Prionyx (Harpactopus) funebris
Creators: name: Odintsev, Yuriy N. Danilov Oleg A.
name: Kobets, Anastasia S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Sphecidae
Prionyx
Prionyx funebris

description: Prionyx (Harpactopus) funebris (Berland, 1926)
(Figs 2c, 4d, 5d, 6d, 7c, 8b, 9c, 12a)
Sphex funebris Berland 1926:202, ♀. Holotype: ♀, “Bura” [Kenya: Tana River County: Bura] (MNHN).— Leclercq 1955:26; de Beaumont 1967b:502.— As Chlorion funebris: Arnold 1928:358, 1930:17; Scott in Arnold 1933:370.— As Sphex eatoni: R. Turner 1912:413.— As Prionyx funebris: R. Bohart & Menke 1976:133; Seyoum & Pulawski 2001:321; S. Gess & F. Gess 2003:91; Dollfuss 2008:1409; Danilov & Odintsev 2023:433; Pulawski 2024:9.
Diagnosis. Both sexes of P. funebris closely resemble P. macula in having the scutum with dense, appressed, silvery setae, concealing the integument, in having the labial palpomeres 2–4 short, and the male in having F3–F6 with broad placoids, and S6 angularly convex posterolaterally, but differ in having the vertex and the pronotum without dense, appressed, silvery setae and in having the wings intensely dark with purple reflexes (P. macula has the vertex and pronotum with dense, appressed, silvery setae, and the wings dark to smoky).
Description. Head. Labrum trapeziform; labial palpomeres 2–4 short, conspicuous. Clypeus laterally and posteriorly, paraocular area anteriorly with appressed, silvery setae; frons with transverse band of dense appressed, silvery setae; vertex, occiput and gena slightly shiny, microsculptured, with black erect setae. Mesosoma. Pronotum moderately angulate laterodorsally, transversely rugose laterally and laterodorsally, finely rugose dorsally, with black erect setae. Scutum with dense, appressed, silvery setae, concealing integument, except anterolateral angles and narrow area anteriorly distinctly transversely rugose. Scutellum slightly longitudinally depressed, punctate and rugose. Metanotum tuberculate dorsally. Mesopleuron, metapleuron, and propodeum coarsely areolate-rugose with black erect setae. Wings intensely dark with purple reflexes; veins black; recurrent vein II of forewing interstitial with 1 st intersubmarginal vein or received by submarginal cell III at its basal angle. Legs. Claws with two ventral teeth; arolia present.
Male. Body length 25 mm. Head. Clypeus with wide V-shaped median emargination, glabrous and shiny anteriorly. F3–F6 with broad, flat placoids. Metasoma. S6 angularly convex posterolaterally, without teeth.
Female. Body length 29 mm. Head. Clypeus slightly emarginate anteriorly; clypeal disk moderately convex, with transverse oval depression anteriorly. Legs. Tarsal rake of foreleg with long, stout, bladelike and some short, hairlike setae.
Material examined. KENYA. Coast Province: Tsavo River, no specific locality [3°00’S, 38°26’E], 27.XII.1911, Svatosh (1 ♀, ZISP). YEMEN. Sanaa [15°20’N, 44°12’E], 30.VIII.1914, collector unknown (1 ♂, ZISP).
Distribution. Southern and eastern African and southern Arabian semi-arid and arid areas of Afrotropical region (Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, * Yemen).
description: Published as part of Odintsev, Yuriy N. Danilov Oleg A. & Kobets, Anastasia S., 2024, A taxonomic study on the genus Prionyx Vander Linden, 1827 (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Prionychini). Subgenus Harpactopus F. Smith, 1856, pp. 263-298 in Zootaxa 5551 (2) on pages 270-271, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5551.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/14421160