Bidecoloratilla Turrisi & Matteini Palmerini, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio
name: Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini
name: Brothers, Denis J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Mutillidae
Bidecoloratilla

description: Bidecoloratilla Turrisi & Matteini Palmerini, gen. nov.
Type species. Mutilla chiesi Spinola, 1839, present designation.
Etymology. The generic name is derived from the Latin adjective “ decoloratus, -a, -um ” (discoloured) with the prefix “ bi -“ (two) and the suffix “- tilla ” (commonly used in Mutillidae), and refers to the apomorphic feature of the species included (both ♀ and ♂) of having two cuticular spots on T2 rather than setal spots as in other members of Blakeius sensu lato; gender feminine.
Diagnosis. ♀. Supra-antennal tooth absent; frontal carina not touching inner margin of eye; antennal rim entirely exposed, visible dorsally; gena (lateral view) more or less concave, slim, angulate, with a more or less developed denticle; mandible without inner basal tooth; T2 with two round cuticular yellowish spots disposed transversely, without setae or at most covered by scattered recumbent setae; spots close to anterior margin of T2.
♂. Head moderately convergent toward occipital margin; longitudinal frontal furrow absent; ocelli reduced; notaulus and parapsidal line absent; tegula reduced weakly distinguishable; fore and hind wings absent; T2 with two cuticular spots, without setae or at most covered by scattered recumbent setae, disposed transversely; spots close to anterior margin of T2; S8 with sides strongly convergent toward apex, with a small to large median toothlike process; genital capsule with cuspis of volsella stout, shield-shaped, slightly pointed, strongly convex, ending below mid length of paramere harpe, without longitudinal carina; digitus of volsella equal length of cuspis; midventral process of penis valve present, short and straight to slightly curved.
Description. ♀. Head mostly blackish, sometimes lighter (dark reddish or brownish) with antennal rim lighter than rest of head (Figs 19 A, 19B, 19C); mesosoma mostly to entirely reddish orange (Figs 18 A, 18B); metasoma entirely blackish (Figs 18 A, 18B); integument of the body coarsely sculptured, dull; head squared behind eyes (Fig. 19 A), with dense and coarse punctures, with or without whitish setal spot on vertex and occiput (Figs 19 A, 26A); supra-antennal tooth absent (Figs 19 A, 19B, 19C); antennal rim entirely exposed, visible dorsally (Figs 19 A, 19B, 19C); A1 without ventro-lateral carina; A3 less than or at most twice length of A2; frontal carina not touching inner margin of eye (Fig. 19 E); postgena (behind oral fossa) shallowly and broadly concave behind even hypostomal carina (Fig. 30); occipital margin straight; upper part of occipital carina as narrow rim; lower part of occipital carina as well raised lamella (Fig. 30); gena (lateral view) with lower half slim, angulate, with more or less developed denticle (Figs 23 B); genal carina absent; clypeus prominent, higher than wide, anterior margin narrow, convex, with two lateral tooth-like projections (Fig. 19 E); oral fossa longer than wide, almost U-shaped (Fig. 4 D); mandible with inner apical tooth not curved (Fig. 19 D); mandible without inner basal tooth (Fig. 19 D); pronotum slightly narrower than propodeum (Fig. 18 A); pronotum with epomial carina weak to very weak, very far from pronotal spiracle; fore coxa with distal tooth-like process; mid tibia with 3–4 dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in one row; hind tibia with three dorsal pre-apical spines arranged in one row; T2 with two cuticular spots disposed transversely, without setae or at most covered by scattered recumbent setae, close to anterior margin of T2 (distance between spots and anterior margin less than to about half diameter of each spot) (Fig. 18 A); T3 with broad pubescent band, entire (Fig. 18 A); T4 with (Fig. 18 A) or without (Fig. 25 A) broad pubescent band, entire if present; S6 flat.
♂. Head mostly blackish, sometimes lighter (dark reddish or brownish) with antennal rim lighter than rest of head (Figs 19 F, 19G, 19H); mesosoma mostly to entirely reddish (Figs 18 C, 18D, 20); metasoma entirely blackish (Figs 18 C, 18D); integument of the body coarsely sculptured, dull (Figs 18 C, 18D); head weakly to moderately convergent posteriorly (Fig. 19 F), with dense and coarse punctures; A1 without ventro-lateral carina; A3 longer than A4; ocelli reduced (Fig. 19 F); longitudinal frontal furrow absent (Fig. 19 F); lower part of occipital carina as well raised lamella; clypeus prominent, higher than wide, anterior margin narrow, convex, with lateral tooth-like projection (Fig. 26 J); oral fossa longer than wide, almost U-shaped; mandible with inner apical tooth not curved (Fig. 26 I); pronotum with sides subparallel (Fig. 23); posterior margin of pronotum U-shaped (Fig. 23); pronotum, median length much greater than half lateral length (pronotum long) (Fig. 20); mesoscutum flat (Fig. 18 D); notaulus and parapsidal line absent (Fig. 20); transscutal suture reduced to inconspicuous (Fig. 20); tegula subcircular, strongly reduced, weakly distinguishable (Fig. 20); fore and hind wings absent (Fig. 20); mesoscutellum reduced to absent (Fig. 20); metascutellum reduced to absent (Fig. 20); anterior and posterior metanotal carina shallow to inconspicuous; propodeum (lateral view) abruptly truncated (Fig. 18 D), wider than pronotum (dorsal view) (Figs 18 C, 20); mesopleuron concave, polished to punctate; mesepimeron, width of upper part less half width of lower part; mid and hind tibiae without pre-apical spines; T1 transverse (Fig. 18 C); T2 with two cuticular spots, without setae or at most covered by scattered recumbent setae, disposed transversely, usually close to anterior margin (distance between spots and anterior margin less than to about half diameter of each spot, sometimes greater if spots reduced in size) (Fig. 18 C); T3 with broad pubescent band, entire (Figs 18 C, 18D); T4 with (Figs 18 C, 18D) or without (Figs 25 C, 25D) broad pubescent band, entire if present; S2 with well developed median tooth-like medial process (Fig. 18 D) or with pad-like process or process absent (Figs 22 D, 25D); S8 with well developed to very weak tooth-like process (Figs 21 G, 24G); S8 with sides strongly convergent toward apex (Fig. 21 F); genital capsule with cuspis of volsella stout, shield-shaped, slightly pointed, strongly convex, ending below mid length of paramere harpe, without longitudinal carina (Fig. 21 B); digitus of volsella equal to length of cuspis (Fig. 21 D); midventral process of penis valve present, short and straight to slightly curved (Fig. 21 E).
Species included. Bidecoloratilla chiesi (Spinola, 1839), comb. nov., Bid. iberica (Suárez, 1958), comb. nov., Bid. leopoldina (Invrea, 1955), comb. nov. and Bid. negrei (Suárez, 1958), comb. nov., stat. nov.
Distribution. Western Mediterranean basin (Fig. 37).
Remarks. The presence of two pale cuticular spots is also shared by the monotypic genus Liomutilla André, 1907, endemic to the Canary Islands (André 1907; Mercet 1913). This character is present there in the female only, whereas the male lacks the spots, as in Blakeius sensu stricto.
description: Published as part of Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio, Palmerini, Maurizio Matteini & Brothers, Denis J., 2015, Systematic revision and phylogeny of the genera Blakeius Ashmead, 1903 and Liomutilla André, 1907, with description of two new genera (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Myrmillinae), pp. 1-78 in Zootaxa 4010 (1) on pages 35-36, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4010.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/289318