Blakeius ortizi Suarez 1954
Creators: name: Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio
name: Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini
name: Brothers, Denis J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Mutillidae
Blakeius
Blakeius ortizi

description: Blakeius ortizi (Suárez, 1954)
(Figs 10–13)
Mutilla Halensis: Sichel & Radozskowski 1869 –1870: 156, 217 (♀) (key, redescription). Probable misidentification. Myrmilla ortizi Suárez, 1954: 157 (♀); Suaréz 1958b: 110 (♀); Suaréz, in Giner Marí & Suárez 1959: 401 (♀). Myrmilla otini Giner Marí in Giner Marí & Suárez, 1959: 392 (♂, ♀). Junior subjective synonym according to Suaréz in Giner
Marí & Suárez 1959: 401.
Blakeius ortizi: Lelej 2002: 30 (catalogued); Koçak & Kemal (2008): 12 (listed); Koçak & Kemal (2009): 20 (listed). Myrmilla otiniana Suárez (♀) [unpublished label name].
Type locality. “Benaoján (Málaga)” (Spain).
Type material examined. Holotype of Myrmilla ortizi: ♀ labelled “Holotipo / Benaoján, Málaga (Espana), E. Ortiz leg. 8.V.1952 / Myrmilla ortizi n. sp. ♀, J. Suárez det. 1953, Holotipo / Myrmilla ortizi (Suárez), B. Petersen det. 1989 / MNCN Cat. Tipos N°12372 / MNCN _Ent N° Cat. 59177” (MNCN); Paratype of Myrmilla ortizi: 1♀ labelled “Paratipo / Fés, St. 54, 5.XI.37, Otin / Myrmilla ortizi n.sp. ♀, J. Suárez det. 1953, Paratipo / Blakeius ortizi (Suárez), B. Petersen det. 1989 / MNCN Cat. Tipos N°12372 / MNCN _Ent N° Cat. 59179” (MNCN). Lectotype of Myrmilla otini (present designation): ♀ labelled “ 17 km. S.E. d’Aïn, Aïcha / Aïn Mahrouf, 20.9.40 Otin / Typus / Myrmilla otini Giner ♀, Giner Mari / Colección Giner Marí / MNCN Cat. Tipos N° 11635 / MNCN _Ent N° Cat. 59485 / Myrmilla otini Giner Marí 1959, lectotypus ♀, Turrisi G.F. & Matteini Palmerini M. des. 2011 / Blakeius ortizi (Suárez 1954) ♀, Turrisi G.F. & Matteini Palmerini M. det., 2011” (MNCN). Paralectotype of Myrmilla otini (present designation): ♂ labelled “O.Smen, Maroc-Fieuzet, 11.X.40 / Typus / Myrmilla otini Giner ♂, det. Giner Mari / Colección Giner Marí / MNCN Cat. Tipos N° 11635 / MNCN _Ent N° Cat. 59486 / Myrmilla otini Giner Marí 1959, paralectotypus ♂, Turrisi G.F. & Matteini Palmerini M. des. 2011 / Blakeius ortizi (Suárez 1954) ♂, Turrisi G.F. & Matteini Palmerini M. det., 2011 (MNCN).
Additional material. SPAIN: 1♀, Laguna de la Janda, Cádiz, 2.vi.1971, Coll. J. Suárez (MNCN); 1♀, Los Molinos, coll. G. Mercet (MNCN). MOROCCO: 1♀, Melilla, Pardo Alcaide [leg.] (MNCN); 1♀, without exact locality (MNCN); 1♀, Fés, 20.xi. [19]37, Otin [leg.], Coll. Giner Marí (MNCN); 1♀, Tanger, Escalera [leg.] (MNCN); 2♀, Tanger, ii.1909 [one ♀ collected 1909], R.E. Turner [leg.] (BMNH); 1♀, Tanger, ii.1898 (ex Museo H. Vaucher 1908) (MSNG); 2♀, same locality, M. Escalera (MSNG); 2♀, same locality, M. Escalera / Myrmilla ortizi Suár., J. Suárez det. 1976 (IBSS); 2♀, same locality, Coll. E. André, 1914 (MNHN); 2♀, Arbaoua du Rharb, iv.[19]27, M. Antoine [Coll.], 1936 (MNHN); 1♀, Larache (MNCN); 1♀, Jbel Berbara, 15 km NO Fés, 9.xi. [19]37, Otin leg., Coll. Giner Marí (MNCN).
