Alastor (Alastor) sabrinae Selis 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Selis, Marco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eumenidae
Alastor
Alastor sabrinae

description: Alastor (Alastor) sabrinae Selis, sp. nov.
(Figs. 30–33)
Diagnosis. This species belongs to a group which includes A. sabrinae, A. ricae and A. turneri. It is readily distinguished by: apical margin of clypeus about half as wide as interantennal space (Fig. 32), sides of pronotum converging in dorsal view and forming obtuse angle on humeri, sides of propodeum converging posteriorly and not rounded, transverse furrow of T1 broad and shallow, barely recognizable in dorsal view but clearly distinct in lateral view, T 1 in dorsal view 1.85 × as wide as long (Fig. 33), interspaces on head and mesosoma much shorter than punctures diameter, integument of T1–T2 not strongly shiny, apex and sides of T2 with interspaces about as wide as puncture diameters and not opaque, head and mesosoma with long and dense black setae.
Material examined. Holotypus, ♀, labeled “(indecifrable word) / William / Dr. Brauns / Cape / Sept 1928 // Alastor (A.) sabrinae / Selis, sp. nov. / HOLOTYPUS ♀ / Det. Marco Selis 2018” (MSNVE). PARATYPE: South Africa, West Cape, 56km N of Citrusdal, 32°16.187’S 18°58.439’E, 185m, 22-23.X.2013, 1♀ (MSVI).
Description. Holotype, female (Figs. 30–31). Body length 8.4 mm; fore wing length 7.1 mm.
Head in frontal view 1.2 × as wide as long (Fig. 32), in dorsal view slightly broader than mesosoma. Clypeus in frontal view 1.55 × as wide as long, dorsal margin weakly and evenly convex, lateral margins of free apical part weakly rounded, apical margin very weakly emarginate and narrower than interantennal space, emargination very shallow and 0.25 × as wide as clypeus width, apical teeth dull and short, broadly rounded; clypeus in lateral view weakly convex basally and truncate below. Interantennal space weakly convex and subcarinate medially. Vertex long, distance from posterior ocellus to occipital margin 1.35 × as long as distance from posterior ocellus to inner eye margin, about as long as dorsal lobe of eye; gena in lateral view 1.2 × as long as width of eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina strong and shortly lamellate ventrally, becoming finer dorsally and almost disappearing on vertex, abruptly curving at height of dorsal third of clypeus. Scape 3.4 × as long as apically wide; F1 1.75 × as long as wide and about as long as F2+F3; F2–F3 weakly longer than wide; F4–F5 subquadrate; F6–F9 wider than long, becoming progressively wider; F10 bullet-shaped, about as long as basally wide. Mandible short and robust, broadly triangular in frontal view, 5-toothed, first three teeth long and pointed, last two partially fused and shorter; carinae on outer face low and rounded. Mesosoma in dorsal view 1.15 × as long as wide. Pronotal carina weakly indicated on humeri and lateral faces; humeri very obtuse in dorsal view, sides of pronotum converging; lateral faces of pronotum weakly depressed ventrally and not distinctly separated from dorsal face. Mesoscutum in dorsal view 1.2 × as wide as long; weakly convex anteriorly and flattened posteriorly in lateral view. Scutellum weakly oblique and flattened in lateral view, transversely convex in frontal view. Metanotum entirely vertical and flattened, tapering on sides. Mesepisternum broad and clearly convex, weakly lamellate along foramen, epicnemial carina barely indicated for a short portion in ventral half. Propodeum in dorsal view very short, much broader than long, with broadly rounded lateral margins and broad and short apical teeth; median depression of posterior face broad and very shallow, slightly accentuated in the middle, with a large median triangular area reaching propodeal orifice; when propodeum in lateral view, dorsal margin strongly sloping down and nearly straight, with short and pointed apical teeth. Tegula broader medially, outer margin strongly convex, posterior lobe short and triangular with rounded apex, surface strongly convex in the middle and posterior lobe a little depressed. T 1 in dorsal view subtruncate anteriorly, with rounded sides, 1.85 × as broad as long; in lateral view anterior face entirely vertical and weakly convex, smoothly passing in posterior face with strong convexity, preapical furrow broad and shallow, therefore barely recognizable in dorsal view but distinct in lateral view, apical margin slightly inflate. T 2 in dorsal view 1.35 × as wide as long, with weakly rounded sides (Fig. 33); T 2 in lateral view convex basally and then flattened. S2 shorter than T2, in lateral view more convex at base than respective tergum.
