Chelonus (Microchelonus) platyetrus Zhou & Achterberg & Tang & Chen 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zhou, Jin-Jin
name: Achterberg, Cornelis Van
name: Tang, Pu
name: Chen, Xue-Xin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Chelonus
Chelonus platyetrus

description: Chelonus (Microchelonus) platyetrus sp. nov.
Figs 61–64
Material examined. Holotype: female, Dalian, Liaoning Prov., China, 5.IV.1992, Juxian Lou, No. 976128 (ZJUH). Paratype: 1 male, same label data as holotype but No. 976267.
Diagnosis. This new species is similar to C. (M.) fumipennis (Tobias, 1986), sharing the brown fore wing (Fig. 62A), apical aperture of male in posterior view large, elongate and slit-shaped, and median process of aperture horizontal and oval (Fig. 64F), but the two species can be separated by the following characters: 3 rd antennomere 4.7 × longer than wide (versus 2.5 × in C. (M.) fumipennis), all legs dark black (versus fore and middle tibiae brownish yellow); lateral tubercles distinct and strong (Fig. 64C) (versus small and weak).
Description. Holotype, female, length of body 3.3 mm, of fore wing 3.0 mm.
Head. Head transverse, width of head 2.4 × its dorsal length, occiput excavated; antennomeres 16, antenna slightly widened medially, length of 3 rd and penultimate antennomeres 4.7 × and 1.3 × their width, respectively (Fig. 62H); eye in dorsal view 1.2 × as long as temple; OOL: OD: POL=18: 8: 13; temple parallel-sided behind eyes; frons and vertex very finely striate-reticulate (Fig. 62G); face flat, concentric punctate-rugose, width of face 1.7 × its height; eyes about parallel; clypeus densely punctate, interspaces shiny, 1.6 × wider than high, lower margin of clypeus slightly excised, sinuate; distance between tentorial pits 1.6 × distance between pits and eyes (Fig. 62F).
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.3 × its height; side of pronotum and mesopleuron coarsely reticulate-rugose (Fig. 62B); notauli distinct, mesoscutum coarsely areolate-rugose; scutellum evenly convex, coarsely punctate medially, crenulate laterally; scutellar suture comparatively deep, narrow, with carinae; propodeum coarsely rugose, lateral pair of tubercles small (Fig. 62C).
Wings. Vein r straight; marginal cell 1.1 × as long as pterostigma; pterostigma 2.7 × longer than wide; r: 3-SR: SR1=14: 17: 66; SR1 slightly sinuate; marginal cell 3.5 × longer than second submarginal cell; 1-CU1: 2-CU1=17: 37; 2-R1 short (Fig. 62A).
Legs. Hind coxa mainly smooth; length of hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 3.5 ×, 4.0 × and 4.1× their maximum width, respectively; length of inner hind tibial spur 0.5 × hind basitarsus.
Metasoma. Length of carapace 1.6 × its maximum width in dorsal view, widest after middle, apically rounded; carapace straight striae up to apex (Fig. 62E); carapace in lateral view 3.2 × longer than high, posterior height of metasoma 1.6 × its anterior height, posteriorly rather truncate (Fig. 62D); carapace apically slightly incurved.
Colour. Body and antenna black; palpi and pterostigma dark brown; middle of wing membrane greyish brown, pterostigma and veins dark brown; legs entirely black; metasomal carapace entirely black.
Male. Antenna damaged and with 16 antennomeres remaining; eyes slightly diverging ventrally; lower margin of clypeus truncate (Fig. 64G); metasomal carapace distinctly incurved in lateral view (Fig. 64D); apical aperture in posterior view very wide, slit-shaped, 4.5 × wider than high medially and median process of aperture horizontal and oval (Fig. 64F); other characters as in female.
Biology. Unknown.
Distribution. China (Liaoning).
Etymology. Named after its wide carapace in dorsal view (only 1.6 × longer than wide): “ platys ” is Greek for broad, wide and “ etron ” is Greek for belly, abdomen.
description: Published as part of Zhou, Jin-Jin, Achterberg, Cornelis Van, Tang, Pu & Chen, Xue-Xin, 2024, A review of the subgenera Carinichelonus, Microchelonus, Parachelonus and Stylochelonus of the genus Chelonus Panzer (Braconidae: Cheloninae) with descriptions of twenty-one new species from China, pp. 1-127 in Zootaxa 5412 (1) on pages 67-69, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5412.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10675974