Melanocryptus tupan Aguiar & Santos 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Aguiar, Alexandre P.
name: Santos, Bernardo F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Melanocryptus
Melanocryptus tupan

description: Melanocryptus tupan, sp. nov.   Figures 12–13, 24–25, 40–41, 57, 60, 68, 107–109, 127  
DESCRIPTION: Female holotype. Forewing 12.70 mm. Body delicately sculptured. Supraclypeal area with short midlongitudinal elevation near toruli; supraantennal area with delicate, nearly smooth, glossy sculpturing, coronal suture indistinct. Antenna with 28 flagellomeres. Malar space 0.67 mandible basal width. Occipital carina laterocentrally without emargination; apically fusing with hypostomal carina nearly at base of mandible. Pronotum dorsomedial margin not raised, aligned with anterior margin mesoscutum; epomia short but distinct; sculpturing quite delicate, laterocentrally with parallel, delicate longitudinal strigation, which extends along ventroposterior margin as short subcrenulation; pronotum otherwise faintly punctulate. Mesoscutum matte, covered with fine, dense punctulation. Notaulus narrow but distinctly impressed, crenulate, straight, posteriorly slightly converging, ending at center of mesoscutum. Axillary trough of mesonotum anterior wall smooth, basally with transverse, rugose to crenulate channel, remainder transversely striate, except apex sculptured as scutellum (fig. 40). Scutellar carina advancing shortly over scutellum, which is protuberant, globose (fig. 40). Subalar ridge narrow, somewhat keeled. Epicnemial carina reaching about 0.75 of distance to subalar ridge, straight, reaching above level of pronotal spiracle. Sternaulus deep, closely crenulate, somewhat curved upward, continued dorsally by shallow depression that reaches mesopleural fovea; mesepisternum distinctly rugulose. Forewing (fig. 12) crossvein 1cu-a basal to vein 1M+Rs by about 0.15 its own length, its posterior end slightly curved toward wing base; vein 2Cua 0.70 length of crossvein 2cu-a. Hind wing (fig. 24) Cua 1.71× length of crossvein cu-a.  
Transverse furrow at base of propodeum dorsally shallow, wide, densely crenulate, immediately narrowing toward the sides until laterally linear (fig. 57). Propodeum area anterior to anterior transverse carina with delicate punctulation; area posterior to it conspicuously, densely rugulose; anterior transverse carina complete, centrally slightly curved forward; posterior transverse carina indicated by lateral, low, small apophyses, and a central, small transverse portion, placed centrally, anterior to apophyses (fig. 57). Propodeal spiracle elongate, 2.80× longer than wide. Pleural carina incompletely formed by confluent rugosities from propodeum. Metapleuron coarsely alutaceous, matte. T1 spiracle at middle (basal 0.47); dorsolateral carina differentiated only on basal 0.2 and then from spiracle to apex; ventrolateral carina distinct; sternite ending slightly basad to spiracle. Tergites delicately punctulate, more distinct on T2. Ovipositor somewhat blade shaped, 1.76× taller than wide at midlength, 1.10× length of hind tibia, very slightly curved downward; ventral valve ridges with subapical irregularity (fig. 68).  
 Pilosity. Supraclypeal area sparsely pilose, nearly glabrous. Very short, whitish or silvery pilosity on most of mesosoma; mesonotum pilosity yellowish. T1 glabrous; remaining tergites with same short, yellowish pilosity.   
 Color. Blackish, with weak metallic reflections on head and tergites only. Foreleg dark brown; foretibia with pale yellow ventromesal stripe from end to end, and pale yellow stripe dorsolaterally, not reaching apex. Ovipositor sheath dark brown, shaft amber. Forewing more or less uniformly amber infuscate, except apex with diffuse darkened area (C-shaped in some specimens) (fig. 12). Hind wing (fig. 24) amber infuscate.   
