Nesolinoceras Ashmead. Circles 1906
Creators: name: Supeleto, Fernanda A.
name: Aguiar, Alexandre P.
name: Santos, Bernardo F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Nesolinoceras

description: Nesolinoceras Ashmead, 1906   
 Nesolinoceras Ashmead, 1906: 294–295. Description. Type species: N. espini Ashmead, 1906, by monotypy and original designation.   
 Nesolinoceras Ashmead: Townes (1946): generic transfer, synonymy. Townes (1970): key, description, figs. Santos, 2016: redefinition, revision, new species.   
 Diagnosis. Distinguished from all other Cryptini by the following combination of features: apical area of clypeus with a small median tubercle or fold (Fig. 2B); supraclypeal and supraantennal areas covered by distinct, uniformly spaced striae (Fig. 2A); antenna without white band; foretibia distinctly swollen, fusiform (Fig. 1); fore wing with extensive fuscous bands; areolet large, pentagonal, sides distinctly convergent (Fig. 2F); T1 anteriorly without lateral tooth, its spiracle placed at midlength; ventral valve of ovipositor apically dilated and overlapping dorsal valve as a lobe (Fig. 2E).   
 Redefinition. The new species N. bajari runs properly to the generic keys of Townes (1970) and Aguiar (2005b) but shows some character states that differ from the redescription of Nesolinoceras in Santos (2016). The generic definition is largely maintained but needs to be expanded and consolidated as follows; new or revised features are marked with a superscript plus sign.   
 Head. Supra-clypeal and supra-antennal areas with distinct, transverse striae; clypeus margin medially with a tubercle or a small convex fold  +  (Fig. 2B); occipital carina ending at (Fig. 2C) to distinctly before hypostomal carina  + . Antenna without white band, with 22–23 flagellomeres. Mesosoma. Foretibia distinctly swollen, fusiform. Mesoscutum subcircular, as long as wide  + ; scuto-scutellar carina ending at scutellum, axillary trough of mesonotum shallow, indistinct on scutellum  +  (Fig. 3D); subalar ridge wide, somewhat ovoid, not keeled  + . Fore wing: areolet large, pentagonal, 1.8–2.6 as long as pterostigma width  + , and 0.7–1.0 as long as wide  + , its lateral crossveins distinctly convergent; crossvein 1cu-a arising basad of vein 1M+Cu by about 0.3 its length  + ; vein 2-M only slightly longer than vein 3-M  + ; wings hyaline or lightly infuscate  + , fore wing with large fuscous bands. Metasoma. T1 anteriorly without lateral tooth, its spiracle placed at midlength; ventral valve of ovipositor apically dilated and overlapping dorsal valve as a lobe (Fig. 2E).   
 The known inter-specific variability of 30 out of 62 evaluated characters (48%) increased considerably (Supporting information file S2), confirming their value in defining and recognizing Nesolinoceras species.   
 Comments and Biology. Nesolinoceras is a member of the Gabunia group of genera (Santos, 2017), one of the few major clades of Cryptini that is clearly morphologically diagnosable, with traits that have convergently evolved in other groups of Cryptini and seem to be adaptations to attack deeply concealed hosts (Santos & Perrard, 2018). Hosts are known for N. ornatipennis, consisting apparently of immature stages of Cerambycidae (Coleoptera), as discussed by Santos (2016). Alayo and Tzankov (1974) reported a male-to-female sex ratio of 1:1.15, also for N. ornatipennis.   
 Distribution (Fig. 5). The genus is apparently confined to the Caribbean, with many records for N. ornatipennis from Cuba (Cresson, 1865; Ashmead, 1906; Gundlach, 1886; Alayo and Tzankov, 1974; Domínguez and Domínguez, 1990; Portuondo-Ferrer and Fernández-Triana, 2005; Fernández-Triana et al., 2005; Vázquez et al., 2008; Santos, 2016) plus a few from the Bahamas and Cayman Islands (Santos, 2016), and four records for two other species in the Dominican Republic: N. laluzbrillante reported by Santos (2016) and the present work, and the new species described here.   
 Figure 5 presents an updated distribution map for Nesolinoceras. It differs from the map presented by Santos (2016) by the addition of two records mentioned by Gundlach (1866), a new record for N. laluzbrillante, and by the following correction: Santos (op. cit.) interpreted “Juraguá” as the Cuban village of Juraguá, in the Province of Cienfuegos, but Alayo and Tzankov (1974) originally mentioned “[...] Cuabitas, Siboney, y Juraguá (alrededores de Santiago de Cuba)” and cite also “Juraguá, Ote.”, where “Ote.” is a Spanish abbreviation for Oriental, thus a reference to Juraguá on the East. This points to the locality Playa de Juraguá, which, together with Cuabitas and Siboney, is in fact located in the Province of Santiago de Cuba, on the eastern side of the country.   
 Seazonality and Altitude. Alayo and Tzankov (1974) report N. ornatipennis from nearly throughout the year, but a more formal comparison (Fig. 6A) suggest that Nesolinoceras might be more common in the wet season, during the Caribbean summer. Most available records with accurate locations are not far from the costline (Fig. 5) and from low altitudes (Fig. 6), thus simply reflecting most populated or accessible areas. Label data provided for some specimens of N. ornatipennis by Alayo and Tzankov (1974) and Fernández-Triana et al. (2005) include regions where altitudes vary from 800–1300 m, but the exact collecting locality was not given. The new species is the first confirmed record from high altitude for the genus (1100 m).
description: Published as part of Supeleto, Fernanda A., Aguiar, Alexandre P. & Santos, Bernardo F., 2021, A new species, key and further redefinition of Nesolinoceras Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), pp. 107-116 in Zootaxa 5016 (1) on pages 108-112, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5016.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/5221876