Nixonia sicaria Johnson & Masner 2006, new species
Creators: name: Johnson, Norman F.
name: Masner, Lubomír
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Scelionidae
Nixonia
Nixonia sicaria

description: Nixonia sicaria, new species   Figures 60–63  
DESCRIPTION: Holotype female. Length: 4.1 mm; body generally black; femora, tibiae yellow; tarsi dark brown; antenna entirely black; tegula black; palpi brown; wings infuscate throughout, brownish.  
Head (figs. 60–62) moderately transverse in dorsal view, width 1.9 times length; vertex rugulose-punctate, with granular microsculpture; lateral ocellus contiguous with inner orbit; LOL subequal to POL; occiput rugulose-punctate, with reticulate microsculpture; occipital carina present medially as low, crenulate carina; frons (fig. 61) rugulosepunctate, shining, with dense transverse wrinkles above toruli; frons narrow, IOS 0.6 times greatest length of eye; toruli separated by distance of approximately one-half diameter of torulus; frons between toruli not projecting, flat; rim of torulus raised dorsally, laterally, medially; apical margin of clypeus broadly convex; area below eye (in normal position of malar sulcus) with fine granulate microsculpture; cheeks laterad of malar area rugosepunctate, with distinct longitudinal sculpture; mandible short, bidentate, upper tooth only slightly longer than lower, without dense basal tuft of setae; maxillary palpal segment 4 distinctly expanded medially, subtriangular; A1 finely reticulate, greatest width beyond apical 0.6 times length of segment; length of A3 0.6 times length of A2.  
 Mesosoma (figs. 60, 62) as high as wide, length 1.4 times height; pronotal shoulders coarsely punctate; lateral surface of pronotum with fine longitudinal rugulosity; netrion punctate-rugulose, with strong longitudinal sculpture; sculpture of mesoscutum deeply punctate, with fine reticulate microsculpture; parapsidal lines present; scutellum coarsely punctate, with reticulate microsculpture, with distinct fine longitudinal elements in posterior half; median propodeal tooth narrow, length 2.2 times maximum width, rugulose, rounded apically; upper mesepisternum with strong longitudinal sculpture; fine foveae separating mesepisternum and mesepimeron extending from base of wing to coxal cavity; lower mesepisternum finely reticulate-punctate; mesepimeral hook longitudinally keeled; tegula with granular microsculpture; apex of R 1 in forewing almost reaching costal margin; apex of forewing extending to midpoint of T5; R in hindwing with tracheate section long, nearly reaching hamuli; tibiae with fine, semidecumbent spines on outer surface.   
Metasoma (fig. 63) 3.0 times longer than greatest width; T1 distinctly wider than long; T1–T4 longitudinally rugose, T5 apex coarsely punctate; female T6 moderately large apical emargination, width greater than depth, anteromedially with field of granulate microsculpture.  
 DIAGNOSIS: Nixonia sicaria shares with N. flavocincta the extremely narrow interocular space, the nearly equilateral ocellar triangle, and the yellow femora and tibiae; N. sicaria may be distinguished by the absence of yellow bands on the mesosoma and metasoma, and the longitudinally striate upper mesepisternum.   
 ETYMOLOGY: The epithet sicaria, Latin for ‘‘assassin’’, refers to the narrow, daggerlike propodeal tooth.   
 MATERIAL EXAMINED: Holotype female. NAMIBIA: SOUTH WEST AFRICA (W34), Windhoek, Regenstein Mt., 8.ii.1972, 7000 9 [2100 m], montane vegetation; Southern African Exp. B.M. 1972-1; Nixonia sp. det. A. D. Austin 1984; OSUC 151679. Deposited in BMNH.
description: Published as part of Johnson, Norman F. & Masner, Lubomír, 2006, Revision of World Species of the Genus Nixonia Masner (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea, Scelionidae), pp. 1-32 in American Museum Novitates 3518 (1) on pages 24-26, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0082(2006)3518[1:ROWSOT]2.0.CO;2, http://zenodo.org/record/5383961