Lycorina sehgali Ranjith & Sheikh & Priyadarsanan 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ranjith, A. P.
name: Sheikh, Altaf Hussain
name: Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Ichneumonidae
Lycorina
Lycorina sehgali

description: Lycorina sehgali sp. nov.
(Figs 1–3)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: C92D421A-C8BF-4279-9C34-B642E8D20D55
Material examined. Holotype, female, INDIA: Jammu and Kashmir, Shopian, Chilli Pora, 33°47;27”N,74°57’38”E, alt 1940 m.s.a.l, 16.viii.2021, sweep net, coll. Altaf Hussain Sheikh (AIMB). Paratype, one male, with same data and repository as of holotype.
Description. Female. Length of body 6.8 mm, fore wing 4.8 mm, ovipositor 2.4 mm.
Head. Head 1.4 × as wide as long in anterior view (Fig. 1B), 1.7 × as wide as in dorsal view (Fig. 1C). Eyes glabrous, slightly emarginated at level of antennal torulus (Fig. 1B). Face 1.5 × as wide as long, punctate, setose, convex medially in lateral view (Fig. 1B). Clypeus 1.8 × as wide as high, smooth, sparsely setose, lower margin slightly concave (Fig. 1B). Malar suture present (Fig. 1B). Malar space as long as basal width of mandible (Fig. 1B). Mandible bidentate, upper and lower tooth equal in size (Fig. 1B). Frons impressed medially, smooth, sparsely setose (Fig. 1C). Ocellar area slightly elevated (Fig. 1C, E). Vertex and occiput smooth, setose (Fig. 1C). Occipital carina complete medio-dorsally (Fig. 1C). IOD 1.9 × as long as LOD, OOL 1.7 × as long as LOD, POL 2.0 × as long as LOD. Antenna with 30 flagellomeres (Fig. 1A). First flagellomere 5.7 × as long as wide and 1.8 × as long as second one. Terminal flagellomere 1.9 × as long as wide.
Mesosoma. Mesosoma 1.5 × as long as high (Fig. 1E). Pronotum smooth, punctate laterally (Fig. 1E). Epomia raised into strong crest anteriorly (Fig. 1E). Mesoscutum 1.5 × as long as wide in dorsal view, moderately convex anteriorly, bordered by lateral carina, smooth, setose, interspace between puncture wide (Fig. 1F). Scutellar sulcus shallowly impressed, smooth without crenulations (Fig. 1F). Scutellum punctate, with lateral carina on its anterior 0.8, sparsely setose (Fig. 1F). Epicnemial carina straight. Mesopleuron punctate except smooth posteriorly, with large excavation posteriorly (Fig. 1D–E). Metapleuron moderately punctate, juxtacoxal carina complete, strongly broadened anteriorly and forming a lobe, pleural carina absent (Fig. 1D–E). Propodeum punctate, setose with smooth area superomedia, anterior transverse carina absent laterally, posterior transverse carina complete, pair of oval pits ventrally bordered by carina present postero-medially (Fig. 2A).
Wings (Fig. 2F). Fore wing 2.9 × as long as wide. Pterostigma triangular. Vein 1cu-a slightly postfurcal. Vein 2rs-m 2.0 × as long as M between 2rs-m and 2m-cu. Hind wing vein CU+cu-a curved to the wing base, without vein CU. Vein RA with nine distal hamuli.
Legs. Fore femur 4.5 × as long as wide (Fig. 3A). Fore tibia 4.8 × as long as wide. Fore tarsus as long as fore tibia. Hind femur 6.0 × as long as wide and 0.8 × as long as hind tibia (Fig. 3B). Hind basitarsus 10.0 × as long as wide. Second hind tarsomere 3.6 × as long as wide (Fig. 3B). Hind tarsus shorter than tibia. Tarsal claws strongly pectinate (Figs 3A–B).
Metasoma. Metasomal tergites heavily sculptured (Figs 2B–E). T1 0.9 × as long as maximum width, with smooth triangular area antero-medially bordered by posteriorly narrowing carinae, 1.6 × as long as T2 (Fig. 2C). T2 0.5 × as long as maximum width (Fig. 2C). Median transverse area of T1 and an anterior area of T2–5 longitudinally punctate crenulate (Figs 2C–D). Medial triangular area of T1–5, and a posterior area of T1–5 deeply punctate (Figs 2C–E). Medial triangular area of T5 distinctly bulged in lateral view (Fig. 2B). T6–8 entirely finely coriaceous (Fig. 2E). Ovipositor sheath 1.3 × as long as hind tibia. Ovipositor with dorsal nodus and ventral serrations (Fig. 3C).
Colour. Body black except clypeus, mandible medially, maxillary and labial palps, outer eye margin, scutellum laterally and posterior half, metanotum medially, tegula, fore leg except anterior half of coxa, mid leg except dorsal part of coxa, T2–3 postero-medially, which are yellow; eye grey, hind trochanter, tibia apical 2/3, tarsus reddish brown, hind femur and ovipositor yellowish red.
Male. Same as female.
Biology. Unknown.
Distribution. India (Kashmir).
Etymology. This species is named after Dr. Suri Mohan Sehgal, a well-known crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Ms. Edda Sehgal, philanthropist, co-founders of SM Sehgal Foundation and long-time well-wishers and supporters of ATREE.
Comparative diagnosis. The new species, Lycorina sehgali comes closer to L. clypeatuberculla in having long second hind tarsomeres and the colouration of medial triangular area of metasomal tergites. However, L. sehgali can be distinguished from L. clypeatuberculla based on the differences mentioned in the key. Additionally, based on the colour of face (uniformly black) the new species is close to L. nigra, but can be separated from L. nigra in having the long second hind tarsomere, propodeum without anterior transverse carina (with anterior transverse carina in L. nigra), first metasomal tergite without apical yellow transverse band (with yellow transverse band in L. nigra), and fore wing vein 1cu-a slightly postfurcal (slightly antefurcal in L. nigra).
description: Published as part of Ranjith, A. P., Sheikh, Altaf Hussain & Priyadarsanan, Dharma Rajan, 2022, Discovery of the Darwin wasp subfamily Lycorininae Cushman & Rohwer (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from India with description of a new species from Kashmir, pp. 591-600 in Zootaxa 5165 (4) on pages 593-599, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5165.4.9, http://zenodo.org/record/6854122