Redescription. ♀ (holotype). Length: 8.8 mm. Colour. Head dark reddish brown with moderately dense mixed erect and recumbent light brownish setae; clypeus dark reddish orange; mandible reddish orange with inner margin darker and apex blackish; antenna dark reddish orange; mesosoma reddish orange, except side and ventral part darker; legs dark reddish to reddish orange distally; metasoma blackish to dark reddish with moderately dense, long mixed erect and recumbent goldish to reddish setae; T2 with two goldish round setal spots close to anterior margin of T2, diameter of each spot more than their distance from each other; T3 with goldish broad pubescent band, entire; T4 without pale pubescent band. Head shiny, with coarse, deep and dense to very dense (vertex, occiput and genal area) punctures (distance between punctures 0.5–1.5 × puncture diameter); head width/length: 1.22; head width/pronotum width: 1.40; genal area (dorsal view) long, with margin regularly rounded toward occiput; gena (lateral view) convex, strongly bulging, not angulate, without denticle; gena length/eye length: 1.94; frontal carina touching inner margin of eye; antennal rim concealed, not visible in dorsal view; supra-antennal tooth present, weak, slightly forwarded,sharply obtuse; clypeus triangle shaped, wide (axis of lateral process beyond antennal insertion), uniformly concave with a well developed and stout tooth-like process; postgena (behind oral fossa) strongly concave, bowl-shaped, with lower hypostomal carina strongly raised; oral fossa wide (width more than length); mandible tridentate, with wide and prominent inner basal tooth, about equal in size to inner apical tooth; ratios A2:A3:A4 = 7:14:8. Mesosoma length/width: 1.2, coarsely punctate dorsally, shiny and finely carinulate to punctate on sides; humeral angle angulate, fairly square, with epomial carina weak, touching pronotal spiracle; fore coxa moderately slender, apex rounded without distal process; mid tibia with seven dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in two rows; hind tibia with nine dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in two rows. Metasoma ovoidal, stout, shiny, punctate, punctures dense to very dense and fine to very coarse; T2 1.43 × as wide as long; S6 flat.
♂ (paralectotype of M. otini). Length: 7.1 mm; fore wing: 4.7 mm. Colour. Head blackish with moderately dense mixed erect and recumbent setae, blackish on dorsal areas, whitish on clypeus, mandible, antenna and ventral area; clypeus mostly blackish, with anterior margin dark reddish orange; mandible reddish orange with inner margin darker and apex blackish; antenna dark reddish orange; mesosoma reddish orange, except side and ventral part, extensively blackish; legs dark reddish to reddish orange distally; wings hyaline infuscated in middle due to the presence of denser black setae; metasoma blackish with moderately dense erect long whitish setae; T2 with mixed erect and recumbent whitish and blackish setae, without pale spots; T3 with whitish broad pubescent band, entire; T4 without pale pubescent band. Head shiny, with coarse, deep and moderately dense to dense (vertex and occiput) punctures (distance between punctures 1.0-3.0 × puncture diameter); head width/length: 1.27; head width/ pronotum width: 1.12; genal area (dorsal view) long, margin moderately convergent toward occiput; gena (lateral view) convex, moderately thick, bulging, not angulate, without denticle; gena length/eye length: 1.67; longitudinal frontal furrow absent; antennal rim forwarded, recognizable in dorsal view; clypeus triangle shaped, wide (axis of lateral process slightly beyond antennal insertion), anterior margin concave with developed acute, curved and forwarded tooth-like process laterally; ocelli well developed, distance between anterior and posterior ocelli more than distance between posterior ocelli; OOL:POL = 1.16:1.00; postgena (behind oral fossa) convex; oral fossa wide (width more than length); mandible tridentate, with wide and prominent inner basal tooth, about equal in size to inner apical tooth; ratios A2:A3:A4 = 4:8:8. Mesosoma length/width: 1.6, coarsely punctate to coarsely areolaterugose (propodeum); mesopleuron strongly convex and strongly areolate-rugose to rugose-punctate; humeral angle obtusely angulate; sutures of mesoscutum well distinct; mesoscutum convex; mesoscutellum well defined, fairly convex; propodeum (dorsal view) slightly less than pronotum width; tegula wide, subcircular with a few