Cyphanthidium gessorum Eardley & Griswold 2018, new species
Creators: name: Eardley, Connal
name: Griswold, Terry
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Megachilidae
Cyphanthidium
Cyphanthidium gessorum

description: Cyphanthidium gessorum new species
Figs 4, 7–9
Diagnosis. Males differ from all other species by hind trochanter carinate ventrally, ending in a small spike. Females can be distinguished by the combination of: scutum shiny, punctation dense but not contiguous and scutellum not extending laterally behind axillae. Additionally, both sexes have a strongly protuberant face especially upper clypeus and supraclypeus and modified anterior hind tibial spur greatly enlarged and strongly curved in females (Fig. 8e), weakly swollen basally in males. Male T6 has posterolateral teeth, a mediolongitudinal carina ending in a posteromedian spike (Fig. 8e), and T7 apically has broader than long, apically rounded posterolateral lobes and a narrow posteromedian projection (Fig. 8d). Cyphanthidium gessorum, C. sheppardi, and C. whiteheadi are all similar to one another. The carinate hind trochanter is, however, unique to C. gessorum.
Description. FEMALE. Colour. Vestiture mostly white (Fig. 7a–c), yellow under tarsi, scopa orange. Integument black, yellow or pale orange maculation on: most of clypeus, ventral and lateral supraclypeus, lower paraocular area, lateral upper paraocular area, mandible (except distal margin), lateral vertex, most gena, mediolateral scutum, pronotal lobe, lateral axilla, posterior scutellum (posterior margin translucent pale yellow);
mesepisternum below pronotal lobe, upper mesepimeron, medioanterior tegula, legs, T1–T6 short subapical crossbands (distal margins translucent pale yellow), most T6 (distal margin black) (Fig. 7a–c).
Lengths. Head 2.3 mm; scutum 2.0 mm; fore wing 5.5 mm.
Structure. Vertex weakly concave medially (anterior view) (Fig. 7c); clypeus not shiny between punctures, ventral edge regularly crenulated, distinct hairy tufts between scallops; clypeus strongly protuberant (lateral view, eye about twice as wide as clypeus); pronotal lobe weakly lamellate anteriorly; posterior (inner) hind tibial spur angulately curved, greatly enlarged (Fig. 7d).
MALE. Colour. Vestiture mostly white, yellow under tarsi (Fig. 8a–c). Integument black with yellow or pale orange maculation on: most of clypeus, lower paraocular area, lateral upper paraocular area, mandible (except distal margin); anterior gena, pronotal lobe, small lateral spot on axilla, very short cross-band on posterior scutellum, medioanterior tegula, legs, proximal regions of T1–T4 (distal margins translucent pale reddish-black), most of T5–T6 (distal margins translucent pale reddish-black), entire T7 (distal margins translucent yellow) (Fig. 8a–c).
Lengths. Head 2.4 mm; scutum 2.1 mm; fore wing 6.1 mm.
Structure. Vertex convex with gentle median concavity (anterior view) (Fig. 8c); clypeus dull between punctures, ventral edge crenulate; clypeus strongly protuberant (lateral view eye about twice as wide as clypeus); mandible tridentate; pronotal lobe weakly lamellate anteriorly; hind trochanter is carinate ventrally ending in small spike; hind tibial spurs dissimilar, posterior (inner) hind tibial spur mostly straight, slender, slightly curved distally, anterior (outer) spur distinctly wider basally, more strongly curved distally (Fig. 8e); T6 small mediolongitudinal keel, posterolateral and posteromedian teeth; T7 posterolateral and posteromedian lobes, lateral lobe wider than median lobe; S5–S8 and genital capsule as illustrated (Fig. 9a–e).
Distribution. Cyphanthidium gessorum is only known from an arid, montane region of the Northern Cape Province, South Africa (Fig. 4).
Floral association. Blepharis macra (Acanthaceae).
Material examined. Type material. Holotype male. South Africa. ‘ 25 km N of Kamieskroon, 30.0166, 17.8833, 2000/x/17, F.W. & S.K. Gess, on Blepharis macra’ (AMGC: 2490). Paratypes: same data as holotype (3♀ 2♂, AMGC: 2487, 2488, 2489, 2491, 2492); Namaqualand 2917 DB Hester Malan N. R., 1987/xi/9, M. Struck (2♂, SANC).
Etymology. This new species is named for Sarah and Fred Gess, who collected the type material. They also collected most of the other material examined in this study, without which this article would not have been possible.
description: Published as part of Eardley, Connal & Griswold, Terry, 2018, Taxonomic revision of Cyphanthidium Pasteels (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Megachilidae: Megachilinae: Anthidiini), an endemic Afrotropical bee genus in Zootaxa 4450 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4450.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/1444572