Odontochrydium arabicum Soliman & Rosa & Al Dhafer 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Soliman, Ahmed M.
name: Rosa, Paolo
name: Al Dhafer, Hathal M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Chrysididae
Odontochrydium
Odontochrydium arabicum

description: Odontochrydium arabicum Soliman & Rosa, sp. nov.
Figures 1–4
Type materials. Holotype ♂, Saudi Arabia: Asir region, Abha, Wadi Mashwas [18°10’06”N 42°22’04”E, Alt. 1251 m], 20.XI.2015, leg. Ahmed M. Soliman, sweep net [KSMA]. Paratypes: 1 ♀, Oman: Dhofar, Wadi Magsail [16°52’00”N 53°43’00”E, Alt. 120 m], 2.X.2013, leg. M. Halada, sweep net [MHPC]; 1 ♂, Oman: Dhofar, 55 km W Salalah [16°49’05”N 53°37’12”E, Alt. 1000 m], 4.X.2021, leg. M. Halada, sweep net [MHPC]; 1 ♀, Saudi Arabia: Asir region, Marabah, Al-Hudaithy farm [17°50’53”N 42°23’11”E, Alt. 226 m], 9.III.2015, leg. Hasan A. Dawah, Malaise trap [FSPC]; 2 ♂, Saudi Arabia: Jazan region, Al-Aridah, Gabal Sala, Al-Matal [17°01’02”N 43°07’01”E, Alt. 290 m], 9.I.2022, leg. Ahmed M. Soliman, sweep net [KSMA, PRPC]; 1 ♀, Saudi Arabia: Jazan region, Al-Aridah, Wadi Haif [17°05’20”N 42°58’05”E, Alt. 289 m], 14.I.2022, leg. Ahmed M. Soliman, sweep net [KSMA]; 1 ♀, Yemen: Al Lahima, 16.X–31.XII.2000, leg. A.v. Harten & A.M. Hager, Malaise trap / RMNH Leiden ex collection ZMAN [RMNH]; 1 ♀, Yemen: Al Lahima, 9.IV–5.VI.2001, leg. A.v. Harten, Malaise trap [RMNH]; 1 ♀, Yemen: Wadi Aniz, SSW of Sana [15°00’00”N 44°09’00”E, Alt. 1520 m], 7.X.2006, leg. M. Halada, sweep net [MHPC].
Diagnosis. Body metallic dark blue, with violet and greenish reflections (Figs 1, 4); mesoscutal median area reticulate-foveate, with two stout longitudinal ridges forming elongate fovea between ridges (Figs 2E, 4C); metasomal tergites sparsely, largely punctate (Figs 1B, 3C, 4C, D); T3 apico-median tooth longer to distinctly longer than lateral ones (Figs 3C, 4D); S1 and S2 with pair of widely separated black spots, adjacent to lateral margin of sternites (Fig. 3D).
Description (Male holotype, Figs 1–3). Body length 5.2 mm. Forewing length 3.9 mm. OOL 1.75 × AOD; POL 2.5 × AOD; MS 1.0 × AOD; P and F1–F3 equal in length.
Colour (Figs 1A–C, 2A–F, 3A–D). Body overall metallic dark blue, with slight greenish reflection on TFC, scapal basin, clypeus, pronotal dorsal face and mesopleuron, with violet reflection on T3; legs metallic blue, with tarsi dark brown; first tarsomeres with slight blue reflection; forewing, except hyaline R cell, slightly infumate, in particular 2R1 cell (Fig. 3A), hind wing hyaline; tegula metallic blue; S1 polish brown, with pair of black spots bounded by bluish reflection; S2 and S3 metallic blue, former polish brown anteriorly, with pair of black spots; scape and pedicel blue, flagellomeres black; mandible bluish on basal half, brown apically. The colour of the specimens while they are alive is bright green with some copper reflections, this colour gradually turns into dark blue after their death.
Pubescence (Figs 1A, B, 3D). Body sparsely setose, setae whitish and short, about 1 × AOD, silvery, erect to suberect, denser and recumbent on S2 and S3.
Head (Fig. 2A–D, F). Frons with strong TFC, weakly angulate medially, with branches encircling mid-ocellar area, forming kidney-shaped area, less deeply punctate than rest of vertex and almost polished around anterior ocellus; vertex and frons largely deeply punctate-reticulate; scapal basin deep, medially strongly, transversely ridged; laterally with small punctures between ridges and covered with suberect silvery setae, densely punctulate with similar setae along inner eye orbit; clypeus densely irregularly punctulate, with tiny dots mixed with small punctures, hardly convex on disc, relatively short, with subantennal distance 1.6 × AOD, with margin straight; antennal sockets close, about 0.4 × AOD apart; malar space finely reticulate-punctulate, about 1.0 × AOD; genal carina strong and complete; anterior ocellus and posterior ocelli lidded; mandible subdistally toothed.
