Platyspathius (Platyspathius) ranomafanus Belokobylskij & Zaldívar-Riverón 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Belokobylskij, Sergey A.
name: Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Platyspathius
Platyspathius ranomafanus

description: Platyspathius (Platyspathius) ranomafanus sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 9FD75B8F-32F5-443D-A431-A7F884FEE605
Figs 34–35
Etymology
Named from Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar, where type material was collected.
Material examined
Holotype MADAGASCAR • ♀; “Madagascar, Fianarantsoa, Parc Nat. Ranomafana, radio tower forest edge, 7–17/VII/2003, 1130 m. Calif. Acad. Sci. Col. R, Harinhala. Malaise, mixed tropical forest, Caslot 014026, 21˚15.05ʹ S 47˚24.43ʹ E, MA–02–09B–66. CNIN1443”; ZISP.
Paratype MADAGASCAR • 1 ♀; “ Madagascar, Fianarantsoa, Parc Nat. Ranomafana, radio tower @ forest edge, 15–27/IV/2003, 1130 m. Calif. Acad. Sci. Col., Malaise, mixed tropical forest, R, Harin Hala., Caslot 014026, 21˚15.05ʹ S 47˚24.43ʹ E, MA–02–09B–58. CNIN1351”; without right antenna, fore- and hind wings; IB-UNAM.
Description
Female
MEASUREMENTS. Body length 4.0– 4.1 mm; fore wing length 2.9–3.0 mm.
HEAD. Width (dorsal view) 1.3–1.4 times median length, 1.2–1.3 times maximum width of mesoscutum. Head behind eyes (dorsal view) distinctly, evenly and weakly roundly narrowed; transverse diameter of eye 1.9–2.1 times as long as temple. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.1–1.2 times its sides. POL 1.5–2.0 times OD, 0.7–0.8 times OOL. Frons medially with shallow longitudinal furrow. Eye glabrous, 1.2 times as high as broad. Malar space 0.4 times height of eye, almost equal to basal width of mandible. Face width 1.05–1.10 times height of eye and 1.15–1.20 times height of face and clypeus combined. Clypeal suture distinct laterally, but fine medially, without additional carina. Hypoclypeal depression medium-sized and round, its width 0.7–0.8 times distance from edge of depression to eye, 0.4 times width of face. Occipital carina complete dorsally, ventrally not joined with hypostomal carina being obliterated at short distance before base of mandible. Postgenal bridge narrow. Head below eyes (front view) distinctly and weakly-roundly narrowed. Antennae slender, weakly setiform, rather sparsely and rather long setose, 32-segmented, 1.3 times as long as body. Scapus thickened, 1.6–1.7 times as long as its maximum width. First flagellar segment 5.7– 6.0 times as long as apical width, almost as long as or weakly shorter than second segment. Penultimate segment 4.0 times as long as its width, 0.6 times as long as first segment, 0.9 times as long as apical segment; the latter acuminate apically and without spine.
MESOSOMA. Mesosoma distinctly elongate, weakly depressed dorso-ventrally, its length 2.7–2.8 times its height. Pronotal keel distinct, situated near middle of convex dorsal side of pronotum. Pronotal lateral oblique depressions rather wide, rather deep, densely and distinctly or finely crenulate, below in posterior third with rather distinct longitudinal stria. Mesoscutum (lateral view) weakly, uniformly and gently-roundly elevated above pronotum. Notauli wide, distinct, complete, entirely crenulate. Prescutellar depression long, shallow, weakly curved, with distinct median carina, entirely densely and weakly rugulose-reticulate, 0.3 times as long as weakly convex scutellum. Scutellum about as long as its maximum apical width. Subalar depression distinct, narrow, entirely crenulate with dense granulation. Sternaulus (precoxal furrow) deep, narrow, weakly sinuate, coriaceous and with narrow crenulation, running along whole length of lower part of mesopleuron. Metanotal tooth present, rather short, narrow and distinct acuminated apically. Metapleural antero-lower lobe wide, short, rounded apically.
WINGS. Fore wing 4.2–4.8 times as long as its maximum width. Radial vein (r) arising weakly behind middle of pterostigma (from its 0.55) or submedially. Radial (marginal) cell not shortened. Metacarpus (1-R1) about as long as pterostigma. Second radial abscissa (3-SR) 5.0–5.5 times as long as first abscissa (r) and forming with it weakly obtuse angle, 0.8–0.9 times as long as the straight third abscissa (SR1), 1.9–2.0 times as long as first radiomedial vein (2-SR). First medial abscissa (1-SR+M) distinctly sinuate. Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell weakly widened distally, its length 3.2–3.7 times maximum width, 1.3–1.7 times length of relatively narrow brachial (subdiscal) cell. Nervulus (cu-a) weakly declivous or perpendicular. Distance from nervulus (cu-a) to basal (1-M) vein 0.7–0.8 times nervulus (cu-a) length. Parallel vein (CU1a) interstitial. Mediocubital vein (M+CU1) submedially distinctly curved towards anal vein (2-1A). Brachial (subdiscal) cell weakly narrowed towards apex, apically gently closed weakly before level of recurrent vein (m-cu). Hind wing 6.0–6.3 times as long as wide. First abscissa of costal vein (C+SC+R) 0.35–0.40 times as long as second abscissa (1-SC+R). First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) 0.3–0.4 times as long as second abscissa (1-M). Recurrent vein (m-cu) completely absent.
