Morphochrysis Rosa & Pavesi & Brothers 2023, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Rosa, Paolo
name: Pavesi, Maurizio
name: Brothers, Denis J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Chrysididae
Morphochrysis

description: Morphochrysis Rosa & Pavesi, gen. nov.
Gonodontochrysis Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1954a (as subgenus of Chrysis Linnaeus, 1761): 120. Unavailable name.
Chrysis (Chrysis) pulchella group: Linsenmaier 1959a: 93 (key), 103 (diagnosis).
Chrysis pulchella group: Kimsey & Bohart 1991: 322 (key), 331 (Fig. 107o), 336 (Fig. 110h), 358 (diagnosis, discussion). Farhad et al. 2019: 1006 (diagnosis).
Chrysis zaravshanica group: Tarbinsky 2002: 23 (description).
Gender. Feminine.
Type species. Chrysis pulchella Spinola, 1808, by present designation.
Note. Some of the species included in this genus were previously included in Gonodontochrysis Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1954b, which is unavailable (see above). Linsenmaier (1959a) and Kimsey & Bohart (1991) included all members of Morphochrysis gen. nov. in the Chrysis pulchella species-group (Fig. 1). Tarbinsky (2002) described the Chrysis zaravshanica species-group based on a member of this genus (Chrysis personata Semenov, 1967 = Chrysis zaravshanica Tarbinsky, 2002 syn. nov.).
Distribution. Palaearctic.
Description. Species of medium to large size, with head distinctly larger than pronotum; first flagellomere elongate in both sexes (length/width ratio 2.5–3.2); scapal basin medially polished or slightly corrugated in the upper part, occasionally finely punctate in females; face usually finely punctate and covered by dense, adpressed whitish pubescence in males; transverse frontal carina strongly developed, broadly M-like, sometimes with distinct rami almost encircling anterior ocellus or delimiting anterior ocellar area; malar space as long as 1.0–1.5 × anterior ocellus diameter; radial cell open, with fore-wing radial sector short, 0.5–2.5 × anterior ocellus diameter away from wing margin; second metasomal tergum with weak to moderate longitudinal medial carina; third metasomal tergum with distinct pit row; lateral edges of third tergum with a small tooth, or angle, at or beyond the middle, followed by a slight concavity, more or less marked depending on species; third tergum apicomedially usually biconvex, rarely convex (Morphochrysis diadema) to nearly straight (Morphochrysis atechka and Morphochrysis intercurra) (Fig. 2); black spots on second sternum oval or rectangular, in some species close to each other or completely fused medially and covering large part of the segment (e.g. Morphochrysis pulchella and Morphochrysis calimorpha); male eighth sternite quadrangular, apically broad; male genital capsule with slender and elongate gonocoxa, apically curved; male and female internal segments unusually round shaped (Fig. 3). Finally, this genus is supported by molecular phylogenetic analyses as a distinct clade (Pauli et al. 2019).
Hosts. Unknown.
Distribution. The genus currently includes 33 species occurring all over the Palaearctic Region, in particular in dry, semi-desert and desert areas. However, preliminary molecular and morphological data suggest that some Nearctic species, currently included in Ceratochrysis Cooper, 1952, may also belong here.
Species included. Morphochrysis adolescentula (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1912) (Central Asia) (upgraded to species rank by Rosa et al. 2017a: 46); M. andradei (Linsenmaier, 1959a) (Iberian Peninsula); M. asahinai (Tsuneki, 1950) (Mongolia); M. atechka (du Buysson, 1898a) (North Africa); M. belokobylskiji (Rosa, 2019a) (Central Asia, Mongolia); M. buxtoni (Morice, 1921) (Iraq); M. calimorpha (Mocsáry, 1882) (replacement name for Chrysis dives Dahlbom, 1854, nec Lucas, 1849, see Rosa & Xu 2015) (West Palaearctic) (subspecies: M. c. siziliana Linsenmaier, 1959a); M. clivosa (Linsenmaier, 1959a) (Iberian Peninsula); M. cloe (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967) (Central Asia); M. diadema (Rosa, 2018c) (Central Asia); M. dives (Lucas, 1849) (North Africa); M. dusmetina (Bohart in Kimsey & Bohart, 1991) (replacement name for Chrysis dusmeti Trautmann, 1926, nec García Mercet, 1904) (Iberian Peninsula); M. flagrans (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967) (Caucasus, Turkey) (synonym: Chrysis turceyana Linsenmaier, 1959a); M. flamma (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1954) (Tadzhikstan); M. foveata (Dahlbom, 1845) (North Africa) (see Rosa & Vårdal 2015); M. gamberoonensis (Farhad, Rosa & Talebi, 2019) (Iran, Saudi Arabia); M. gracilicornis (Semenow, 1892) (Central Asia) (synonym: Chrysis benjamini Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967); M. hameri (Linsenmaier, 1994) (Arabian Peninsula); M. houbaraeensis Strumia & van Harten, 2020; M. intercurra (Linsenmaier, 1968) (Middle