Gonaporus ecbatanus Wolf 1990
Creators: name: Zonstein, Irina
name: Wahis, Raymond
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Pompilidae
Gonaporus
Gonaporus ecbatanus

description: Gonaporus ecbatanus Wolf, 1990
(Figs 8, 9, 22, 25, 33, 39, 89, 100, 111, 122, 132, 143, 154, 165, 176, 187, 198, 201, 209)
Gonaporus ecbatanus Wolf, 1990: 632 (holotype, ♀, Tehran, Iran, examined, OLML); S. Zonstein 2001: 140. Gonaporus flamingo S. Zonstein, 2001: 140 (holotype, ♀, Stalinabad (Dushanbe), Tajikistan, [ZISP, temporary deposited in TAU], examined), syn. nov.
Diagnosis. G. ecbatanus is very similar to G. omanicus, differing only by the lighter coloration. The coloration of G. ecbatanus varies from entirely orange (Fig. 8) to dark specimens with black head and mesosoma and orange metasoma, whereas G. omanicus is entirely blackish-brown (Fig. 10). G. ecbatanus is also similar to G. maureanus. In comparison to G. ecbatanus, the female of G. maureanus has the shorter malar space (0.31–0.43 × as high as width of F 1 in G. ecbatanus, 0.19–0.25 × in G. maureanus). The female claw is dilated in G. ecbatanus (Fig. 39), parallel-sided in G. maureanus, and the abscissa Rs1 of the hind wing is mostly arcuate in G. ecbatanus, straight in G. maureanus. The males of three species, G. ecbatanus, G. maureanus and G. omanicus, have nearly identical subgenital plate and genitalia (as in Figs 201, 209) the genitalia differs from all other congeners by the narrow basally and widened apically paramere. The females of these three species differ from the females of the other congeners as follows: from G. alfierii and G. emiratus sp. nov. by the less developed setation on the head and shorter malar space; from G. gracilis, G. mirabilis sp. nov. and G. spinosissimus sp. nov. by the presence of only three posterior spines in the tarsal comb on the protarsomere 1 (Figs 132). Female of G. ecbatanus has 2 anteroventral spines on the protarsomere 1, one of them may be relatively long (Fig. 25); G. israelicus and G. setitarsus sp. nov. have 2–3 long anteroventral spines on the protarsomere 1 (Figs 26, 135, 139).
Redescription. Female. Body length 7.6–9.0 mm. Structure: see Table 1. Coloration: This species has extremely variable coloration of head, mesosoma and legs, dark colored specimens have mostly black head, black basally and orange apically clypeus, dark brown antenna, mostly black mesosoma with brown posterior and lateral edges of pronotum, orange-brown legs, dark brown tarsi and orange metasoma; and light colored specimens (3 females from Tajikistan and part females from Yazyavan) have almost entirely orange body and legs, except of brown-orange apexes of mandible, orange-brown antenna and tarsi (Fig. 8). Spines of tarsal comb orange to brown; tibiae with orange spines; tarsi with brown spines. Pygidium orange to brown, subshiny. Pubescence: Metapostnotum without pubescence (Fig. 33). Setae: Head (posteriorly), propleuron and procoxa with moderately long fine whitish setae. Protarsomere 1 with 3 long spines posteriorly and 1–2 short spines anteroventrally (one short and one long) (Fig. 25).
Male. Body length 4.9–8.0 mm. Structure: see Table 2. Protarsus (Figs 22, 143). Subgenital plate (Fig. 201): Hirsute, broad oval, with weak median keel. Genitalia: Paramere conspicuously widened apically (Fig. 209). Coloration (Fig. 9): Head dark orange to mostly black; clypeus orange to mostly black, with apical 0,5 orange; mandible mostly yellow, dark orange apically; scape and pedicel entirely orange to orange ventrally and blackishbrown dorsally; flagellum mostly brown, orange basoventrally to entirely blackish-brown. Mesosoma dark orange to mostly black except of brown lateral edge of pronotum; tegula orange to brown. Legs orange, except of brown tarsi, to mostly black, with coxae and femora narrowly orange apically; protibial spur yellowish-brown basally, brown apically; other spurs orange-brown to blackish-brown; leg spines brown to blackish-brown. Metasoma: Segment 1—1(3) from entirely orange to mostly orange, other segments, except of segment 7, entirely dark brown to mostly dark brown basally, orange apically; segment 7 dark brown, T7 with large white spot medially. Pubescence: Metapostnotum without pubescence. Setae: Head (posteriorly) and propleuron usually with fine, moderately long, whitish to brownish setae.
