Amphibolips
Creators: name: Cuesta-Porta, Víctor
name: Equihua-Martínez, Armando
name: Estrada-Venegas, Edith G.
name: Cibrián-Tovar, David
name: Barrera-Ruíz, Uriel M.
name: Silva, Salvador Ordaz
name: Sánchez, Imelda Virginia López
name: Melika, George
name: Pujade-Villar, Juli
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Amphibolips

description: Key to the Amphibolips galls of the ‘ nassa’ complex of Mexico and Central America
1. Galls growing on the underside of the leaves................................................................ 2
1’. Galls growing on buds................................................................................. 4
2. Turgescent spherical galls (Figs 14 F–G). Turning into a raisin-like wrinkled mass when dry............... A. turulli n. sp.
2’. Solid galls, sometimes very fragile, never turgescent. Galls either spherical or toadstool shaped. Maintaining its shape when dry................................................................................................ 3
3. Toadstool-shaped galls. With an elongated stem. Light green coloured, sometimes tinged with rose or pink when young. Internal solid spongious parenchyma (Lyon 1959: Plate 12, Figs A–B)................. A. quercuspomiformis n. comb. (sex).
3’. Spherical fragile galls. Greenish when fresh and dark brown when dry. Internal space hollow with hard filaments radiating from the larval chamber (Medianero & Nieves-Aldrey 2010: Figs 8 G–H).................................. A. salicifoliae
4. Galls with internal space hollow with hard filaments radiating from larval chamber (Figs 14 A–D). When dry the gall is very fragile and may be easily broken with minimal finger pressure. Fusiform galls with mottled surface............. A. aliciae
4’. Galls with internal spongious parenchyma, sometimes soft but does not break with applied finger pressure (Figs 14E, 14H, 14K). From spherical to fusiform galls, sometimes mottled.................................................... 5
5. Galls elongated at their base, with thick peduncle, central body subglobose, with smooth and mottled surface, never with an apical tip (Medianero & Nieves-Aldrey 2010: Figs 8 A–C).......................................... A. castroviejoi
5’. Different galls, whether globular galls without visible peduncle, sometimes with apical tip, or fusiform galls with both apical tip and thin peduncle.................................................................................. 6
6. Multilocular galls with up to 50 larval chambers (Figs 16 C–D). Surface yellowish to orange-rufous when mature, turning brownish orange when dry (Figs 16 A–B).…................................ A. quercuspomiformis comb. nov. (asex)
6’. Monolocular galls (Fig. 16F). Green or brown when mature, sometimes mottled. Turning to uniform brown when dry..... 7
7. Globular galls with apical tip (sometimes short) or fusiform galls (pointed and sometimes pedunculate) (Figs 14E, 14 H–K, 15C–I).............................................................................................. 8
7’. Spherical or sub-spherical galls with neither apical tip nor peduncle (Figs 15 A–B, 16A–J).......................... 16
8. Fusiform galls; peduncle subequal to apical tip (Figs 14E, 14H)................................................ 9
8’. Globular galls; peduncle absent or distinctly shorter than apical tip (Figs 14 I–K, 15C–I)............................ 11
9. Very elongated galls (Fig. 14H), more than 10x as long as maximum width; peduncle and apical tip strongly elongate. Outer shell fragile, thin.......................................................................... A. bromus n. sp.
9’. Wide fusiform galls, 3.0x as long as maximum width; peduncle and apical tip less than several times longer than central body (Fig. 14E). Outer shell firm, not fragile................................................................... 10
10. Surface with longitudinal ridges (Nieves-Aldrey et al 2012: Figs 18C–D). Peduncle and apical tip strongly narrowed into needle-like elongation...................................................................... A. durangensis
10’. Surface smooth, without longitudinal ridges (Fig. 14E). Peduncle and apical tip gradually narrowing in obtuse angle.................................................................................................... A. fusus
11. Small hard galls, up to 20 mm in diameter, with rugose surface and short apical tip (Figs 14 I–K). Outer shell thick, firm, with highly lignified parenchyma..................................................................... A. cibriani
11’. Large galls, up to 60 mm in diameter, with smooth surface. Outer shell thin, firm or soft. If firm, apical tip is the result of longitudinal elongation of gall (Figs 15 C–I).................................................................. 12
12. Teardrop shaped galls (Figs 15 F–I). Hard, do not deform at finger pressure. Surface usually mottled. Apical tip elongated, gradually narrowing apically, following more or less the shape of the gall........................................ 13
12’. Subglobular galls (Figs 15 C–E), can be deformed with applied finger pressure. Surface uniform in colour. Apical tip short... .................................................................................................. 15
13. Globular galls, small size (around 20x 15 mm), gradually narrowing and ending in a short apical point. Surface mottled. On Q. calophylla ................................................................................. A. nevadensis
13’. Rather large galls (Figs 15 F–I), longer than wide (up to 55x 35 mm), slightly spindle-shaped at apex with a long tip, surface mottled or not, host different............................................................................ 14
14. Gall surface uniformly brown, never mottled (Figs 15 F–G). Apical tip narrow and slightly tortuous. On Q. castanea ..................................................................................................... A. nassa
14’. Gall surface mottled (Fig. 15H). Apical tip straight, narrowing gradually following the shape of the gall (Fig. 15I). On Q. eduardi, Q. emoryi and Q. viminea ................................................................. A. rulli n. sp.
15. Surface yellowish brown. Internal tissue uniformly light brown, relatively consistent, firm. Apical tip short and narrow, sometimes bent (Figs 15 C–D).................................................................... A. zacatecaensis
15’. Surface chestnut brown. Internal tissue white to rosy around larval chamber, soft, cotton-like; light brown towards the surface. Apical tip short, but broad (Fig. 15E)............................................................... A. dampfi
16. Deformable with fingers pressure, parenchyma relatively soft. Uniformly light brown when dry (Figs 15 A–B)....................................................................... A. hidalgoensis / A. michoacaensis / A. jaliscensis
16’. Hard galls not deformable by finger pressure, with lignified parenchyma. Colour sometimes different................. 17
17. Regularly spherical. Surface light green with whitish mottles when mature; turning to uniformly light brown when dry (Figs 16 H–I)............................................................................ A. oaxacae / A. tarasco
17’. Subspherical, with small elongation towards the base. Surface never mottled and darker in colour (Figs 16 E–F, 16J)...... 18
18. Small gall, up to 20 mm in diameter with dark brown surface (Fig. 16J)............................... A. kinseyi n. sp.
18’. Usually large galls, up to 40 mm of diameter. Surface olive green when mature and turning brownish green when dry (Figs 16 E–G)................................................................................. A. bassae n. sp.
description: Published as part of Cuesta-Porta, Víctor, Equihua-Martínez, Armando, Estrada-Venegas, Edith G., Cibrián-Tovar, David, Barrera-Ruíz, Uriel M., Silva, Salvador Ordaz, Sánchez, Imelda Virginia López, Melika, George & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2020, Revision of the Amphibolips species of the ' nassa' complex from Mexico and central America (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), pp. 1-50 in Zootaxa 4877 (1) on pages 41-42, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4877.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4567340