MALE: Same overall structure and color pattern of female, but with the following differences. Smaller, forewing 6.30–11.65 mm; sculpturing distinctly coarser. Antennae with 32 flagellomeres (27 on smallest specimen), with distinct preapical white band, covering flagellomeres 14–19 (13–17 on smallest specimen). Supraclypeal area middorsally with stout protuberance (vs. modest longitudinal elevation). S1 ending slightly apicad of spiracle. Following yellowish to whitish areas are absent on female: narrow paraocular stripe between 8–9 h, sometimes continued on supraantennal area as thin, linear stripe, sometimes with spot at 4 h; foretibia laterally and mesally, foretarsus except t5; midtibia except brown on posterior face, midtibial spurs, mid-t3 entirely and t2 on basal half; more brightly on hind t2–4 entirely, and t5 on basal half; spot on apex of scutellum (fig. 41); transverse furrow at base of propodeum shallow, propodeum less pilose, sculpturing more sparse (fig. 60 vs. 57); distinct apical spot on T1–3, varying from fully distinct to most commonly absent on T2–3; T7 apical margin and apical midlongitudinal stripe, T8 entirely (fig. 108). Forewing (fig. 13) vein 2Cua 0.41–0.61 length of crossvein 2cu-a.  
VARIATION: Female: Forewing length 12.5–13.7 mm; its apical dark spot varies from weak and diffuse to more intensely dark and distinctly C-shaped. Forewing vein 2Cua 0.71 length of crossvein 2cu-a; hind wing vein Cua 1.58× length of crossvein cu-a. Propodeal spiracle length 2.80–3.05× width. Ovipositor 1.02–1.10× length of hind tibia. Male: in the two northernmost specimens (from Espírito Santo) the apicomarginal infuscation of the wing is slightly more evident because the wing is otherwise nearly hyaline (fig. 13); in one of these specimens, the whitish spot on scutellum (fig. 41) and those on T2–3 (fig. 109) are the largest observed for the species (otherwise mostly dark, as in fig. 107).  
BIOLOGY: Host unknown. Phoretic mites attached to one specimen, from southern Brazil.  
 COMMENTS: Most similar to M. violaceipennis and M. dnopheros, with which it shares the body nearly entirely black and general structure. The wings of the present species are, however, light amber, with a diffuse or at most C-shaped spot at the apex of the forewing (vs. dark infuscate with central and basal lighter areas in M. violaceipennis and M. dnopheros; fig. 12 vs. 20–21); the scutellum is large, swollen, and rounded (vs. triangular, somewhat elongate, with well-delimited corners at least in M. dnopheros; fig. 40 vs. 35–36); the mesosomal sculpturing is mostly delicate (vs. distinctly coarser, conspicuously matte); forefemur with two distinct longitudinal yellowish marks, one laterodorsally and one mesoventrally (vs. entirely black or at most yellowish brown ventrally only); and mesosoma pilosity silvery (vs. yellow; fig. 57 vs. 58–59). The new species also seems to be larger, with forewing reaching 12.5–13.7 mm (vs. 11.6 for M. dnopheros), but females of M. tupan are all known from the very same locality, and there is only one known specimen for M. dnopheros, so size differences must be considered with caution. The propodeal spiracle is also slightly more elongate, 2.94–3.10× longer than wide (vs. 2.50–2.80 [right and left]), and the hind tibia is relatively shorter, with 1.07–1.11× the length of the mesosoma (vs. 1.20), but these proportions are likely to be size related.   
 ETYMOLOGY: The specific epithet is a reference to the Guarany myth of creation of the night and the moon, in which the god Tupã was a protagonist. Melanocryptus tupan is nearly entirely dark (as the night), the males having, typically, only a white stripe in the antennae (comparable to the white of the moon in the night sky).   
DISTRIBUTION: Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina), and Paraguay (fig. 127).  
