Neoxorides borderai Khalaim & Ruíz-Cancino & Coronado-Blanco 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Khalaim, Andrey I.
name: Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique
name: Coronado-Blanco, Juana María
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Neoxorides
Neoxorides borderai

description: 1. Neoxorides borderai Khalaim, sp. nov.
(Figs 11–20)
Material examined. Holotype female (UNAM), Mexico, State of Hidalgo, Huasca, Rancho Santa Elena, Manantial de las Vigas, 20º07′53.4″N, 98º31′38.5″W, 2500 m, 7.XII.2002 – 9.I.2003, coll. Menchaca & Contreras.
Description. Female. Body length (without ovipositor) about 10.5 mm. Fore wing length almost 8.0 mm.
Head convex behind eyes in dorsal view (Fig. 13). Mandible broad basally, abruptly tapered at basal 0.4, apically with a single chisel-shaped tooth (Fig. 12). Malar space very short, almost 0.15× as long as basal mandibular width (Fig. 3). Clypeus small, about 2.8× as broad as long (Fig. 12). Face slightly transverse, 1.15× as broad (minimum distance between inner margins of eyes) as long (distance from clypeal sulcus to the level of bases of antennae). Antenna with scape very obliquely truncate, angled at about 60°; flagellum with about 35 flagellomeres. Lateral ocellus separated from eye margin by 2.8× maximum diameter of lateral ocellus. Face very weakly convex, punctato-rugulose, with weak and short longitudinal median keel in upper part (Fig. 12). Frons finely granulate, punctate (punctures medially mostly indistinct), with hardly discernible transverse wrinkles (Fig. 12). Vertex punctate on smooth background medially, swollen and with oblique strong rugae laterally along upper eye orbit, with weak but distinct median longitudinal groove (Figs 12, 13). Gena more or less smooth and punctate in lower 0.4, with strong transverse rugae (except eye margin and posterior margin) in upper 0.6 (Fig. 14). Occipital carina complete, mediodorsally dipped; its lower portion (from junction with hypostomal carina to base of mandible) raised, approximately as long as basal mandibular width.
Mesosoma elongated, somewhat depressed (Fig. 11). Epomia absent. Pronotum laterally almost entirely polished (Fig. 14). Mesoscutum subpolished, peripherally finely granulate, with fine and sparse punctures on central lobe and distinct and dense punctures on lateral lobes (Fig. 16). Notaulus deep and long, approximate in centre of mesoscutum and reaching its posterior end, with coarse transverse wrinkles, with several longitudinal wrinkles in notaular depression posteriorly (Figs 14, 16). Epicnemial carina absent. Mesopleuron densely punctate on smooth background, impunctate in upper part (Fig. 15). Metapleuron densely punctate (except upper part), smooth between punctures. Submetapleural carina absent (Fig. 6). Propodeum (Figs 16, 18) very weakly convex in lateral view, virtually without carinae, with weak transverse wrinkles dorsally in anterior half and posterolaterally, with slightly raised evenly granulate area subrectangular medially somewhat behind centre, and almost smooth posteriorly; posterolateral margin of propodeum strongly impressed. Metapleuron separated from propodeum by indistinct, almost obliterated carina. Propodeal spiracle round.
Fore wing (Fig. 11) with 1cu-a (nervulus) opposite M&RS (basal vein). Vein 2rs-m very short, less than 0.2× length of abscissa of M between 2rs-m and 2m-cu. Legs very slender (Figs 11, 17). Tarsal claws simple.
Metasoma more or less cylindrical. First tergite 1.6× as long as posteriorly broad, weakly and evenly widened from base towards apex, with fine transverse wrinkles (except smooth posterior margin) (Fig. 18); glymma absent; lateromedian longitudinal carinae very short, developed at extreme base of tergite; dorsolateral longitudinal carinae absent; spiracle small, situated at anterior 0.4 of tergite. Second tergite slightly elongate, almost 1.15× as long as broad (Fig. 19). Tergites 2–7 with transverse wrinkles (Fig. 19) (wrinkles fine but distinct on tergites 2–4 and become weaker or evanescent on posterior tergites), posterior 0.2–0.25 smooth. Ovipositor long and very slender (Fig. 11), upcurved, apically with fine teeth on lower valve and small denticles on lower margin of upper valve (Fig. 20); sheath almost as long as fore wing (Fig. 11).
Head black; lower part and lateral sides of face, lower half of frontal eye orbits white (Fig. 12); mandible black. Palpi whitish, distal palpomeres infuscate. Antenna black, scape ventrally whitish. Mesosoma black (Figs 14–16); propleuron with lateral margin whitish (Fig. 14). Tegula white. Wing infumate with yellow-brown (Fig. 11); veins and pterostigma brown to dark brown. Fore leg brownish yellow, distal tarsomere fuscous. Mid leg predominantly brownish yellow, tibia dorsally darkened, tarsus entirely fuscous (Fig. 17). Hind leg entirely black (Fig. 17). First tergite black with narrow transverse white band posteriorly (Fig. 18); tergites 2–7 black with white bands posteriorly and laterally, their sternites black with white bands posteriorly (Fig. 11). Ovipositor sheath brownish black to black, somewhat paler at distal end (Fig. 11).
Male. Unknown.
Etymology. This conspicuous species is named in honour of the Spanish expert in Ichneumonidae, my colleague and friend Santiago Bordera (Alicante, Spain).
Comparison. The new species is similar to N. borealis (Cresson) as both have entirely black mesoscutum and mesopleuron, and mesopleuron and metapleuron distincly punctate, but differs from this species in having vein 2rsm very short, less than 0.2× length of abscissa of M between 2rs-m and 2m-cu (Fig. 11) (0.4× in N. borealis and other Nearctic species), metasomal tergites with conspicuous posterior white bands (Fig. 11), and shorter ovipositor sheath (1.1× vs 1.4× in N. borealis). See also the key to species.
Neoxorides borderai sp. nov. also differs from all Palaearctic species by the combination of black hind leg (Figs 11, 17) (predominantly red, including coxa, in most Palaearctic species), entirely black mesosoma (Figs 11, 15, 16), metasomal tergites with posterior white bands (Fig. 11), and short first metasomal tergite.
In the key to the Western Palaearctic species of Neoxorides by Johansson & Klopfstein (2020), the female from Mexico runs to couplet 4 and in this couplet it generally corresponds with N. varipes (Holmgren) by having black hind coxa and relatively short white markings on inner eye orbits, but differs from N. varipes by the pronotum with lateral sides almost entirely polished, while in N. varipes the pronotum possesses weak retitulate microsculpture.
description: Published as part of Khalaim, Andrey I., Ruíz-Cancino, Enrique & Coronado-Blanco, Juana María, 2023, First records of Perithous Holmgren (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae) and Neoxorides Clément (Poemeniinae) from Mexico, pp. 440-450 in Zootaxa 5264 (3) on pages 446-448, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5264.3.11, http://zenodo.org/record/7836635