LEGS. Hind coxa with distinct basoventral corner and wide and small tubercle. Hind femur long, 4.0–4.5 times as long as maximum width. Hind tibia without apical spines on its outside apical margin. Hind tarsus as long as hind tibia. Hind basitarsus 0.7 times as long as second–fifth segments combined. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.45 times as long as basitarsus, 1.2–1.4 times as long as fifth segment (without pretarsus).
METASOMA. Length 1.2 times as long as head and mesosoma combined. Petiole mostly straight dorsally entirely very weakly convex (lateral view), evenly and almost linearly widened from base to apex (dorsal view), without distinct spiracular tubercles.Acrosternite of first segment long, 0.45–0.50 times as long as tergite. Length of petiole 2.4–2.5 times its apical width, 1.5–1.6 times length of propodeum; maximum apical width of petiole 2.0–2.3 times its minimum width. Second tergite elongate, with distinct convex crenulate furrow in posterior third, delineated wide lenticular apical area, its median length 0.7–0.8 times remaining part of tergite. Median length of second tergite 1.1–1.2 times its basal width, 1.8–2.3 times length of third tergite. Second suture sinuate, deep, wide, entirely distinctly crenulate. Fifth and sixth tergite weakly enlarged, their posterior margins weakly convex or almost straight; fifth tergite almost equal to fourth and sixth tergites. Ovipositor sheath 0.6–0.7 times as long as metasoma, 1.9–2.0 times as long as petiole, almost equal to mesosoma, 0.45–0.50 times as long as fore wing.
SCULPTURE AND PUBESCENCE. Vertex entirely finely coriaceous; frons very finely coriaceous to almost smooth partly; face granulate-coriaceous, smooth medially; temple distinctly coriaceous, becoming fine below. Mesoscutum densely and distinctly small reticulate-coriaceous, parts of lobes near notauli without rugae, with double distinct and convergent posteriorly carinae in medioposterior quarter of mesoscutum. Scutellum densely and finely granulate. Mesopleuron entirely densely and small reticulatecoriaceous. Metapleuron distinctly reticulate-granulate in anterior half, granulate-rugose in posterior half. Propodeum mostly and very densely areolate-granulate, coarsely rugose with granulation in posterior quarter, without delineated areas, but with short median longitudinal carina in basal 0.20–0.25 of propodeum. Hind coxae reticulate-coriaceous; hind femur finely reticulate-coriaceous, almost smooth ventrally. Petiole striate with very dense reticulation between striae. Second tergite curvedly striate in basal half, mostly very densely reticulate-rugulose, apical area finely or very finely coriaceous. Second suture distinctly crenulate and sometimes with fine granulation between striae. Third-fifth tergites finely and densely reticulate-coriaceous becoming finely to distal tergites, their posterior margins very weakly coriaceous to almost smooth. Vertex almost entirely glabrous. Mesoscutum mainly glabrous, with very sparse, short and semi-erect pale setae arranged narrowly along posterior half of notauli and marginally. Hind tibia dorsally with very sparse, long and partly short semi-erect yellowish setae; length of these setae 0.7–1.2 times maximum width of hind tibia.
COLOUR. Body mainly dark reddish brown, metasoma sometimes mostly reddish brown. Antenna light reddish brown or reddish brown, infuscate towards apex, scapus sometimes dark reddish brown. Palps yellow. Fore and middle legs light reddish brown to yellowish brown with several brown sports; hind leg reddish brown to dark reddish brown (especially coxa), trochanter and base of tibia yellow. Ovipositor sheath mostly brown, pale brown basally. Fore wing distinctly and rather evenly infuscate, brownish, without hyaline stripes. Pterostigma mostly dark brown, whitish yellow in basal 0.3.
Male
Unknown.
Diagnosis
This new species has a distinct, complete and crenulate notauli and delineated apical lenticular area on second metasomal tergite. By these features it is similar to the Korean P. hospitus Belokobylskij & Ku, 2001, but distinctly differs from it by having the meso- and metasoma long and slender (vs short and stocky), head subround dorsally (vs transverse), mesoscutum weakly elevated upper pronotum (vs distinctly elevated), and petiole and its acrosternite long (vs short).
Distribution
Madagascar.
description: Published as part of Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Zaldívar-Riverón, Alejandro, 2021, Reclassification of the doryctine tribe Rhaconotini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), pp. 1-168 in European Journal of Taxonomy 741 on pages 90-96, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.741.1289, http://zenodo.org/record/4649681