Sycophila (Sycophila) meridionalis Lotfalizadeh & Delvare & Cruaud & Rasplus 2024, sp. n.
Creators: name: Lotfalizadeh, Hossein
name: Delvare, Gérard
name: Cruaud, Astrid
name: Rasplus, Jean-Yves
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eurytomidae
Sycophila
Sycophila meridionalis

description: Sycophila (Sycophila) meridionalis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.   
(Figs 77–79)  
 Type material examined. Holotype ♀, Republic of South Africa, Pretoria, Wonderboom Rese, ex syconia of Ficus abutilifolia, 18.iv.1995, Gibernau M. leg. Deposited in CBGP. Paratypes: same data as holotype, 2♂.   
 Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality located in the southern part of Africa.   
 Diagnosis. Body of female without a distinct dark band dorsally, sometimes a slight dark brown mark dorsally (Fig. 77A). Funiculars distinctly long, about 1.5× as long as wide (Fig. 77B). Propodeum with median carina (Fig. 78B). Gt4 as long as Gt3, Gt5 as long as Gt4 dorsally (Fig. 78C). Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent.   
Body of male yellowish, propodeum partly dark (Fig. 79A). Flagellum with fu1–fu4 much longer than wide (Fig. 79B). Fore wing partly setose, with distinct speculum (Fig. 78C).  
 Description of holotype ♀ (Figs 77–78). Length 3.39 mm. Body yellowish-brown (Fig. 77A), except ocellar area, mesosoma dorsomedially, propodeum, petiole and gaster dorsally, flagellum and Gt2–Gt4 lateroventrally dark brown to black; antennal colour mostly dark brown; pronotum yellowish and black dorsomedially; fore wing with a dark brown spot below mv, not reaching base of mv, lower margin of mv not obscured by dark brown spot (Fig. 78D); gaster brownish, not uniformly coloured, darker on side of gaster (Fig. 78C); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.   
 Head in frontal and dorsal views coriaceous with sparse punctures; in frontal view 1.39× as broad as high [HW 188 & HH 135] (Fig. 77C); in dorsal view transverse, 1.95× as broad as long [HW 242 & HL 124] (Fig. 77D); malar space 0.5× length of eye [ms 40 & EH 80]; malar sulcus distinct, straight (Fig. 77E); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly separated; interantennal space not raised, not carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, not carinate on margin; POL 2.82× as long as OOL [POL 62 & OOL 22]; temple rounded, 0.24× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 24 & EL 98] (Fig. 77D); setation oriented downwards on face, outwards on the punctuate frons.   
 Antenna. Scape reaching lower margin of median ocellus, 3.77× as long as broad [SL 83 & SW 22]; fu1 1.73× as long as broad [fu1L 38 & fu1W 22], distinctly longer than pedicel, not bulging dorsally; funicular (fu2–fu4) with two rows of mps and 2 whorls of adpressed setae; fu2–fu4 slightly longer than broad; fu5 as long as broad (Fig. 77B).   
 Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.7× as long as wide (170:100), with deep sculpture (Fig. 78A); pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures; mesepisternum raised medially, with piliferous sculpture on epicnemium, being closer to anteroventral margin of mesepisternum than to mesocoxa; mesoscutum 0.6× as long as wide (60:100), 0.65× longer than length of pronotal collar (60:90), with dense umbilicate punctures, transversely strigose anteriorly; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture;prepectus bare, slightly sculptured; mesoscutellum uniformly umbilicate and coriaceous sculpture; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum (Fig. 78B) with deep median depression, and a smooth median band, and a distinct median carina; lateral rows of areolae short (extending at most to half-length of propodeum); basal carina inverted V, truncate mesally, lateral branches of propodeal basal carina slightly convex; distance between lateral carinae less than 0.5× width of nucha.   
 Fore wing with short marginal fringe, distal margin round; dark brown spot only behind mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv distinctly enlarged, rounded, lower margin convex, not longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell sparsely setose, dorsally bare; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent (Figs 78E, F).   
 Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (25:10) and hind femora (35:10); hind tibia dorsally with less than 10 setae, setae shorter than hind tibia width.   
 Metasoma. Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present. Metasoma 1.5× as long as wide (150:100) (Fig. 78C), longer than mesosoma, strongly compressed laterally and dorsally angulate; ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent; petiole in dorsal view longer than wide, shorter than half length of hind coxa; tergites smooth; Gt4 (in lateral view) much as long as Gt3 (at least 1.5× longer), sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6; sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 with few setae dorsally, Gt6 sparsely setose ventrally; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned (Fig. 78C).   
 Male (Fig. 79). Length 3.08–4.00 mm. Similar to female with longer petiole (Fig. 79A); exhibiting same colouration, but most yellowish than female; antennal formula 11143, with much longer segments, at least 2× as long as broad; each funicular with 3 rows of mps and several whorls of relatively short adpressed setae (Fig. 79B); fore wing more setose than in female, speculum relatively narrow, costal cell with two rows of setae dorsally and dense setae ventrally (Fig. 79C).   
 Variation. None.   
 Host plant. Ficus abutilifolia.   
 Geographical distribution. Republic of South Africa.
description: Published as part of Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), pp. 1-190 in Zootaxa 5401 (1) on pages 111-115, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5401.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10524258