antennae 2.30 mm, fore wing 2.80 mm, ovipositor 1.40 mm.
Head. Antennae with 24 segments. Length of first flagellomere 1.10× as long as second flagellomere. First, second and penultimate flagellomeres 1.90, 1.90 and 1.4× as long as wide. Head 1.10, 2.10× as wide as long medially in anterior and dorsal view respectively. Frons longitudinally striate medially, transversely striate laterally without distinct mid longitudinal groove (Fig. 1 C). Vertex transversely rugose, sparsely setose (Fig. 1 C). OOL: diameter of posterior ocellus: POL= 5.1: 1.4: 2.4. Oculo-antennal groove indistinct. Length of eye 1.80× as long as temple in dorsal view. Lateral temples smooth and shiny. Height of eye: width of face: width of head= 6: 6.2: 12.2. Face granulate with posteriorly widened, transversely striated medial triangular area (Fig. 1 B). Height of clypeus: inter-tentorial distance: tentorio-ocular distance= 1.9: 5.8: 3.7. Clypeus with distinct postero-dorsal carina (Fig. 1 B). Length of malar space 1.80× basal width of mandible.
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.10× height. Pronotum sparsely setose with crenulated medial groove laterally. Mesoscutum smooth and shiny, setose, middle lobe without medial longitudinal ridge (Fig. 1 E). Notaulus complete, anteriorly with depressed area, faintly crenulated medially, widely crenulated posteriorly (Fig. 1 E). Scutellar sulcus wide sub medially, divided by six carinae (Fig. 1 E). Scutellum smooth, shiny, setose with a pit antero-medially. Mesopleuron unevenly striated with a deep oval pit medially (Fig. 1 D). Precoxal sulcus indistinct. Metapleuron smooth except posteriorly granulate (Fig. 1 D). Median area of metanotum without mid longitudinal carina. Propodeum with a complete mid longitudinal carina, smooth, setose antero-laterally, rest glabrous.
Wings. Fore wing vein 1SR 0.45× as long as 1-M. ration of length of fore wing veins r: 3-SR: SR1= 1.6: 3.3: 11.4 and 2-SR: 3SR: r-m= 3.4: 3.3: 1.8. Hind wing vein C+SC+R with single hamulus apically. Ratio of length of hind wing veins 1r-m: SC+R1= 4.1: 2.
Legs. Length of fore femur: tibia: tarsus= 7.4:7.6:8.3. Hind coxa smooth, setose. Length of hind femur: tibia: basitarsus= 10.9:12:4.3.
Metasoma. First metasomal tergite rugose, 0.80× as long as wide apically with a longitudinally impressed area medially and posterior carinae. Second metasomal tergite rugose, 2.60× wider than long with postero-lateral groove, setose (Fig. 2 A). Third metasomal tergite, rugose, setose (Fig. 2 A). Second metasomal suture sinuate medially (Fig. 2 A). Fourth and fifth metasomal tergites faintly rugose, sparsely setose. Sixth metasomal tergite with rounded postero-lateral lobes, lateral margins faintly serrate, medial emargination deep (Fig. 2 B), 0.80× as long as tergite medially. Ovipositor 0.84, 0.50× as long as metasoma and fore wing respectively.
Colour. Body dark yellow (Fig. 1 A) except antennae, tarsi, propodeum antero-laterally and medially, hind femur and hind tibiae sub apically, first metasomal tergite sub apically, third metasomal tergite medially and sub laterally (Fig. 2 A), metasomal tergite 3–5 postero-laterally (Fig. 1 F), pterostigma (Fig. 2 D), fore wing vein C+SC+R, ovipositor sheath dark brown (Fig. 2 C), ocelli (Fig. 1 C) and venation light yellow (Fig. 2 D).
Male. Similar to female except for the following, third metasomal tergite completely yellow and sixth metasomal tergite without medial semicircular emargination.
Distribution. India (Kerala) (Fig. 9).
Host. Unknown.
Etymology. APR dedicates this species to Mr. Athash Nasser for being such a joyful and wonderful person.
Comments. Testudobracon athashi sp. nov. is similar to T. malabaricus sp. nov. in having the similar colour pattern of third metasomal tergite and scutellar sulcus divided by six carinae. However, it differs from the latter in having the following characters: sixth tergite with medial emargination touching the basal sulcus (not touching the basal sulcus in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), frons longitudinally striate medially, transversely striate laterally (frons granulate in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), length of malar space 1.80× basal width of mandible (1.40× in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), mesoscutum without moderately developed mid longitudinal ridge (with moderately developed mid longitudinal ridge in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), vertex transversely rugose (granulate in T. malabaricus sp. nov.), first, second and penultimate flagellomeres 1.90, 1.90 and 1.40× as long as wide respectively (first, second and penultimate flagellomeres 2.80, 2.40, and 2.00× their maximum width, respectively in T. malabaricus sp. nov.). Testudobracon athashi sp. nov. is comes close to T. tatyanae and T. unicolorus in having the sixth metasomal tergite with medial emargination touching the basal sulcus of the tergite, but it differs from these two species in having mesoscutum uniformly setose (mesoscutum setose medio-posteriorly and along the notaular line in T. tatyanae and T. unicolorus), second metasomal tergite 2.60× wider than long (less than 2.60× wider than long in T. tatyanae and T. unicolorus), notauli widely crenulate posteriorly (notauli weak in T. tatyanae and T. unicolorus).
description: Published as part of Sheeba, M., Ranjith, A. P. & Narendran, T. C., 2017, Review of Testudobracon Quicke (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) with descriptions of four new species from south India, pp. 331-346 in Zootaxa 4232 (3) on pages 334-336, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/293222