Synergus laticephalus Nieves-Aldrey & Medianero, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Nieves-Aldrey, Jose Luis
name: Medianero, Enrique
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Synergus
Synergus laticephalus

description: Synergus laticephalus Nieves-Aldrey & Medianero sp. nov.
(Figs. 1 B, 3C, 5B, 7E, 8B, 10E, 13B, 15B, 17A, 18C)
Type material. Holotype ̩ (Fig. 18 C) (in MNCN, Madrid, Spain), card-mounted. Cat. nº 2096). PANAMA, Chiriquí, Boquete, El Salto, 8º 47' 32.08” N, 82º 27' 37.09” W, 1,431 m; ex gall of an unidentified cynipid genus on twigs of Quercus salicifolia Née (Fagaceae) (Fig. 22 G), gall collected 19.vii.2008, E. Medianero leg. Paratypes: 4̩, same data as holotype.
Additionally, 1̩ paratype of the type series was dissected for SEM observations (in the MNCN).
Etymology. Named after the short, wide shape of its head.
Diagnosis and comments. This species is closely related to S. elegans, being similar in color, habitus and a majority of its morphological characters. It differs with respect to a more transverse head in dorsal view, which is more than 2.5 times as wide as long; POL about 1.2 as long as OOL and OOL more than two times the diameter of a lateral ocellus. Notauli are percurrent in S. laticephalus. Furthermore, F1 is as long as F2, while it is longer than F 2 in S. elegans, and the malar distance is as long as the eye (0.6 times as long as eye in S. elegans).
Description. Body length 2.64 mm (range 2.53–2.77; N = 5) for females. Male unknown.
Head yellow-red with frons and vertex medially and occiput black. Mesosoma black; metasoma dorsally black, and reddish ventrally; tegulae yellow. Antenna dirty yellowish; legs entirely yellowish, excepting metacoxae with reddish coloration basally. Forewing hyaline, with dirty yellow veins.
Female. Head in dorsal view (Fig. 3 C) 2.7 times wider than long. Gena not expanded behind compound eye. POL 1.2 times longer than OOL, posterior ocellus separated from inner orbit of eye by 2.3 times its diameter. Head in anterior view (Fig. 1 B) wide, trapezoid, 1.4 times wider than high, genae straight, not expanded. Face weakly pubescent. Face with marked, regular, irradiating carinae from clypeus, reaching ventral margin of eye and ventral margin of toruli; laterally to the toruli some rugae extended dorsally towards frons; the carinae are present laterally and medially on the face. Ventral margin of clypeus sinuate, slightly not projecting over mandibles (Fig. 1 B). Malar space as long as height of compound eye. Toruli situated mid-height of compound eye; distance between antennal rim and compound eye as wide as antennal socket including rim. Frons alutaceous, not punctuate, without visible frontal carinae (Figs. 1 B, 3C). Vertex and occiput without rugae or punctures. Head posterior view and mouthparts as S. elegans.
Antenna with 14 segments (Fig. 5 B); flagellum filiform. Relative lengths of antennal segments: 23:13:26:26:22:20:17:16:14:14:12:12:12:20; Pedicel 1.8 as long as wide; F1 as long as F2. Ultimate flagellomere 2.8 times longer than wide, 1.6 times as long as F11. Placodeal sensillae on F8–F11 disposed in one single row of 2–4 visible sensillae in each flagellomere.
Mesosoma. Pronotum with lateral margins rounded, without a lateral pronotal carina. Lateral surface of pronotum with coriarious sculpture. Mesoscutum (Fig. 8 B) with weak coriarious-alutaceous-sculpture. Notauli percurrent, well impressed but narrow, posteriorly not wider than transscutal fissure; not strongly converging posteriorly, widely separated at meeting with the trasscutal fissure. Median mesoscutal impression invisible, at most indicated as an obsolete median depression. Anteroadmedian signa scarcely visible. Scutellar foveae superficial, smooth, quadrangular, posterior margins indistinct. Scutellum with coriarious sculpture and some transversal rugae visible; dorsal surface with a distinct sharp margin posteriorly and posterolaterally (Figs. 8 B, 10E). Mesopleuron (Fig. 10 E) with weak longitudinal, regular striae, the interspaces smooth, not extended ventrally and dorsolaterally, at the speculum (Fig. 10 F).
Metapectal-propodeal complex as in S. elegans. Lateral propodeal carinae distinct, broad, subparallel, slightly curved.
Legs. Tarsal claw with base produced into a secondary acute tooth measuring about 1/3 of length of apical tooth.
Forewing (Fig. 17 A). Slightly longer than body. Radial cell 2.4 times longer than wide. R1 depigmented along margin of radial cell, the radial cell appearing ambiguously closed (Fig. 17 A); radius more heavily pigmented; areolet indistinct; vein Rs+M invisible. Basal cell with dense, closely spaced setae. Apical margin of wing with a moderately long fringe of setae.
Metasoma (Fig. 13 B). As long as head plus mesosoma. First metasomal tergum longitudinally sulcate dorsally and laterally. Metasomal tergum T2+3 fused, smooth and shining, without micropunctures, covering almost the entire metasoma; anteromedian area only with a row of 5–7 setae. Projecting part of hypopygial spine not quite extended beyond attachment of lateral flap (Fig. 15 B); apical setae projected beyond apex spine.
Distribution. Found at a single site near Boquete (Panama, Chiriqui), altitude 1,400 m.
Biology. This new species was reared from unidentified galls on Quercus salicifolia (Quercus, Lobata section). The host gall is irregularly spherical on twigs, falling to the ground when mature (Fig. 22 G). Unfortunately the gall inducer host cynipid was not reared and could not been identified, even to the generic level.
description: Published as part of Nieves-Aldrey, Jose Luis & Medianero, Enrique, 2011, Taxonomy of inquilines of oak gall wasps of Panama, with description of eight new species of Synergus Hartig (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Synergini), pp. 1-47 in Zootaxa 2774 on pages 6-7, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.276876