 MATERIAL EXAMINED: Forty-nine females, 41 males. Holotype ♀ BRAZIL: Nova Teutonia, 27°11′S, 52°23′W. Brasil, 300–500 m, 12.I.1960, Fritz Plaumann, “ Melanocryptus Det. Porter, red holotype label (CNCI). Pinned. Apical flagellomeres (24–28) of left antenna missing, otherwise in good condition. Paratypes: BRAZIL: Espírito Santo: ♂ Santa Maria de Jetibá, Fazenda Clarindo Kruger, 20°04′27.9″S 40°44′51.3″W, 29. XI –06. XII.2002, Malaise trap, point B6, M. Tavares, C. Azevedo et al., UFES43048 (UFES); ♂ same data except point B6, MTavares, UFES43050 (UFES). Paraná: ♂ Telêmaco Borba, Reserva Samuel Klabin, 04. V.1987, Malaise, Levantamento Entomológico PROFAUPAR (DZUP); 3♂ same data except 03. XI.1986, 3♂ same data except 24.XI.1986, 15.XII.1986, and 22. XII.1986 (DZUP). Santa Catarina: ♀ Nova Teutonia, 27°11′S 52°23′W, I.1965, Malaise, Fritz Plaumann; 18♀ same data except I.1968, 08.I.1968, I.1969, II.1967, II.1968 ×3, 05.II.1968, 08.II.1968, 09.II.1968, 12.III.1959, III.1966, III.1969, IV.1969, VIII.1967, XI.1968, XII.1968 (CNCI); ♀ Nova Teutonia, 27°11′S 52°23′W, I.1937, Malaise, Fritz Plaumann; 13♀ same data except 05.I.1939, 10.I.1938, 13.I.1938, II.1937, 02.II.1939, 04.II.1939, 14.II.1938, 17.II.1938, 26.II.1938, 02.III.1939, 07.III.1939, 16.III.1939, 14.XI.1938 (BMNH); ♂ Nova Teutonia, 27°11′S 52°23′W, II.1966, Malaise, Fritz Plaumann; 15♂ same data except II.1968, 09.II.1968, 06.III.1967, IV.1966, IV.1969, VIII.1966, XI.1968 ×5, 15.XI.1952, XII.1968 ×2, 12. XII.1968 (CNCI); ♂ Nova Teutonia, 27°11′S 52°23′W, 23.I.1939, Malaise, Fritz Plaumann; 13♂ same data except I.1937, 19.II.1938, 17.III.1939, 29.IX.1938, 17.XI.1938, 18. XI.1938, 25.XI.1938, 01.XII.1938, 16.XII.1938, 29.XII.1938; São Paulo: 2♂ Boraceia Field Station, Casa Grande, Grid 23KMP092837, 19–26.II.1975, Thomas E. Rogers (BMNH). Other specimens: BRAZIL: Santa Catarina: 11 ♀ Nova Teutonia, I.1971, 19.II.1954 [illustrated in fig. 258b in Townes 1970: 491, as indicated by yellow label pinned with the specimen], II.1968 ×2, II.1971, III.1968, IV.1971, X.1968, X, XI, XII.1970, Fritz Plaumann (AEIC); 13♂ Nova Teutonia, I.1968 ×2, I.1971, II.1968 ×2, IV.1971, 08.VII.1940, XI.1970 ×2, 25.XII.1951, XII.1968, XII.1970 ×2, Fritz Plaumann (AEIC). Rio de Janeiro: 4♀ Teresópolis, 9.III.1966, Townes and Townes (AEIC); 3♂ same data except 11.III.1966 ×2, and 13.III.1966 (AEIC). PARAGUAY: ♂ Pirapó, 29. XII.1971, Luis Peña (AEIC).
description: Published as part of Aguiar, Alexandre P. & Santos, Bernardo F., 2015, Revision of Melanocryptus Cameron (Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with description of seven new species, pp. 1-56 in American Museum Novitates 2015 (3836) on pages 44-49, DOI: 10.1206/3836.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5368168