Nedinoschiza indica Ranjith 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranjith, A. P.
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Nedinoschiza
Nedinoschiza indica

description: Nedinoschiza indica Ranjith sp. nov.
(Figs 1–3)
urn:lsid:zoobank act: BB8CAC14-455D-4AF6-A180-006B96EFC184
Material examined. Holotype, female, (♀) “ INDIA: Kerala, Kozhikode, Janakikkadu, 4.iii.2020, coll. Ranjith, A.P. ”. Paratype 1 female “ INDIA: Kerala, Kannur, Aralam, 11.i.2020, coll. Alfred Daniel ” (AIMB).
Description. Holotype, female, length of body 6.83 mm, fore wing 5.42 mm, ovipositor 7.64 mm.
Head. Antenna with 38 antennomeres (Fig. 2F). Length of first flagellomere 1.3 × second. First and second flagellomere 2.2, 1.7 × as long as wide respectively. Head 1.13, 1.40 × as wide as long in anterior and dorsal view respectively. Face 1.15 × as wide as long, smooth, shiny, setose, glabrous medially with a short mid longitudinal groove anteriorly (Fig. 1B). Height of clypeus: inter tentorial distance: tentorio ocular distance= 9: 18: 22. Clypeus separated from face with a shallow smooth transverse groove (Fig. 1B). Tentorial pit deep (Fig. 1B). Malar suture absent (Fig. 1D). Malar space 0.83 × basal width of mandible. Length of eye 1.5 × as long as temple in dorsal view, sparsely setose, not emarginated beyond antennal sockets (Fig. 1C). Frons distinctly impressed, punctate, setose anteriorly with a complete, distinct mid longitudinal carina (Fig. 1C). POL: diameter of ocellus: OOL= 7: 9: 27. Vertex smooth, sparsely punctate (Fig. 1C). Occiput smooth, sparsely setose (Fig. 1C).
Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.6 × as long as high. Pronotum smooth laterally, setose (Fig. 1E). Mesoscutum smooth, setose, glabrous laterally (Fig. 1F). Notauli distinct, shallow (Fig. 1F). Scutellar sulcus wide medially divided by 11 carinae (Fig. 1F). Scutellum smooth, setose (Fig. 1F). Mesopleuron smooth, setose, glabrous antero-medially (Fig. 1E). Precoxal sulcus shallow, impressed not crenulated (Fig. 1E). Metapleuron smooth, setose (Fig. 1E). Medial area of metanotum without mid longitudinal carina anteriorly (Fig. 1F). Propodeum smooth, setose (Fig. 2A).
Wings. Fore wing (Fig. 3A): Angle between vein C+SC+R and 1RS 50°. Vein (RS+M)a curved. Ratio of length of veins r-rs: 3RSa: 3RSb= 1: 4.5: 7.6 and 2RS: 3RSa: rs-m= 1.4: 2.6: 1. Second submarginal cell parallel sided (Fig. 2E). Vein 1cu-a slightly postfurcal (Fig. 2E). Hind wing (Fig. 3B): Apex of vein C+SC+R with one hamule. Vein R longitudinal. Vein cu-a straight. Vein 1r-m 3.5 × R.
Legs. Ratio of lengths of fore femur: tibia: tarsus = 1: 1: 2.1. Fore tibia with stout spines (Fig. 2E). Hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 3.5, 8.5 and 5 × as long as wide respectively. Hind coxa punctate, setose (Fig. 1E). Tarsal claw without pointed basal lobe.
Metasoma. First metasomal tergite 1.2 × as long as wide apically, distinctly rugose with a midlongitudinal carina and a pair of lateral smooth longitudinal groove (Fig. 2B). Second metasomal tergite 1.3 × as long as third tergite, 2.00 × as wide as long, rugose with a large triangular midbasal, longitudinally striate area, with a pair of smooth sublateral areas and lateral shallow, crenulated grooves, midbasal area 0.38 × as long as tergite not connected with second metasomal suture by a short longitudinal carina, lateral sides of midbasal area crenulated (Fig. 2C). Second metasomal suture sinuate wide medially, crenulate (Fig. 2C). Metasomal tergite 3 2.85 × as wide as long (Fig. 2C). Metasomal tergites 3–4 longitudinally strongly striate with distinct antero-lateral area (Figs 2B, C). Metasomal tergite 5 transversely striate (Fig. 2C). Hypopygium large, acute apically (Fig. 2D). Ovipositor sheath setose (Fig. 1A). Ovipositor with distinct dorsal nodus and ventral serrations (Fig. 2G).
Colour. Body black (Fig. 1A) except face, lateral temples, frons antero-medially, occiput ventrally, labial and maxillary palps, fore coxa, trochanter, femur apical half mid femur apically, pterostigma basally, metasomal sternite, ovipositor except apex yellow.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution. India (Kerala).
Host. Unknown.
Etymology. Named after the country where the specimen was collected.
Comparative diagnosis. The new species is similar to N. speciosa in having the longitudinally striated mid basal area of second metasomal tergite and sculptured third metasomal tergite. Apart from the differences stated in the key this new species differs from N. speciosa by the following characters; length of eye 1.5 × as long as temple in dorsal view (vs length of eye as long as temple in N. speciosa), fore wing vein 3RSb 1.7 × as long as 3RSa (vs 1.25 × in N. speciosa), antenna with 38 antennomeres (vs 64 antennomeres in N. speciosa), head dorsally black (vs yellow in N. speciosa) and scutellum black (vs reddish yellow in N. speciosa).
description: Published as part of Ranjith, A. P. & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2021, First record of the genus Nedinoschiza Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from the Indian subcontinent with the description of a new species from the Western Ghats, pp. 542-552 in Zootaxa 4990 (3) on pages 544-547, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4990.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/5027175