East); M. larochei (Linsenmaier, 1993) (Canary Islands); M. mosulensis (Linsenmaier, 1968) (Iraq); M. personata (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967) (upgraded to species rank by Rosa et al. 2017a: 46) (Middle East, Central Asia) (synonym: Chrysis zaravshanica Tarbinsky, 2002 syn. nov.); M. prodives (Linsenmaier, 1968) (North Africa); M. przewalskii (Radoszkowski, 1887) (Palaearctic China); M. pulchella (Spinola, 1808) (West Palaearctic) (synonyms: Chrysis sinuata Brullé, 1833; C. spinifera Abeille de Perrin, 1878; C. dives europaea Linsenmaier, 1959a); M. rubicunda (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967) (Central Asia); M. senescens (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967) (upgraded to species rank by Rosa et al. 2017a: 47) (Central Asia); M. retracta (Linsenmaier, 1959a) (Pakistan); M. tedshensis (Linsenmaier, 1968) (Central Asia); M. urakensis (Linsenmaier, 1968) (Pakistan); M. vahli (Dahlbom, 1854) (North Africa); M. ver (Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967) (Central Asia) [the last doubtfully included].
Diagnosis. Members of the genus Morphochrysis resemble species of the Chrysis rufitarsis and Chrysis bihamata groups. Besides molecular differences, from a morphological point of view, the genus Morphochrysis is characterised by the internal segments with a rounded shape (vs. unmodified); male genitalia with gonocoxa apically bent (vs. straight); a tooth, or angle, on the lateral edge of the third metasomal tergum (vs. lateral edge straight or curved without basal tooth in the other two Chrysis groups); prominent transverse frontal carina (vs. weak); elongate first flagellomere (vs. shorter); fore wing with open radial cell, with radial sector ending slightly (0.5) to distinctly (2.5 anterior ocellus diameter) far from the wing margin.
Discussion. Semenov-Tian-Shanskij (1954a) established Gonodontochrysis as a subgenus of Chrysis Linnaeus, 1761. However, being described with no generic diagnosis nor designation of type species, this name is unavailable (see above). Later, Semenov-Tian-Shanskij (1967) included in Gonodontochrysis other newly described heterogeneous species, for a total of 17 species and subspecies. In fact, his subgenus included species of five different species groups, namely bihamata, eborata, pulchella, rufitarsis and slava (Rosa et al. 2017 a, Rosa 2019b). Of the 17 taxa included by Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, C. aegle Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967, C. capito Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967, C. cephalotes Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967, and C. kozlovi Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967 belong to the C. bihamata group; C. eborata Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967 belongs to the monotypic C. eborata group; C. dolens Semenov-Tian-Shanskij and Nikol’skaya, 1954, C. hafisi Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967, and C. parthorum Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967 belong to the C. rufitarsis group; and C. slava Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967 belongs to the recently established C. slava group (Rosa 2019 b).
Linsenmaier (1959a) established the pulchella group, including 10 species and 2 subspecies (Chrysis dives, C. dives europaea, C. retracta, C. asahinai, C. calimorpha, C. calimorpha siziliana, C. clivosa, C. pulchella, C. dusmeti, C. turceyana, and C. andradei). Kimsey & Bohart (1991) followed Linsemaier's interpretation, and included 21 members. Conversely, Linsenmaier (1999: 144) proposed the hydropica - pulchella group without any diagnosis. Rosa (2005: 55) subdivided this group again into two species groups (hydropica and pulchella), based on the shape of the genitalia and the internal terga and sterna (Rosa 2005: Figs 13, 15, 17). These differences are now considered diagnostic at genus level, the internal terga and sterna of the pulchella group being unique, and those of the hydropica group similar to other members of the genus Chrysis. Tarbinsky (2002) established the zaravshanica group, based on the newly described Chrysis zaravshanica Tarbinsky, 2002. After examination of the type, we propose a new synonymy, Chrysis personata Semenov-Tian-Shanskij, 1967 = C. zaravshanica Tarbinsky, 2002 syn. nov., and the merger of the zaravshanica group with the pulchella group.
description: Published as part of Rosa, Paolo, Pavesi, Maurizio & Brothers, Denis J., 2023, Solving nomenclatural problems of genus-group names of the cuckoo-wasps (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae): objectively invalid and unavailable names, new type-species designations, new names, a new genus and new synonymies, pp. 1-50 in Zootaxa 5301 (1) on pages 31-34, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5301.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8016496