Redescription of the female holotype. Structure: Head: 1.2 × as wide as high and 1.5 × as wide as pronotum; eye ratio 1.8; eye 3.6 × as long as temple; malar space 0.31 × as high as width of F1; POD/OOD ratio 0.96; anterior ocellar angle 85°; antennal ratio 2.4: 1: 4.0: 3.1; F1 5.8 × as long as wide; apical flagellomere 3.3 × as long as wide basally. Mesosoma: Metapostnotum 0.76 × as long as metanotum. Protarsomere 1 ratio 5.9; apical spine of protarsomere 1 0.63 × as long as protarsomere 1. Wing: second submarginal cell 0.29 × as wide anteriorly as posteriorly; MM 0.63; MR 1.13; RQ 0.47; fore wing ratio 3.6. Body length 8.3 mm. Coloration: Head mostly black; clypeus black basally, dark orange-brown apically; mandible mostly orange-yellow, orange-brown on apical 0.33; antenna mostly dark brown; scape brownish-orange dorsally, orange ventrally. Mesosoma black; tegula yellowish-orange. Legs: Coxae mostly black, orange apically; mesocoxa also orange ventrally; trochanters black dorsally, blackish-orange ventrally; femora blackish-orange; pro- and mesotibia orange-brown; metatibia mostly orange, narrowly black apically; tarsomere 1 orange-brown; other tarsomeres blackish-brown; protibial spur whitish basally, blackish apically; spines of tarsal comb mostly brown, blackish apically; spines on tibiae and femora orange-brown; tarsi with brown spines. Metasoma orange. Pygidium orange-brown.
Material examined. Holotype of G. ecbatanus: ♀, IRAN: Tehran, Steppa 30 km S of Tehran, 26.vi.1965, Giordani-Soika & Mavromoustakis. Holotype of G. flamingo, ♀: TAJIKISTAN: Stalinabad (Dushanbe), 5.viii. [1]935, Gussakovskij; paratypes of G. flamingo: the same label as holotype, 11–15.viii.1935, 2♀, 1♂; UZBEKISTAN, 25 km E Baisun, foothills of Baisun Mts., 38°05'N 67°26'E, 700 m, 5.05.1997, S. Zonstein, 1♂ [ZISP, TAU]. Other material. ISRAEL: Nahal Boqer, 17.v.1986, E. Shney-Dor, 1♀; Nahal Quidron, 31°40'N 35°26'E, 23.v.2005, S. Zonstein, 1♀ (TAU); 45 km SE Beer Sheva, Mezad Aqrabbim, 30°57'N 35°08'E, 8.v.1996, Schmid-Egger, ISR-mez, 1♀ (lost). TURKMENISTAN: Keshi, Zacaspisk Region', 22.v.1928, Gussakovskij, 1♀ (ZISP). UZBEKISTAN: Yazyavan, 40°36.4'N 71°31.7'E, 400–420 m, 21–22.vi.2007, I. & S. Zonstein, 19♀, 98 ♂.
Distribution. Israel, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan (Fig. 216).
Habitat. In Israel this species is found in arid biotopes with loess and marl soils of Central Negev and Dead Sea Area. In southern Uzbekistan this species inhabits open arid sandy biotopes of the Fergana Valley.
Biology. Females of Gonaporus ecbatanus were observed digging burrows in the sandy ground in Uzbekistan (I. Zonstein, unpubl. data).
Notes. The variation between specimens of this species collected in different geographical areas is very high and therefore we include the description of the holotype. All specimens from Dushanbe (Tajikistan) have extremely light coloration—orange head, mesosoma and metasoma, and mostly orange legs (except for the orange-brown tarsi); Zonstein (2001) described them under G. flamingo. The holotype of G. ecbatanus and other specimens from Israel and Turkmenia identified by H. Wolf as G. ecbatanus, have mostly black coloration of the head and mesosoma and darker coloration of the legs. However, new material collected recently in Yazyavan (Uzbekistan) contains specimens widely ranged in coloration from entirely orange (as in specimens from Dushanbe) to dark colored (as the holotype and other specimens with black-colored pro- and mesosoma). Moreover, the shape of the subgenital plate and male genitalia in G. flamingo and G. ecbatanus are similar. These reasons compel us to consider G. flamingo a synonym of G. ecbatanus.
description: Published as part of Zonstein, Irina & Wahis, Raymond, 2015, Revision of the Palaearctic genus Gonaporus Ashmead, 1902 of spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), pp. 451-505 in Zootaxa 4018 (4) on pages 470-471, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4018.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/234261