Chelonus (Microchelonus) ruficorpus 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 ruficorpus

description: Chelonus (Microchelonus) ruficorpus sp. nov.
Figs 69–70
Material examined. Holotype: female, Gutian Mt., Zhejiang Prov., China, 22.VII.1986, Xiaoming Lou, No. 863205 (ZJUH).
Diagnosis. The new species is similar to C. (M.) elaeaphilus (Silvestri, 1908) sharing the metasoma posteriorly slightly declivous in lateral view (Fig. 70D), widest at middle in dorsal view (Fig. 70E), and eye almost as long as temples, temples parallel-sided to widened in dorsal view (Fig. 70G), but the two species can be separated by the following characters: body entirely reddish brown and carapace with yellowish irregular edge band in basal third (Fig. 69) (versus body black and carapace with one large medial yellowish spot in C. (M.) elaeaphilus); antenna of female as long as head, mesosoma and 0.5 metasoma combined (Fig. 70H) (versus as long as head and mesosoma combined); mesosoma medium-sized, its length 1.5 × its height (Fig. 70B) (versus short, 1.25 × its height).
Description. Holotype, female, length of body 2.7 mm, of fore wing 2.6 mm.
Head. Head transverse, width of head 2.1 × its dorsal length; occiput slightly excavated; antennomeres 16, antenna filiform, not widened; length of 3 rd and penultimate antennomeres 4.0 × and 2.0 × their width, respectively (Fig. 70H); eye 1.1 × longer than temple in dorsal view; OOL: OD: POL= 21: 6: 11; temple parallel-sided behind eyes; frons and vertex striate-rugose (Fig. 70G); face flat, longitudinally punctate-rugose, width of face 2.0 × its height; eyes slightly converging; clypeus very transverse, sparsely punctulate, shiny, 2.2 × wider than high; distance between tentorial pits 1.6 × distance between pits and eyes (Fig. 70F).
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.5 × its height; side of pronotum finely punctate, mesopleuron densely setose (Fig. 70B); scutellum rather flat, smooth medially, punctate laterally; scutellar suture comparatively deep, narrow, with carinae; propodeum coarsely rugose, lateral tubercles weak and small (Fig. 70C).
Wings. Vein r straight; marginal cell 0.9 × as long as pterostigma, pterostigma 2.4 × longer than wide; r: 3-SR: SR1=10: 9: 42; SR1 slightly sinuate; marginal cell 2.0 × longer than second submarginal cell; 1-CU1: 2-CU1=7: 16, 2-R1 absent (Fig. 70A).
Legs. Hind coxa punctate and shiny laterally; length of hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 3.5 ×, 4.9 × and 4.4 × their maximum width, respectively; length of inner hind tibial spur 0.5 × hind basitarsus.
Metasoma. Length of carapace 1.8 × its maximum width in dorsal view, widest after middle, apically rounded; carapace striate-rugose up to basal 60% and posteriorly punctate (Fig. 70E); carapace in lateral view 3.2 × longer than high, posteriorly rather truncate and declivous; carapace evenly widened; posterior height of carapace 1.9 × its anterior height; apex of metasomal carapace slightly incurved and ventral opening of carapace 0.9 × as long as carapace (Fig. 70D).
Colour. Body reddish brown; antenna light brown; palpi reddish brown; pterostigma light brown; parastigma yellowish; wing and its veins light brown; legs almost entirely yellowish brown; carapace with yellowish irregular edge band in basal 1/3, and latero-basally light.
Male. Unknown.
Biology. Unknown.
Distribution. China (Zhejiang).
Etymology. Named after the reddish-brown body: “ corpus ” is Latin for body, flesh and “ rufus ” is Latin for red, reddish.
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 79-81, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5412.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10675974