Centistidea flavostigmata Ranjith & Priyadarsanan 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranjith, A. P.
name: Achterberg, Cornelis Van
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Braconidae
Centistidea
Centistidea flavostigmata

description: Centistidea flavostigmata Ranjith & Priyadarsanan, sp. nov.
(Figures 5–6)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 1C0C03B8-81F0-429F-BFFA-D3E83AE2A58E
Material examined. Holotype. ♀ INDIA: Karnataka, Chamarajanagar, Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve, Gombekallu, 11°54.363′ N, 77°11.235′ E, evergreen forest, Malaise trap, 14.ii–26.iii.2006, coll. Priyadarsanan, D. R. (AIMB). Paratypes: 3 males with same label data (AIMB).
Description. Female
Body measurements. Length of body 2.8 mm, length of fore wing 2.7 mm.
Head. Antenna with 14 antennomeres, all antennomeres longer than wide (Figs 5A, 6E). First flagellomere 1.2 × as long as second flagellomere. First, second and penultimate flagellomeres 4.8, 4.2 and 2.6 × as long as wide. Maxillary palp with four segments (Figs 5B, D), fourth segment 1.4 × as long as third segment. Face distinctly convex medially (Fig. 5B), 1.8× as wide as long, smooth, setose. Clypeus 1.5 × wider ventrally than medially high with convex posterior margin (Fig. 5B). Malar suture distinct (Figs 5B, D). Length of malar space 1.1 × basal width of mandible. Mandible distinctly twisted (Fig. 5B), inner tooth distinctly shorter than outer tooth. Frons smooth, convex medially, setose laterally, glabrous medially (Fig. 5C). Vertex smooth, glabrous medially, setose laterally (Fig. 5C). OOL: transverse diameter of posterior ocellus: POL= 1.8: 1.0: 1.0. Length of eye 2.0 × as long as temple in dorsal view.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.6 × as long as high. Pronotum and propleuron smooth laterally (Fig. 5D). Mesoscutum punctate in anterior half smooth posteriorly, setose, without carinae laterally (Fig. 5E). Notauli only impressed anteriorly, faintly crenulated (Fig. 5E). Scutellar sulcus represented only by a transverse groove, not crenulated (Fig. 5E). Scutellum evenly setose, smooth (Fig. 5E), with a pair of large pits medio-posteriorly separated by less than diameter of a pit and rugose between large pits, sides of scutellum irregularly sculptured (Fig. 5F). Mesopleuron smooth, glabrous, setose ventrally (Fig. 5D). Metapleuron with a deep small pit antero-dorsally, with deep shallow longitudinal depressed line, glabrous (Fig. 5D). Propodeum with a distinct and complete medio-longitudinal carina absent behind costula, dorsal part of midlongitudinal carina associated with irregular sculpture, sparsely setose, antero-lateral part with shallow declivity, postero-lateral part faintly crenulated, posterior part well differentiated from dorsal part, posterior transverse carina distinct (Fig. 5F).
Wings. Fore wing: Vein r distinct, 0.2 × as long as 2RS (Fig. 6D). R1 indistinct (Fig. 6D). Vein (RS+M)b 0.7 × as long as 1m-cu. Vein 1-M 1.5 × as long as m-cu. Vein (RS+M)a 2.4 × (RS+M)b. Vein 1CUa thickened, 0.8 × as long as 1CUb (Fig. 6D). Hind wing: Vein cu-a straight. Veins M+CU: 1M: 1r-m= 2.3: 3.2: 1.0.
Legs. Hind coxa smooth, setose (Figs 5A, 6A). Tarsal claws without basal lobe. Hind femur, tibia and basitarsus 3.2, 5.7 and 4.0 × as long as wide respectively.
Metasoma. First tergite smooth, widening medially, weakly narrowing apically, distinctly narrowing basally, 2.4 × as long as its maximum width (Figs 6B, C). Second tergite longitudinally striate, setose, medial length 0.65 × as long as third tergite (Figs 6B, C). Third tergite longitudinally striate, setose (Fig. 6C). Ovipositor straight. Ovipositor sheath 0.04 × as long as fore wing, slightly narrowing apically with long setae apically (Fig. 6A).
Colour. Body reddish brown except head, maxillary and labial palps, mesoscutum medially, scutellum, pterostigma, legs, metasoma except second tergite dorsally yellow.
Male. Unknown.
Etymology. The species is named after its yellow pterostigma; “ flavus ” is yellow in Latin.
Biology. Unknown.
Distribution. India (Karnataka).
Comparative diagnosis. The new species comes close to C. procarinator Ranjith & van Achterberg, 2018, sharing the posterior pits of scutellum separated by 0.5 × diameter of pit. But the new species can be separated from C. procarinator by the following differences: transverse posterior carina of propodeum arched and close to an additional transverse carina (transverse posterior carina rounded medially and without additional transverse carina in C. procarinator), shorter malar space than in C. procarinator; lateral depressions of metanotum smooth (crenulate in C. procarinator), first flagellomere 4.8 × as long as wide (4.1 × in C. procarinator), hind basitarsus 4.0 × as long as wide (4.5 × in C. procarinator) and OOL 1.8 × POL (2.2 × in C. procarinator). Based on the character of midlongitudinal carina of propodeum bifurcated posteriorly, the new species comes close to C. tihamica Ghramh & Ahmad, 2019 described from Saudi Arabia. However, the new species can be distinguished from the latter in having mesoscutum yellowish (blackish brown in C. tihamica), dorsal length of eye 2.0 × as long as temple (1.5 × in C. tihamica), scutellar sulcus without crenulae (with crenulae in C. tihamica), hind tibia 5.7 × as long as wide (7.0 × in C. tihamica) and first metasomal tergite 2.4 × as long as maximum width (4.0 × in C. tihamica).
description: Published as part of Ranjith, A. P., Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2023, A new genus in the braconid subfamily Miracinae from the Oriental region, with descriptions of seven new species from India and Sri Lanka, pp. 451-473 in Zootaxa 5318 (4) on pages 460-462, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5318.4.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8181447