Spilomena sahyadriensis Tessy, Sureshan et Girish Kumar 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Rajan, Tessy
name: Kumar, P. Girish
name: Sureshan, P. M.
name: Binoy, C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Crabronidae
Spilomena
Spilomena sahyadriensis

description: Spilomena sahyadriensis Tessy, Sureshan et Girish Kumar, sp. nov.
(Figs 29–36)
Type material: Holotype, ♀, India: Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram dt., Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary (8°31’50’’N & 77°09’08’’E, Alt. 93 m), 17.i.2019, Coll. P. Girish Kumar, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV/17149.
Diagnosis. Spilomena sahyadriensis sp. nov. differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: lower frons imbricate; upper frons and vertex reticulate with scattered setigerous micropunctures; relative length to breadth of scape = 38:6; relative length to breadth of stigma = 34:15; mesoscutum reticulate with dense micropunctures; propodeal dorsum and posterior surface of propodeum rugose and rugulose, lateral surface with transverse ridges.
Description. Holotype ♀. Body length 4.6 mm; fore wing length 2.6 mm.
Colour. Body black with following parts yellow: mandible (except apical tip brown), labrum, palpi, antenna and legs; pronotal lobe and tegula white; fore wing veins and stigma light brown.
Vestiture. Setigerous micropunctures present on frons, vertex, mesoscutum and scutellum; dense brush of short setae at apex of T6; remainder of body with sparse vestiture.
Head. Clypeus shiny, without appressed setae, markedly convex (Fig. 30); interantennal tubercle inconspicuous, not distinctly pointed, extending into short median carina at most reaching lower frons; mandible bidentate apically, inner mandibular tooth short and blunt; relative length to breadth of scape = 38:6; lower frons imbricate; upper frons and vertex reticulate with scattered setigerous micropunctures; inner eye margin straight; gena imbricate, impunctate.
Mesosoma. Pronotum laterally with longitudinal ridges; anterior carina of pronotal collar conspicuous and straight; mesoscutum reticulate, with dense micropunctures; admedian line and parapsidal line lacking; scutellum reticulate, with dense micropunctures, anterior groove of scutellum without crenulations; metanotum reticulate, without micropunctures, longitudinal rugose laterally; mesopleuron reticulate, with scattered setigerous micropunctures posteriorly (Fig. 32); metapleuron with irregular rugae; stigma elongate, relative length to breadth = 34:15; recurrent vein of fore wing received well within first submarginal cell; propodeal dorsum and posterior surface of propodeum rugose and rugulose (Fig. 33), lateral surface with transverse ridges.
Metasoma. T1 and T2 shiny and impunctate; T3–T6 with scattered setigerous punctures on entire surface; T6 apically with dense brush of short setae.
Male. Unknown.
Etymology. The species name is derived from “Sahyadri”, the vernacular name for the Western Ghat mountain ranges.
Distribution. India: Kerala.
description: Published as part of Rajan, Tessy, Kumar, P. Girish, Sureshan, P. M. & Binoy, C., 2021, A review of the genus Spilomena Shuckard (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) with the description of six new species from India, pp. 263-276 in Zootaxa 5068 (2) on pages 269-271, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5068.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/5704375