punctures; fore wing with axis of vein 2m-cu well beyond apex of marginal cell; submarginal cell 2 more than half as wide as marginal cell; angle between veins Rs a nd 2M acute; vein 4Rs strongly curved, apical angle of marginal cell slightly less than 90°; vein 2Rs much longer than vein 2M; vein rs-m strongly thickened; fore coxa stout; mid and hind tibia with one subapical dorsal pre-apical spine. Metasoma subelliptical, slender, shiny, punctate, punctures moderately dense, fine to coarse; T2 1.33 × as wide as long; S2 with well raised curved acute tooth-like process in middle; S8 stout with sides moderately convergent toward apex, distal margin strongly pointed medially, length/ width: 1.04, with large and raised tooth-like process in middle on ventral surface; genital capsule: cuspis of volsella elongate, finger-shaped, apex slightly rounded, weakly convex to flat toward apex, ending well beyond mid length of paramere harpe, without longitudinal carina; digitus of volsella much shorter than cuspis, about half length; penis valve with midventral process elongate and strongly curved.
Intraspecific variation. Examined 22♀, 1♂. Female. Length: 4.7–8.8 mm; the head and the metasoma are blackish to dark reddish (most specimens); the sides of the mesosoma are mostly slightly darkened, much darkened in one specimen; the legs are entirely reddish orange in most specimens, darker in a few specimens; the setal spots on T2 are moderately wide, but in a few specimens are less defined and slightly smaller.
Distribution. Europe: Spain, Portugal. North Africa: Morocco (Fig. 36).
Remarks. The type material of Myrmilla ortizi consists of 21♀, including the holotype (Suárez 1954: 157). Examination of the type material of Myrmilla otini Giner Marí allows us to confirm the synonymy of this taxon with Myr. ortizi, proposed by Suárez (in Giner Marí & Suárez 1959: 401). Giner Marí (in Giner Marí & Suárez 1959) did not designate a holotype. Thus, the two type specimens (♀ and ♂) must be regarded as syntypes, among which we formally designate the ♀ as lectotype and the ♂ as paralectotype, according to Article 74 of ICZN (1999). The attribution of the ♂ paralectotype to the ♀ of Myr. ortizi was tentatively proposed by Suárez (1954), who had examined the specimen and listed its differences from M. bipunctata, but it is not currently supported by field observations or mating associations. In our opinion the ♂ paralectotype is noticeably differentiated from the ♂ of the two other species of Blakeius and pending further clarification, we tentatively identify it as belonging to Bla. ortizi. Giner Marí’s (in Giner Marí & Suárez 1959) posthumous description of M. otini was published in a paper containing a manuscript which he had not had published before his death, supplemented by notes provided by Suárez, including a statement of the synonymy. Although Article 11.6 of ICZN (1999) specifies that a name treated as a junior synonym when first published is not an available name, we consider that Giner Marí’s proposal of M. otini was not done while treating it as a junior synonym of M. ortizi, and that Suárez’s subsequent note on the synonymy could be considered a separate work (although published in the same paper). Hence we do not consider M. otini unavailable, and have made the type designations above.
Among the material at MNCN, there are six ♀ from Morocco (see material examined) identified as Myrmilla otiniana Suárez (J. Suárez det. 1975); this name has never been proposed in a publication, thus Myr. otiniana Suárez is not an available name according to Articles 9.6 and 11.1 of ICZN (1999), and must be regarded as an unpublished label name. We have examined these specimens and in our opinion they are conspecific with Bla. ortizi.
Biology. Based on the material examined this species shows a phenology extending from May to November, earlier in N-Africa with records in February (female). The only male examined was collected in October.
description: Published as part of Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio, Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini & Brothers, Denis J., 2015, Systematic revision and phylogeny of the genera Blakeius Ashmead, 1903 and Liomutilla André, 1907, with description of two new genera (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Myrmillinae), pp. 1-78 in Zootaxa 4010 (1) on pages 24-29, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4010.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/289318