Gonatocerus (Lymaenon) africanus Soyka 1950
Creators: name: Triapitsyn, Serguei V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Mymaridae
Gonatocerus
Gonatocerus africanus

description: Gonatocerus (Lymaenon) africanus Soyka, 1950   
(Figs 58–64)  
 Gonatocerus africanus Soyka 1950: 126.   
Holotype female [lost from PPDD] (not examined). Type locality: Gedida, Dakhla Oasis, New Valley Governorate, Egypt.  
 Gonatocerus sp(p).: Walker et al. 1997: 239, 241 (in part, collections from Turkmenistan, “one or more species” mentioned). Gonatocerus africanus Soyka: Huber et al. 2009: 271 (list).   
 Type material examined. G. africanus Soyka: paratype female [NHMW] on slide labeled: 1. “ Dakhla Gedida, 21.3. 32 in Orange grove”, 2. “ Co-Type ”, 3. “ Gonatocerus africanus (Soyka) female ”, 4. “738”.   
 Material examined. HUNGARY. VAS, W of Köszeg, 47°23’09’’N 16°31’19’’E, 355 m, 16–20.vi.2009, I. Mikó [1 Ƥ, UCRC]. ITALY. LAZIO, Roma Prov.: Castelporziano Presidential Estate, costal dunes in N corner, 41°42.150’N 12°21.038’E, 5 m, 11–12.vi.2003, M. Bologna, J. Munro, A. Owen, J.D. Pinto [1 Ƥ, UCRC]. 0.8 km W of Sasso, 42°02.967’N 12°02.209’E, 264 m, 9–10.vi.2003, M. Bologna, J. Munro, A. Owen, J.D. Pinto [3 Ƥ, UCRC]. KYRGYZSTAN. DZHALAL-ABAD, 18 km WSW of Kazaeman, 41°21’01’’N 73°48’37’’E, 1550 m, 15.vii.2000, C.H. Dietrich [1 Ƥ, UCRC]. TALAS, 18 km WSW of Taldy Bulak, 42°26’31’’N 72°49’12’’E, 1930 m, 15.vi.1999, C.H. Dietrich [1 Ƥ, UCRC]. MONGOLIA. ÖMNÖGOVI, Naran Bulag, 43°27’N 100°27’E, 1405 m, 17–20.vii.1994, J. Carpenter [3 Ƥ, UCRC]. SPAIN. ALICANTE, Alicante, 16.vii.1952, J.K. Holloway (on Amaranthus sp.) [3 Ƥ, EMEC]. TURKMENISTAN. MARY, Baýramaly District, sovkhoz “ Karakumkanal ”, 15.vi.1992, S.V. Triapitsyn (emerged 26.vi. 1992 in University of California, Riverside, quarantine from Salsola sp. plant material, S&R # 92-25-6).   
 Distribution. PALAEARCTIC: Egypt, Italy *, Hungary *, Kyrgyzstan *, Mongolia *, Spain *, and Turkmenistan *.   
 Redescription. FEMALE (paratype and non-type specimens). Body length about 1120 µm (dry-mounted specimens from Italy). Head mostly brown, with some yellow; scape mostly light brown, pedicel mostly brown, and flagellum dark brown; pronotum yellow to brown, mesoscutum mostly brown to dark brown anteriorly and light brown posteriorly, scutellum and axillae light brown to brown, dorsellum and propodeum brown to dark brown; legs mostly light brown; gaster mostly yellow except light brown to brown apically.   
Antenna (Figs 58, 60, 61) with radicle about 0.3× total length of scape, rest of scape 3.1–3.6× as long as wide; pedicel longer than F1; F1 the shortest funicle segment, F3 about as long as F4 or slightly longer, F5–F7 more or less subequal in length, F8 a little shorter and broader, with an incision at apex; mps on F4 (usually 0 or, occasionally, 1), F5 (usually 1 except 2 in the specimens from Mongolia), F6 (2), F7 (2) and F8 (2); clava with 8 mps, 3.5–3.8× as long as wide, almost as long as combined length of F6–F8.  
Mesosoma (Figs 60, 63). Propodeum (Fig. 62) with submedian lines wide apart. Fore wing (Figs 59, 60, 64) 3.1–3.4× as long as wide; longest marginal seta 0.2–0.3× maximum wing width. Fore wing disc almost hyaline, bare behind submarginal vein, setose behind and beyond marginal vein. Hind wing 19–20× as long as wide; disc almost hyaline, setose; longest marginal seta 2.4–2.6× maximum wing width.  
Metasoma (Figs 60, 63) longer than mesosoma. Petiole about 2× as wide as long. Ovipositor occupying 0.7–0.8× length of gaster, not exserted beyond its apex; ovipositor length: mesotibia length ratio 1.1–1.3:1.  
MALE. Unknown.  
 Diagnosis. Gonatocerus africanus is characterized by the distinctive yellow-brown body color and the female antenna (Figs 58, 61) with F3 and F4 subequal in length and bearing usually 1 mps on F5 and 2 mps on F6–F8.   
 Hosts. Unknown.
description: Published as part of Triapitsyn, Serguei V., 2013, Review of Gonatocerus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) in the Palaearctic region, with notes on extralimital distributions, pp. 1-178 in Zootaxa 3644 (1) on pages 44-47, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3644.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/246888