Clypeus with large flat bottomed punctures, deeper and sparser in the middle, denser on sides and smaller dorsally. Frons, vertex and gena with deep and dense punctures, interspaces opaque and very narrow above interantennal space, becoming larger and shiny towards occipital margin and ventral part of gena. Mandibles smooth, with some punctures in basal triangular area. Scape with very sparse small deep punctures, interspaces broad and sparsely micropunctate. Underside of head densely punctured. Anterior face of pronotum mostly smooth and with dense shallow punctures at extreme sides; dorsal and lateral faces of pronotum with deep irregular punctures, becoming shallower and sparser on area covered by ferruginous band. Mesoscutum with deep dense punctures, becoming irregular posteriorly, where interspaces form irregular longitudinal ridges. Scutellum punctured similar to mesoscutum, but punctures more variable in size and interspaces larger and shinier. Metanotum densely punctured on anterior half, rest of surface smooth and shiny with some very sparse micropunctures. Proepisternum with dense deep small punctures, interspaces about as large as punctures diameter and micropunctate. Mesepisternum with punctures similar to mesoscutum, becoming larger ventrally, interspaces very narrow in dorsal half where they are irregular and ridge-like, becoming larger and shiny ventrally; epicnemium densely micropunctate with some sparse deep punctures. Metaepisternum opaque due to dense microreticulation, dorsal plate densely punctured on dorsal margin and with few barely indicated striae below, ventral plate with irregular striae and punctures. Dorsal faces of propodeum with shallow flat-bottomed punctures, interspaces raised and strongly shiny; median depression of propodeum strongly shiny, with very irregular and shallow punctures and short striae, except on smooth median triangular area; lateral faces with strong but irregular striae and large oblique punctures. T1 on anterior vertical portion with sparse oblique punctures, forming roughly concentric series, horizontal portion with denser and deeper punctures that do not invade the inflated apical margin, interspaces short and smooth. T2 with punctured deeper and sparser basally, becoming progressively shallower and denser apically and forming a preapical group of dense punctures, interspaces micropunctate for greater part, except on the densely punctured apical part which is microreticulate, therefore the basal portion of tergum appears shiny and the apical one is opaque. T3–T5 with dense flat-bottomed punctures, deeper on T3 and shallower on T5. T6 punctured similar to T5, but punctures less distinct. S1 with deep punctures, interspaces shorter than punctures diameter in the middle, becoming larger laterally. Basal plate of S2 densely and regularly reticulate, basal transverse furrow with regular longitudinal carinae, S2 with deeper and denser punctures than T2, interspaces strongly shiny and micropunctate. S3–S6 with punctures sparser and shallower than respective terga. All coxae deeply punctured and with broad shiny interspaces.
Head and dorsal side of mesosoma excluding propodeum covered by long black setae; underside of head, propodeum, sides of mesosoma and T1 with long and dense whitish setae, denser on propodeum; sides of clypeus with dense short silvery pubescence; T2–T6 and S2–S6 with dense short grayish pubescence.
Black; following parts ferruginous: median spot on mandible, band on anterior third of dorsal face of pronotum, tegula, legs starting from apex of femora; most of T1 and S1 bright red, T1 with a narrow yellow apical band. Wings weakly fuscous, with weak purplish reflections.
Etymology. I am pleased to name this species after my girlfriend, Sabrina Zuccarini, to thank her for her support.
Distribution. South Africa: Western Cape.
description: Published as part of Selis, Marco, 2020, Notes on the Afrotropical species of Alastor Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Vespidae Eumeninae), with description of nine new species, pp. 361-388 in Zootaxa 4822 (3) on pages 380-381, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4822.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4401671