Saphonecrus naiquanlini Melika, Acs and Bechtold 2004
Creators: name: Lobato-Vila, Irene
name: Wang, Yiping
name: Melika, George
name: Guo, Rui
name: Ju, Xiaoxue
name: Pujade-Villar, Juli
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Saphonecrus
Saphonecrus naiquanlini

description: Saphonecrus naiquanlini Melika, Ács and Bechtold, 2004
Saphonecrus naiquanlini Melika, Ács and Bechtold in Melika et al. (2004). Acta Zool. Hung. 50: 334. Type material: IZCAS (holotype), paratypes in IZCAS and PHMBL.
Diagnosis: Saphonecrus naiquanlini belongs to a group of species (S. shanzhukui, S. shirakashii and S. shirokashicola) characterized by having lateral pronotal carina and tarsal claws with a basal lobe. It differs from S. shirokashicola by the malar space being 0.6x as long as height of eye (0.5 in S. shirokashicola), POL 2.5x as long as OOL (2.0 in S. shirokashicola), notauli complete (incomplete, short, in S. shirokashicola) and female syntergite dorsodistally incised (not incised in S. shirokashicola). It differs from S. shirakashii by the transfacial distance being as long as height of eye (longer in S. shirakashii), POL 2.5x as long as OOL (3.0 in S. shirokashii) and mesoscutum with weak interrupted transversal carinae (delicately coriaceous to alutaceous in S. shirakashii). Lastly, it differs from S. shanzhukui by the malar space being 0.6x as long as height of eye (0.7 in S. shanzhukui), the vertex delicately coriaceous with very weak, delicate dense transverse rugae (alutaceous to smooth in S. shanzhukui), and OOL slightly longer than diameter of lateral ocellus (1.6 in S. shanzhukui). See also the key to species below.
Distribution: Mainland China. Zhejiang Province (Melika et al. 2004; Wang et al. 2010).
Biology: Unknown (Melika et al. 2004; Wang et al. 2010).
Remarks: According to both the original description and drawings given in Melika et al. (2004: 332, 334), this species has the speculum smooth and shining, without striae, and POL 3.5x as long as OOL. However, the photos of one of the paratypes of S. naiquanlini provided by Schwéger et al. (2015b: 69) reveal that the speculum is completely striate, and that POL is at most 2.5x as long as OOL. Other differences observed between the photos provided by Schwéger et al. (2015b) and the original description are that the malar space is 0.6x as long as height of eye (0.5 in the original description) and F11 is almost 2.0x as long as F10 (1.3 in the original description). Furthermore, S. naiquanlini is keyed out twice in the morphological key provided by Schwéger et al. (2015b: 12): one for specimens measuring more than 2.5 mm in length and with the mesoscutum strongly transversely carinate, and the other for specimens spanning from 1.3–2.0 mm in length and with the mesoscutum coriaceous, without or with weak carinae. This species shows no size nor sculptural variability, with all the specimens belonging to the type series being 2.0 mm long and having the mesoscutum weakly carinate, according to the original description; so, the option for larger specimens with a stronger sculpture in the key is incorrect.
description: Published as part of Lobato-Vila, Irene, Wang, Yiping, Melika, George, Guo, Rui, Ju, Xiaoxue & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2021, A Taxonomic Review of the Gall Wasp Genus Saphonecrus Dalla-Torre and Kieffer and other Oak Cynipid Inquilines (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) from Mainland China, with Updated Keys to Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental Species, pp. 1-25 in Zoological Studies (Zool. Stud.) (Zool. Stud.) 60 (10) on page 14, DOI: 10.6620/ZS.2021.60-10, http://zenodo.org/record/8070439