Parasaphodes afer Mitroiu 2017, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Pteromalidae
Parasaphodes
Parasaphodes afer

description: Parasaphodes afer sp. nov.   
(Figs 121–131)  
 Diagnosis. Both sexes: clypeal margin bilobed; genae short and strongly converging towards mouth (Fig. 124); scape short, not nearly reaching lower margin of median ocellus (Fig. 124); anterior corners of pronotal collar not carinate (Fig. 128); axillae strongly advanced (Fig. 128); propodeum with double median carina, otherwise with median area mostly smooth (Fig. 130); gaster virtually sessile (Figs 122, 123), petiole small, strongly transverse, with two lateral flanges and some longitudinal rugae on dorsal side.   
 Parasaphodes afer can be separated from all other species of Parasaphodes mainly by its bilobed clypeal margin, its head shape in frontal view (with genae short and strongly converging towards the mouth, Fig. 124), and mostly smooth median area of the propodeum. It shares with P. flavipes the anterior corners of pronotal collar not being carinate, but can be easily separated from that species by the sessile gaster (Figs 122, 123).   
 Material examined. Type material. Holotype ♀ (deposited in BMNH) [on triangular card; entire]. GHANA: ‘Gold Coast, Tafo, 3 March 1950 ’, ‘ Ectoparasite on nymphs of Steatococcus sp.’, ‘Com. Inst. Ent., Coll. No. 12307’, ‘ Parasaphodes’.   
 Allotype ♂. GHANA: same information as holotype, ‘ ♂ Parasaphodes afer sp. n. det. Z. Bouček, 1984’ (BMNH).   
 Additional paratypes. GHANA: 2♀, same information as holotype. NIGERIA: 7♀ and 1♂ ‘ Nigeria, Ibadan Prov., Idiayunre [sic], 26.7.56 ’, ‘ectoparasitic on Steatococcus sp. on cocoa’, ‘ R. G. Donald, c1521’ (BMNH). MADAGASCAR: 1♀ ‘ Madagascar, Tuléar, Berenty 12 km N.W. Amboasary, 5-15.V.1983, J. S,. Noyes & M. C. Day, B.M. 1983-201’, ‘ NHMUK 010371230 ’, ‘ DNA Voucher [failed] D# 4947 UCR, J. M. Heraty’ (BMNH).   
 Description. Female. Body length: 1.1–1.5 mm.   
 Colour. Body dark brown to black, without metallic reflections (Figs 121, 123). Eyes reddish; ocelli pale orange (Figs 124, 125). Antenna brown, with pedicel and flagellum ventrally paler (Fig. 127). Legs (Fig. 121) with coxae dark brown; trochanters brown; femora and tibiae brown, apices slightly lighter; tarsi brown, pretarsi darker. Wings hyaline, tegula and venation brown (Fig. 131). Body and wing pilosity brownish (Figs 124, 128, 131).   
 Sculpture. Head smooth (Figs 124–126). Mesosoma with pronotum and mesoscutum mostly shallowly rugulose-reticulate (Fig. 128); axillae and mesoscutellum smooth (Fig. 128); propodeum with median area mostly smooth except for double median carina and plicae (Fig. 130); prepectus and metapleuron smooth (Fig. 129); mesepimeron mostly alutaceous, mesepisternum smooth (Fig. 129). Gaster smooth.   
 Structure. Head. Clypeal margin bilobed. Genae short and strongly converging towards mouth (Fig. 124). Scape short, not nearly reaching lower margin of median ocellus (Fig. 124). Head width 2.1–2.3× length in dorsal view (36:17) and 1.2× height in frontal view (36:30). POL 1.4–2.0× OOL (9.5:6.5). Eye height about 1.3× length (17:13) and 2.1–2.4× malar space (17:8). Scape length 0.4–0.5× eye height (7:17) and 1.4× length of pedicel (7:5). Head width about 0.7× length of pedicel plus flagellum (36:51). F1 width 1.0–1.2× length (6:5); F7 width 1.1–1.4× length (5.0:4.5); clava length 2.0–2.3× width (11.5:5.0).   
Mesosoma. Anterior corners of pronotal collar not carinate (Fig. 128). Axillae strongly advanced (Fig. 128). Mesosoma length 1.35× width (50:37), width subequal to height (37:36). Mesoscutum width about twice length (37:18). Mesoscutellum length equal to width (21:21). Propodeum length about half mesoscutellum length (10:21). Dorsellum length 0.4× propodeum length (4:10). Fore wing length about 2.4× width (95:40). MV length 7.1–8.3× SV (25:3); MV about 4.5× PV (25.0:5.5).  
 Metasoma. Petiole small, strongly transverse, with two lateral flanges and some longitudinal rugae on dorsal side (cf. Figs 153, 165). Gaster (Figs 121, 123) rhomboidal in dorsal view, length 1.5–1.8× width (50:33) and equal to length of mesosoma; hypopygium exserted or not.   
 Male. Differs from the female mainly as follows. Body length: 1 mm. Antennae light brown (Fig. 122). First gastral tergite dark brown. Flagellar segments slightly longer (Fig. 122). POL 1.4–1.6× OOL. Scape length 1.6× pedicel length. F1 and F7 quadrate; clava length about 2.9× width. Mesoscutum width about 2.2× length. Fore wing length about 2.2× width. MV length 8.3–8.6× SV; MV 4.1–4.3× PV. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, length 1.2–1.7× width (Fig. 122).   
 Distribution. Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria.   
 Biology. Ectoparasitoid of Icerya (= Steatococcus) sp. nymphs (Hemiptera: Monophlebidae) on cocoa.   
 Remarks. Bouček (1988) referred to an undescribed species from West Africa and labeled several specimens from BMNH as such (see above); this new species is described above. A female collected from the same locality as the other Nigerian specimens (CNC) has longer funicle segments (similar to the male), but otherwise it is very similar to P. afer and wasn’t included in the species description.   
 Etymology. The species epithet refers to the African distribution of the species.
description: Published as part of Mitroiu, Mircea-Dan, 2017, Revision of world Austroterobiinae and Parasaphodinae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae), parasitoids of giant scales (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Monophlebidae), pp. 1-63 in Zootaxa 4301 (1) on pages 49-52, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4301.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/839721