Merismomorpha Girault 1913
Creators: name: Tselikh, Ekaterina V.
name: Rasplus, Jean-Yves
name: Lee, Jaehyeon
name: Dale-Skey, Natalie
name: Gupta, Ankita
name: Ku, Deok-Seo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Pteromalidae
Merismomorpha

description: Merismomorpha Girault, 1913
Epipolycystus Girault, 1915: 336. Type species: Epipolycystus asilus Girault, 1915, by original designation. Synonymy by Bouček (1988: 461).
Giorgionia Girault, 1933. Type species: Giorgionia flavipetiole Girault, 1933, by monotypy. Synonymy by Bouček (1988: 461).
Neopolycystella Girault, 1915: 336. Type species: Neopolycystella sicarius Girault, 1915, by original designation. Synonymy by Bouček (1988: 461).
Type species.
Merismomorpha acutiventris Girault, 1913, by original designation Girault (1913: 82–83).
Diagnosis.
Head without occipital carina (Fig. 7). Gena with a shallow malar depression; genal lamina absent. Clypeal margin medially produced, subconical (Figs 5, 17). Antennal formula 11354 (Fig. 5); flagellum slightly or obviously clavate; clava symmetric, area of micropilosity large, extending from distal clv 1 to clv 4 (Fig. 5). Antenna inserted above lower ocular line; antennal protuberance absent; scrobes shallow (Figs 5, 17). Pronotum short with collar not carinate (Figs 1, 7, 14); notauli complete (Figs 7, 15) or incomplete. Mesoscutellum arched, frenal area not raised (Figs 1, 14). Propodeum reticulate with conspicuous, long and posteriorly converging plical furrows; costula and median carina absent, nucha distinct; propodeal spiracle inserted close to anterior propodeal margin (Fig. 7). Fore wing hyaline, with distinct speculum; mv not widened and longer than stv and pmv (Figs 3, 16). Hind coxa dorsally bare (Fig. 4, 14). Petiole in dorsal view smooth and fusiform (Fig. 2); in lateral view appears as bipartite and curved (Fig. 4). Mt 2 large with tapered base (Fig. 2), cerci with setae subequal in length, ovipositor shortly protruding.
Remarks.
Merismomorpha Girault belongs to a small group of pteromaline genera with elongated petiole (Bouček 1988); it looks similar to Pterosemopsis Girault, 1917, with which it could be confused. Indeed, the two genera exhibit shared characters: a lower clypeal margin medially produced and subconical (Figs 5, 10, 17); antennal formula 11354 (Figs 5, 8); antennal toruli situated above level of lower ocular line (Figs 5, 10, 17); propodeum with converging plical furrows (Figs 7, 9, 11); long and smooth petiole (Figs 2, 11). However, Merismomorpha differs from Pterosemopsis by the petiole in lateral view appears as bipartite and curved (Fig. 4) vs petiole in lateral view appears as single and not curved in lateral view (Fig. 8); frenal area of mesoscutellum not raised (Fig. 1) vs raised (Figs 8, 12); collar margin of pronotum not carinate (Fig. 1) vs carinate (Fig. 8).
Accurate circumscription and diagnoses of these genera have not been published yet and only the key to Australasian genera of Pteromalidae (Bouček 1988) can be used to separate them, which could be troublesome for Oriental species. Indeed, some of the species of Pterosemopsis have erroneously been identified as belonging to Merismomorpha. Likewise, some species of Merismomorpha may not belong here (e. g. M. gatra) (Sureshan et al. 2006) and the two genera are in need of revision.
description: Published as part of Tselikh, Ekaterina V., Rasplus, Jean-Yves, Lee, Jaehyeon, Dale-Skey, Natalie, Gupta, Ankita & Ku, Deok-Seo, 2024, A new species of Merismomorpha Girault, 1913 (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae) from the Palaearctic region, pp. 937-944 in Journal of Hymenoptera Research 97 on pages 937-944, DOI: 10.3897/jhr.97.135648