Pseudoanthidium moricei
Creators: name: Kasparek, Max
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Pseudoanthidium
Pseudoanthidium moricei

description: Pseudoanthidium moricei (Friese, 1911) stat. resurrect & comb. nov.
(Figs 7, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
Anthidium moricei Friese, 1911.—Female, Palestine.
Royanthidium moricei (Friese, 1911).— Pasteels (1969).
non Anthidium melanurum (Klug, 1832).— Warncke (1980) treated Anthidium moricei Friese, 1911 as a junior synonym of Pseudoanthidium melanurum. Several authors followed him.
Material examined: Holotype: PALESTINE: ♀, Jericho, 31.86°N, 35.46°E, 6.iv.1909 (ZMB: zmb179).— JORDAN: 1♂, 80 km NE Aqaba (road to Amman) (c. 30.17°N, 35.42°E), 08.iv.1989, J. Gusenleitner leg. (CMK: ms0956).— KAZAKHSTAN: 1♀, Taras:Akyrtobe(42.99°N 72.09°E), 04.vi.1980, Z. Padr leg. (CMK: ms3870).— TAJIKISTAN: 4♀, Nurek E of Dushanbe (38.38°N 69.29°E), 09.vi.1966, 25.vi.1976, 06.–07.vi.1990, K. Deneš, J. Halada, J. Niedl leg. (CMK: ms3740, ms3832, ms3869; OLL: oll1056).
Warncke (1980) regarded A. moricei as a junior synonym of A. melanurum, simply noting “matches with A. melanurum ” (“stimmt … mit A. melanurum überein”). However, the two species are so different that it seems unlikely that he ever examined P. moricei.
Genetic barcode information. No information available.
Diagnosis. A dark Pseudoanthidium species and one of the two described species with dark (black or dark chestnut-brown) legs. This feature is only shared with P. obscuratum, which, however, has a different structure of T6. T6 structurally like P. melanurum.
The female can easily be distinguished from P. melanurum by several features including the absence of yellow bands on the metasomal terga (at most some yellow translucent spots on terga in P. moricei), dark legs (tibiae and tarsi at least partly yellow in P. melanurum), presence of lateral bands of white hairs on tergal depressions of T1–T5 (no conspicuous pubescence in P. melanurum), outer margin of axilla rounded, not extending beyond outer margin of scutum (axilla producing laterally beyond margin of scutum in P. melanurum), and punctation on base of clypeus irregular with distance between punctures a puncture diameter (punctation dense and regular in P. melanurum). Additionally, the female of P. moricei is distinguished from the female of P. royoi, by its colouration (overall colour black in P. moricei and orange in P. royoi), and by a much less protruding apical margin of the clypeus and an impunctate margin of the terga (punctures reaching tergal margin in P. royoi).
The male shares with P. obscuratum the specialized hairs on the sterna, but is distinct, for example, in having stronger tapering mid and hind tibiae compared to P. obscuratum, a deeper apical emargination of T7, and a stronger lateral projection of T7.The gonostyli are mitten-shaped in P. moricei, while they are paddle-shaped in P. obscuratum. The distance between the anterior and posterior ocellus is about one ocellus diameter in P. moricei, whereas it is about half an ocellus diameter in P. obscuratum.
Description. Female (Fig. 7a). 9 mm.— Head: Clypeus bell-shaped with inwardly curved anterior margin; clypeal apex fully exposed and protruding, thickened, with two erect tubercles on each side (Fig. 7d); apical part of the ridge with short greyish-brown appressed hairs; basal third of clypeus with scattered punctation, with punctures 2–3 puncture diameter apart; surface polished; punctation denser and finer towards apical part, with subapical area transversely depressed; mandible chestnut brown with five black teeth (contrary to Friese 1911, who wrongly stated only three teeth); apical tooth slightly stronger than inner teeth, which are equally strong; eyes slightly convergent; head black, with a yellow-brown spot in lower paraocular area and a small triangular yellow spot behind the eye; in the holotype, ocelloocular distance 0.78 mm, ocellooccipital distance 0, 91 mm, i.e. ocellooccipital distance greater than ocelloocular distance; long white pubescence around antennal sockets; head densely punctate.— Mesosoma: Black, densely punctate like the head; pronotal lobe strongly lamellate; in profile, scutellum angular laterally and rounded medially; slightly overhanging propodeum; basal zone of propodeum with fine and dense punctation, followed by a zone of large and coarse punctures; propodeal triangle smooth and shining.— Metasoma: Punctation on tergal discs less dense (punctures 1–2 puncture diameter apart) than on depression; narrow impunctate marginal zone; T6 with brown median protrusion, deeply emarginate medially; punctation on T6 very fine, rugulose; T1 with dense, white brush of bristles laterally; T2–T4 with lateral bands of white bristles; T5 with uninterrupted fringe of white hairs; scopa white (Fig. 7c).— Legs: Chestnut-brown with white hairs; yellow bristles on inner face of hind basitarsus.— Wing: Slightly brownish infuscated.
Variation. The holotype from Palestine exhibits a black face except for a small yellowish indistinct spot on the lower paraocular area. In specimens from Central Asia, this light area is present as a dirty yellow area in the lower paraocular area. In some Central Asian specimens, lower half of clypeus yellowish-brown, and mandible yellow-brown. Some individuals from Tajikistan show remnants of yellow spots of scutellum, axillae, and T2 – T4. Ground colour of the tergal integument dark brown instead of black. White hairs on terga restricted to the lateral areas.
Description. Male (Fig. 7b). 10 mm.— Head: Black with pale yellow clypeus and lower paraocular area reaching upper level of clypeus; minute yellow spot behind the zenith of the eye; clypeus strongly arcuate upwards; punctation on the upper clypeus sparse and irregular, but lower clypeus densely punctate; face covered by long, dense pubescence, also hiding the apical margin of clypeus; mandible relatively short with three strong teeth; black, sides yellow; distance between anterior and posterior ocellus approximately one ocellus diameter.— Mesosoma: Black with long white pubescence; pronotal lobe with high lamella difficult to detect under the hairs; scutum with dense punctation, with distance between punctures less than half their diameter; interstices shining; scutellum with angulate outer margin, slightly depressed medially.— Legs: Black with white pubescence, slender (Fig. 7e).— Metasoma: Black with white pubescence especially on apical terga; integument shining; punctures somewhat smaller and denser in marginal zone than on disc; disc little elevated over depression; apical margin impunctate; remnants of a yellow spot close to the midline on T5; T5 with a small lateral bulge; T6 with a small bulge close to the middle and a bigger one laterally; the outer bulge overhangs the apical margin; T7 with a lateral, triangular projection and a deep median emargination; T7 medially depressed; punctation on T6 and T7 coarse and irregular; S3 with undulate apical margin and apically waved hairs; S5 with black basic comb and lateral arm with black comb (approximately 18–20 digits).— Genitalia: Gonostylus much longer than penis valves; penis valve a thin, slightly inward sloping rod.
Distribution. Levant (Palestine, Jordan) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan) (Fig. 27b).
description: Published as part of Kasparek, Max, 2024, New species, new synonyms, and resurrected taxa: A review of West and Central Palaearctic members of the genus Pseudoanthidium (Apoidea: Megachilidae), pp. 1-50 in Zootaxa 5541 (1) on pages 14-16, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5541.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14240734