Reticulodermis Pujade-Villar, Cuesta-Porta & Melika 2024, gen. nov.
Creators: name: García-Martiñón, Rosa D.
name: Equihua-Martínez, Amando
name: Estrada-Venegas, Edith G.
name: Melika, George
name: Romero-Rangel, Silvia
name: Cuesta-Porta, Víctor
name: Pujade-Villar, Juli
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Reticulodermis

description: Reticulodermis Pujade-Villar, Cuesta-Porta & Melika, gen. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 787B3A28-7ECD-4E2D-A16C-D439BB092A2D
(Figs 1–3)
Type species: Reticulodermis lithogalla García-Martiñón & Pujade-Villar, sp. n., designated herein.
Etymology. The name is related to the reticulated sculpture of the head, mesosoma and legs, from Latin: reticulum ‘net’ and Greek δέρμα derma ‘skin’.
Gender. Neutral.
Diagnosis. Reticulodermis with a uniform reticulate sculpture of the head, pronotum,mesonotum,mesoscutellum, mesopleura (except speculum), metanotum, and legs. This uniform reticulate sculpturing is shared by only two other Cynipini genera: Erythres Kinsey, 1937 and Kinseyella Pujade-Villar & Melika, 2010. Reticulodermis differs from Kinseyella by the prominent part of the ventral spine of hypopygium needle-like with long sparse setae without an apical tuft, while in Kinseyella it is short, broad, with parallel sides along entire length, with setae forming a dense apical tuft. The new genus is morphologically closely related also to Erythres but in Reticulodermis the metasoma only exhibiting few and sparse setae on the second metasomal tergum, malar sulcus absent, lateral propodeal carina inconspicuous or absent and the central propodeal area rugose while in Erythres the metasoma is strongly pubescent laterally, the malar sulcus short but present, lateral propodeal carina present and curved, central area of the propodeum smooth. The galls of these three genera are also very different. Erythres induces integral galls on buds while, Reticulodermis and Kinseyella induce detachable galls on leaves. Galls of Reticulodermis are small (4–5 mm), irregular lenticular galls with strongly lignified parenchyma, while Kinseyella induces big round galls (20–55 mm), with short felt-like pubescence, internal parenchyma with a hollow and with radiating filaments that hold the larval chamber.
Description. Head transversely ovate, reticulate, with the interocellar area elevated dorsally above the head in frontal view. Torulus located slightly above half height of eye. Gena reticulate, broadened behind eye in frontal view, broader than the width of eye in lateral view. Lower face alutaceous with numerous carinae radiating from the clypeus and almost reaching eye margin, sparsely pubescent; slightly elevated median area below toruli without carinae and rugae. Clypeus slightly trapezoid, nearly quadrangular, shining, almost smooth, emarginate ventrally and weakly incised medially. Anterior tentorial pits, epistomal sulcus and clypeo-pleurostomal lines present, weakly impressed. Front, vertex, ocellar area and occiput reticulate, glabrous, without carinae and rugae. Postocciput and postgena alutaceous, with few setae. Posterior tentorial pit ovate; gular sulcus slightly impressed, incomplete; hypostomal carina emarginate, continuing into the postgenal sulcus.
Antenna almost equal in length to the head+mesosoma, with 12 flagellomeres, sometimes with an inconspicuous suture between F11–F12. Placodeal sensilla on F3–F12, absent on F1 and F2, on F3 present in the distal half only.
Mesosoma s lightly longer than high in lateral view, with sparse white setae. Pronotum reticulate-rugulose, sculpture less prominent and with some wrinkles in ventral part. Mesoscutum slightly broader than long, reticulate, sometimes with coarser irregular rugae in the posterior third between the reticulate sculpture. Notaulus absent or inconspicuous, partially visible and impressed on posterior third, reticulate, wrinkled. Anterior parallel line visible, coriaceous-alutaeous. Parapsidal line visible, coriaceous-alutaceous, extending beyond tegula. Median mesoscutal line absent. Parascutal carina reaching anterior part of mesoscutum, smooth, with some carinae till tegula level. Mesoscutellum posteriorly rounded, uniformly reticulate-rugulose, sometimes with inconspicuous rugae between the sculpture, overhanging metanotum. Mesoscutellar fovea inconspicuous, anterior part of mesoscutellum depressed in a shallow continuous pit, rugulose with longitudinal rugae, not delimited posteriorly. Circumscutellar carina absent. Mesopleuron reticulate, with setae at the base, speculum alutaceous-coriaceous. Metascutellum reticulate-rugulose, higher than height of shining rugose ventral impressed area. Metanotal trough alutaceous, shining, with few setae. Propodeum rugose and glabrous centrally; propodeal carina absent, inconspicuous, fragmented; lateral propodeal area alutaceous, with few setae and some radiating carinae around the nucha. Nucha with dorso-lateral wrinkles.
Legs with reticulate sculpture. Tarsal claws simple, without basal lobe.
Fore wing longer than body length, hyaline, without cilia on margins. Radial cell 3.5× times as long as broad; 2r angled with short central projection; R1 straight, not reaching wing margin; Rs almost straight not reaching wing margin, not broadened in distal part. Areolet present.
Metasoma s horter than head+mesosoma, round and as long as high in lateral view; second metasomal tergum with few white setae laterally; subsequent terga weakly micropunctured. Hypopygium micropunctured. Prominent part of ventral spine of hypopygium needle-like, with scattered white setae, without apical tuft of setae.
Distribution. Mexico, Mexico State. A single species is known.
description: Published as part of García-Martiñón, Rosa D., Equihua-Martínez, Amando, Estrada-Venegas, Edith G., Melika, George, Romero-Rangel, Silvia, Cuesta-Porta, Víctor & Pujade-Villar, Juli, 2024, Reticulodermis lithogalla gen. nov. and sp. nov. of oak gall wasp from Mexico (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae), pp. 109-120 in Zootaxa 5486 (1) on pages 110-114, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5486.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/13209813