Prionyx (Harpactopus) saevus
Creators: name: Odintsev, Yuriy N. Danilov Oleg A.
name: Kobets, Anastasia S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Sphecidae
Prionyx
Prionyx saevus

description: Prionyx (Harpactopus) saevus (F. Smith, 1856)
(Figs 1d, 4b, 5f, 6f, 10d)
Harpactopus saevus F. Smith 1856:265, ♀, ♂. Syntypes: “ Australia (Swan River; Cape Upstart)” [Australia: Western Australia: Swan River, no specific locality; Queensland: Cape Upstart National Park] (BMNH).— de Saussure 1867:42; Froggatt 1892:211.— As Sphex saevus: Kohl 1890:366; Dalla Torre 1897:440; R. Turner 1910:343; Berland 1926:206.— As Prionyx saevus: R. Bohart & Menke 1976:134; Dollfuss 2008:1414; Danilov & Odintsev 2023:433; Pulawski 2024:29.
Sphex harpax Kohl 1898:333, ♂. Holotype: ♂, “Insula Timor” [Timor Island, no specific locality] (TMB).— As Priononyx harpax: van der Vecht 1957:352.— As Prionyx saevus harpax: R. Bohart & Menke 1976:134; Pulawski 2024:30.
Full bibliography see: Pulawski 2024:29.
Diagnosis. Both sexes of P. saevus closely resemble P. subfuscatus, P. crudelis, and P. judaeus. The female of P. saevus differs from P. crudelis and P. judaeus in having the head and mesosoma with pale setae, propodeal enclosure without long, dense, black setae, tarsal rake of foreleg only with some long, stout, bladelike setae (P. crudelis and P. judaeus have the head and mesosoma with dark setae, the propodeal enclosure with long, dense, hairlike black setae, the tarsal rake of the foreleg with long, stout, bladelike and some hairlike setae). The male of P. saevus differs from P. crudelis and P. judaeus in having the propodeal enclosure without long, dense, black setae (propodeal enclosure with long, dense, hairlike black setae in P. crudelis and P. judaeus).
The female of P. saevus differs from P. subfuscatus in having the mandible reddish mesally (mandible black in P. subfuscatus). The male of P. saevus differs from P. subfuscatus in having F3–F4 with placoids and S4–S6 with long black setae apically (F3–F6 with placoids and S4–S6 without long black setae in P. subfuscatus).
Description. Head. Labial palpomeres 2–4 usual. Vertex, occiput and gena microsculptured, punctate. Mesosoma. Pronotum moderately angulate laterodorsally, finely rugose. Scutum, mesopleuron, metapleuron, and propodeum areolate-rugose, slightly shiny. Scutellum slightly longitudinally depressed, longitudinlly rugose and punctate. Metanotum slightly tuberculate dorsally. Wings yellow in venation zone, smoky apically; veins light brown to yellow; recurrent vein II of forewing received by submarginal cell III. Legs. Claws with 2 ventral teeth; arolia present.
Male. Body length 15–22 mm. Body black with black erect setae. Head. Labrum trapeziform. Clypeus with wide V-shaped median emargination. Clypeus, subantennal sclerite and paraocular area with appressed, silvery setae, moderately concealing integument. F3–F6 with narrow, depressed placoids. Mesosoma. Propodeal enclosure with long, sparse black setae. Metasoma. S4–S6 with long black setae; S6 entire, without teeth.
Female. Body length 20–28 mm. Body black with light erect setae. Head. Labrum trapeziform, emarginate apically. Mandible reddish mesally. Clypeus angulate, with U-shaped median notch. Clypeus, subantennal sclerite, paraocular area and frons with appressed, goldish or silvery setae, concealing integument. Mesosoma. Pronotum and scutum with sparse semiappressed, goldish or silvery setae, not concealing integument. Propodeal enclosure with sparse light setae. Legs. Tarsal rake of foreleg with long, stout, bladelike and some short, hairlike setae.
Material examined. None.
Distribution. Semi-arid areas of Australasian region (Australia, Indonesia (Lesser Sunda Islands)).
description: Published as part of Odintsev, Yuriy N. Danilov Oleg A. & Kobets, Anastasia S., 2024, A taxonomic study on the genus Prionyx Vander Linden, 1827 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Prionychini). Subgenus Harpactopus F. Smith, 1856, pp. 263-298 in Zootaxa 5551 (2) on pages 280-281, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5551.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/14421160