Mesosoma (Figs 1A, 2C–F, 3A). Pronotal shelf with two deep submedial pits, with polished median area; pronotal dorsal face largely punctate-subreticulate, with punctures up to 0.75 × AOD, and with interspaces micropunctate; with strongly incurved anterior margin, and posterior margin slightly incurved; with antero-median groove wide and relatively shallow, impunctate and polished on anterior 2/3, reaching more than 3/4 of pronotal length; pronotal humeral angles acute; mesoscutum foveate-reticulate on median lobe and on greater part of lateral lobes; punctate-subreticulate adjacent to tegula, with punctures up to 0.8 × AOD; median mesoscutal lobe with two stout longitudinal ridges and elongate fovea between ridges; tegula narrowed and partially hide; notauli complete, deeply, irregularly foveate; parapsidal furrows developed only until half mesoscutal length; mesoscutellum and metanotum subreticulate-punctate, the latter evenly rounded; propodeal lateral angle rather narrow, with blunt apex and incurved posterior margin; mesopleuron ventrally nearly smooth and armed with three strong teeth, dorsal teeth subequal; fourth sharp tooth present posteriorly on mesopleuron, before metapleuron. Forewing with distal area of Rs 1 × AOD apart from wing margin; M meets M+Cu before cu-a.
Metasoma (Figs 2D, 3B–D). Exposed tergites sparsely setiferous punctate, interspaces between punctures smooth to finely punctulate; T3 convex and continuous in profile, without pre-pit swelling or post-pit sunken areas; pit row somewhat distinct, pits small, deep; T3 apical margin with three subtriangular teeth, median tooth slightly longer than lateral ones.
Genitalia (Fig. 3E, F). Gonostyle hardly shorter than cuspis of volsella; apex of aedeagus digitate; digitus as long as cuspis.
Female (Fig. 4A–D). Similar to male except body with more violet tint, in particular on bottom of punctures; forewing darker; T3 distinctly acuminate posteriorly, with apico-median tooth distinctly longer than lateral ones.
Recognition. The male of Odontochrydium arabicum sp. nov. is similar to the male of the African species O. bicristatum (paratype, Fig. 5A–F) by having mesoscutal median area reticulate-foveate, with two stout longitudinal ridges and T1–T3 sparsely largely punctate; it differs from the latter by: body generally metallic dark blue, sometimes with a little violet tint on T3 and on bottom of punctures (Figs 1, 3D), vs. metallic green in O. bicristatum, with a little bluish tint on mesoscutum, sometimes being rosy to golden red on the head, pronotum and metasomal tergites in prepared specimens (Fig. 5A–E), likely golden or red in nature; clypeus short, with subantennal distance 1.6 × AOD (Fig. 2A), vs. longitudinally elongate, with subantennal distance 2.0 × AOD (Fig. 5C); pronotum with large, deep and dense punctures (Fig. 2C), vs. pronotum with sparser and smaller punctures, not distinctly deep (Fig. 5B); mesoscutellum with sparse, large and round punctures, with wide interspaces bearing small dots (Fig. 2E), vs. mesoscutellum with dense, polygonal punctures without interspaces (Fig. 5B); metanotum with similar punctation, with large, round and deep punctures (Fig. 2D, E), vs. metanotum with dense, not particularly deepened polygonal punctures (Fig. 5B); propodeal lateral tooth obtuse apically (Fig. 2D), vs. sharp apically (Fig. 5B); T3 without longitudinal median ridge (Fig. 3C), vs. T3 with micropunctate longitudinal median ridge (Fig. 5D); apico-median tooth of T3 longer than lateral ones (Fig. 3C), vs. hardly longer than lateral teeth (Fig. 5D); S2 with longer and denser pubescence (Fig. 3D), vs. S2 with shorter and sparse setae (Fig. 5E); gonostyle hardly shorter than cuspis of volsella (Fig. 3E, F), vs. longer than cuspis of volsella in O. bicristatum (Fig. 5F).
Remarks. Due to a fracture at the inner side of the genital gonocoxae of the holotype male genitalia (Fig. 3E), where they meet, during the preparation for photographing, we added a figure of a complete genital capsule of a paratype (Fig. 3G) in order to clarify the normal shape of the capsule.
Etymology. The new species name refers to the Arabian Peninsula, where the type specimens were collected.
Distribution. Oman, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
description: Published as part of Soliman, Ahmed M., Rosa, Paolo & Al Dhafer, Hathal M., 2022, Description of a new species of Odontochrydium Brauns (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) from the Arabian Peninsula, pp. 287-295 in Zootaxa 5100 (2) on pages 288-294, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5100.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/6145902