Sycophila (Sycophila) bidentata Lotfalizadeh & Delvare & Cruaud & Rasplus 2024, sp. n.
Creators: name: Lotfalizadeh, Hossein
name: Delvare, Gérard
name: Cruaud, Astrid
name: Rasplus, Jean-Yves
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eurytomidae
Sycophila
Sycophila bidentata

description: Sycophila (Sycophila) bidentata Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.   
(Figs 56–57)  
 Type material examined. Holotype ♀: Cameroon, Route Bafang-Baha, 4.946767° 10.740467°, 17.v.2007, ex syconia of Ficus thonningii, Kjellberg F. & Djeto-Lordon C. Deposited in CBGP. Paratypes: same data as holotype, 2♀. Republic of South Africa, Pretoria, Wonderboom Rese, ex syconia of Ficus abutilifolia, 18.iv.1995, Gibernau M. leg., 1♀. Guinea, Lola, F. thonningii, 2.v.1993, Rasplus J.-Y. leg., 1♀. Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Lamto, 6.222197° & -5.024070°, ex syconia of Ficus lutea, 26.vi.1989, Rasplus J.-Y. leg., 1♀. Kenya, Kakamega Forest, Kisere, ex syconia of Ficus thonningii, 3.ii.2006, Hiller Y. leg., 1♀.   
 Etymology. The specific name refers to the presence of two dentiform processes on pronotum.   
 Diagnosis. Funiculars distinctly elongate, 1.5× as long as wide (Fig. 56A). Pronotum carinate anteriorly and laterally, with two with two slight teeth on shoulders (Figs 56E, 56G, 57A). Propodeum with a sinuous, wedge-like basal carina and a median longitudinal one (Fig. 57B). Petiole longer than broad dorsally, without ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1. Gt4 much as long as Gt3 (Fig. 57C).   
 Description of holotype ♀ (Figs 56–57). Length 2.22 mm. Body mostly brown (Fig. 56A), except head in frontal view, orbital margin, scape, pronotum anterolaterally, tegula, legs, Gt5–Gt6 yellowish-brown; pronotum anterolaterally testaceous; fore wing with a dark brown spot below mv, reaching base of mv; lower margin of mv not obscured that spot (Fig. 57D); gaster brownish, dorsal edge darker (Fig. 57C); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.   
 Head 1.23× as broad as high [HW 175 & HH 142] (Fig. 56B); in dorsal view stout, 1.89× as broad as long [HW 175 & HL 93] (Fig. 56C); face and vertex coriaceous with sparse punctures; malar space 0.54× length of eye [ms 44 & EH 82]; malar sulcus clearly visible, straight (Fig. 56D); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly separated; interantennal space not raised, not carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, not carinate on margin; POL 1.89× as long as OOL [POL 53 & OOL 28] (Fig. 56C); temple rounded, 0.2× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 18 & EL 88]; setation of lower face oriented downwards, outwards on the punctuate frons.   
 Antenna. Scape reaching lower margin of median ocellus, 3.67× as long as broad [SL 55 & SW 15]; fu1 2× as long as broad [fu1L 40 & fu1W 20], distinctly longer than pedicel, not bulging dorsally; funiculars (fu2–fu4) with one row of mps and 2–3 whorls of adpressed long setae; fu2–fu5 slightly longer than broad (Fig. 56F).   
 Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.7× as long as wide (170:110), with deep sculpture (Fig. 57A); pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures, carinate on anterior margin with two submedian teeth; mesepisternum with a raised sculpture on epicnemium, being closer to anteroventral margin of mesepisternum than to mesocoxa; mesoscutum 0.5× as long as wide (60:105), 0.75× longer than length of pronotal collar (60:80), transversely strigose anteriorly, otherwise densely umbilicate punctured; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture; prepectus bare, smooth medially; mesoscutellum and axillae with dense umbilicate punctures; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum (Fig. 57B) with deep median depression, without smooth median band, and distinct median carina; lateral rows of areolae short (extending at most to half-length of propodeum); basal carina sinuous, not angulate medially, with lateral branches relatively straight; width of basal carina about 0.5× width of nucha.   
 Fore wing with long marginal fringe, rounded apically; dark brown spot only behind mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv distinctly enlarged, rounded, lower margin convex, longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell sparsely setose, dorsally bare; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent (Fig. 57D).   
 Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (45:12) and hind femora (50:20); hind tibia dorsally with more than 5 setae, setae as long as hind tibia width.   
 Metasoma. Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present. Metasoma 1.4× as long as wide (155:110) (Fig. 57C), shorter than mesosoma, strongly compressed laterally and dorsally angulate; ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent; petiole in dorsal view longer than wide, shorter than half length of hind coxa; tergites smooth; Gt4 (in lateral view) much as long as Gt3 (at least 1.5× longer), not sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6, not sinuous posteriorly; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned (Fig. 57C).   
 Male. Unknown.   
 Variation. Length 1.9–2.22 mm. In some specimens, body yellowish-brown.   
 Host plants. Ficus thonningi and F. lutea.   
 Geographical distribution. Cameroon, Guinea, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya.
description: Published as part of Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), pp. 1-190 in Zootaxa 5401 (1) on pages 86-89, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5401.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10524258