Sycophila (Sycophila) chirindensis Lotfalizadeh & Delvare & Cruaud & Rasplus 2024, sp. n.
Creators: name: Lotfalizadeh, Hossein
name: Delvare, Gérard
name: Cruaud, Astrid
name: Rasplus, Jean-Yves
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eurytomidae
Sycophila
Sycophila chirindensis

description: Sycophila (Sycophila) chirindensis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.   
(Figs 58–60)  
  Type material examined. Holotype  ♀: United Republic of Tanzania, Mazumbai, ex syconia of Ficus chirindensis, 16.iii.1996, Rasplus J.-Y. & Kerdelhué C. leg. Deposited in CBGP. Paratypes: same data as holotype, 2♀ & 1♂. United Republic of Tanzania, Syanya Juu (near to Moshi), ex syconia of Ficus glumosa, 31.iii.1996, Rasplus J.-Y. & Kerdelhué C. leg., 2♀. Mgwashi, -4.767051° 38.487671°, ex syconia of Ficus thonningii, 20.iii.1996, Rasplus J.-Y. & Kerdelhué C. leg., 3♀. Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Lamto, 6.222197° -5.024070°, ex syconia of Ficus trichopoda, 15.iv.1995, Kerdelhué C. leg., 5♀. Same data, ex syconia of Ficus saussureana, 22.vi.1989, Rasplus J.-Y. leg., 1♀. Kenya, Kakamega Forest, Kisere, 3.ii.2006, ex syconia of Ficus thonningii, Hiller Y. leg., 2♀.   
 Etymology. The specific name refers to the host species.   
 Diagnosis. Female head, mesosoma and gaster with a distinct dark band dorsally (Fig. 58A). Funiculars distinctly long, longer than wide (Fig. 58B). Propodeum with median carina (Fig. 59B). Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent; Gt4 longer than Gt5 dorsally (Figs 59D, E).   
Body of male mostly dark, but partly yellowish (Fig. 60A). Flagellum with fu1–fu4 longer than wide, clava very long, longer than funiculars together (Fig. 60C). Fore wing entirely setose, speculum narrow (Fig. 60B).  
 Description of holotype ♀ (Figs 58–59). Length 3.20 mm. Body yellowish (Fig. 58A), except ocellar region, mandibular teeth, mesosoma dorsomedially, propodeum basally, gaster dorsally and ovipositor distally dark and antennal scrobe dark brown; fore wing with a dark brown spot below mv, reaching base of mv, lower margin of mv not obscured by dark brown spot (Fig. 58A); gaster bicoloured with dorsal edge dark brown (Fig. 59D); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.   
 Head 1.5× as broad as high [HW 195 & HH 130] (Fig. 58C); in dorsal view stout, 1.88× as broad as long [HW 195 & HL 104] (Fig. 58D); face and vertex coriaceous with sparse punctures; malar space 0.48× length of eye [ms 50 & EH 104]; malar sulcus distinct, straight (Fig. 58E); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly separated, interantennal space not raised, not carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, not carinate on margin; POL 1.67× as long as OOL [POL 30 & OOL 18]; temple rounded, 0.37× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 22 & EL 60] (Fig. 58D); setation oriented downwards on face, outwards on the punctuate frons.   
 Antenna. Scape not reaching median ocellus, 4.38× as long as broad [SL 70 & SW 16]; fu1 1.77× as long as broad [fu1L 53 & fu1W 30], distinctly longer than pedicel, not bulging dorsally; funiculars (fu2–fu4) with two rows of mps and 2–3 whorls of adpressed setae; fu2–fu5 slightly longer than broad (Fig. 58B).   
 Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.5× as long as wide (160:105), with obliterate punctures (Fig.59A);pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures; mesepisternum raised medially, with piliferous sculpture on epicnemium, being closer to anteroventral margin of mesepisternum than to mesocoxa; mesoscutum 0.5× as long as wide (55:105), 0.7× longer than length of pronotal collar (55:80), mainly with dense umbilicate punctures, transversely strigose anteriorly; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture; prepectus bare, smooth medially; mesoscutum sparsely umbilicate, coriaceous laterally and densely coriaceous on mesoscutellar disc; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum (Fig. 59B) with deep median depression, without smooth median band, and with a distinct median carina, lateral rows of areolae short (extending at most to half-length of propodeum); basal carina inverted V, truncate mesally, lateral branches step like; width of basal carinae less than 0.5× width of nucha.   
 Fore wing with short marginal fringe, apically subtruncate (pointed anteriorly); dark brown spot below mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv distinctly enlarged, rounded, lower margin convex, not longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell sparsely setose, dorsally bare; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent (Fig. 59F).   
 Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (30:10) and hind femora (30:10); hind tibia dorsally with 12 setae, setae shorter than hind tibia width.   
 Metasoma. Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present. Metasoma 1.4× as long as wide (165:115) (Fig. 59D),with gaster longer than mesosoma, strongly compressed laterally and dorsally angulate (Fig. 59E); ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent; petiole in dorsal view longer than wide, shorter than half length of hind coxa; tergites smooth,Gt4 (in lateral view) much as long as Gt3 (at least 1.5× longer), not sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6, sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 with few setae dorsally, Gt6 entirely but sparsely setose, with long setae; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned (Fig. 59D).   
 Male (Fig. 60). Length 2.25 mm. Similar to female with longer petiole (Fig. 60A); exhibiting entirely different colouration, body dark except pronotum anterolaterally, fore and mid legs, hind legs partly yellowish; clava very long, longer than fu1–fu4 together, each funicular with 2 rows of mps and 2–3 whorls setae (Fig. 60C). Fore wing entirely setose, with a relatively narrow speculum (Fig. 60B).   
 Variation. Length 1.76–3.20 mm. Dark band of mesosoma varies from a wide dark brown band to slightly brownish band.   
 Host plants. Ficus chirindensis, F. glumosa, F. natalensis, F. sycomorus, F. saussureana, F. thonningii and F. trichopoda.   
 Geographical distribution. Kenya, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and United Republic of Tanzania.
description: Published as part of Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), pp. 1-190 in Zootaxa 5401 (1) on pages 89-92, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5401.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10524258