Lepidura nigricephala Araujo & Vivallo 2018, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Araujo, Rodrigo O.
name: Vivallo, Felipe
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Lepidura
Lepidura nigricephala

description: Lepidura nigricephala Araujo & Vivallo, sp. nov.
(Figs. 5, 7, 8)
Diagnosis: Grayish pubescence covering entire body, though not abundant in any region. Head mostly black, with brown line between eye and gena. Antenna brown. Mandible bidentate (Fig. 7). Mesoscutum and mesothorax dark brown, propodeum emerald green. All coxae, trochanters, femur and tibiae emerald green, tarsi brown. Metasoma with T1–T3 emerald green, T4–9 dark brown, except brown hypopygium (Fig. 8). Ovipositor sheath long, dark brown, lighter on posterior apex.
Description. Holotype female (Figs. 7, 8). Approximate body length: 6.0 mm. Fore wing length: 6.7 mm; antenna length: 6.1 mm; number of flagellomeres: 41; head 1.00× as wide as high (front view); distance between eye and lateral ocellus 1.00× as long as diameter of lateral ocellus; frons smooth,; clypeus 0.50× as wide as high; mandible 5.70× as long as basal width (front view); mandible with two well developed teeth; mandible basal width 2.65× as long as malar space; pronotum polished; hind femur 4.25× as long as wide; hind tibia 9.35× as long as wide; hind basitarsus 11.30× as long as wide; mesosoma generally smooth, polished and finely punctate; areolet large, rhombic, 1.00× as wide as long; hind wing with 6 hamuli; propodeum smooth, with isolated punctures; costula distinct; areola delimited by median longitudinal carina and anterior and posterior transverse carina (Fig. 3); postpetiole 1.80× as long as maximum width; glymma deep, seemingly with thin membrane between both sides; T1–T7 smooth, with isolated punctures; T2 4.00× as long as its height (lateral view); hypopygium large and triangular in lateral view, 1.50× as long as wide; ovipositor sheath, 5.80× as long as basal width.
Male: Unknown
Type material: Holotype female: Valdivia 25/09/2007 Cecilia Ruiz (UACh).
Type locality. CHILE: Región de Los Ríos: Valdivia.
Distribution (Fig. 5): CHILE: Región de Los Ríos: Valdivia.
Etymology: From the latim “ nigris ” (black) and “ cephalus ” (head), in reference to the head color in this species.
Comments: Lepidura nigricephala sp. nov. is very similar to L. improcera, particularly in the large number of flagellomeres and the color pattern. The two species can be differentiated by the number of flagellomeres (41 in L. nigricephala sp. nov., 43 in L. improcera), head color (entirely black in L. nigricephala sp. nov. (Fig. 1), dorsal half black and ventral half green in L. improcera) and the propodeum (green in L. nigricephala sp. nov., black in L. improcera). The holotype will be deposited at Museo de Historia Natural de Santiago (MHNS).
description: Published as part of Araujo, Rodrigo O. & Vivallo, Felipe, 2018, Taxonomic revision of Lepidura Townes, 1971 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Mesochorinae) with the description of three new species, new distribution records and a key to the all known species, pp. 215-229 in Zootaxa 4514 (2) on pages 218-222, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4514.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/2607942