Afrepipona meridionalis Selis & Carpenter, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Selis, Marco
name: Carpenter, James M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eumenidae
Afrepipona
Afrepipona meridionalis

description: Afrepipona meridionalis sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 391E608E-E328-4284-949B-2F3740C8C695
Figs 12, 27H
Diagnosis
Similar to A. macrocephala and A. cuprea, but differing as follows: clypeus 1.4 × (female) or 1.5 × (male) as wide as long (Fig. 12B–C); vertex 2.3 × (female) and 2 × (male) as long as distance between posterior ocellus and inner eye margin (Fig. 12E); mesosoma longer, 1.5 × (female) or 1.4 × (male) as long as wide; apical translucent margin of T2 3 × as long as that on T1, preceded by shallow punctures (Fig. 12F); head shiny but not metallic, densely punctured with interspaces shorter than puncture diameter; dorsal face of propodeum very coarsely punctured medially, with small impunctate areas laterally; T1–2 with large and deep punctures. Genitalia in Fig. 27H.
Etymology
The specific epithet comes from the Latin adjective ‘meridionalis’ (= ‘southern’), being the southernmost known species of the genus.
Type material
Holotype
SOUTH AFRICA • ♂; Natal, Durban, beach; 4 Oct. 1919; C.N. Barker leg.; MSNVE.
Paratype
SOUTH AFRICA • 1 ♀; Natal, Durban, Bluff; 18 Mar. 1922; C.N. Barker leg.; MSNVE.
Description
Male
MEASUREMENTS. Body length 7.4 mm; fore wing length 6.3 mm.
MORPHOLOGY. Head 1.2 × as wide as long in frontal view. Clypeus 1.5 × as wide as long, apical margin subtruncate with weakly projecting acute lateral teeth, 0.3 × as wide as maximum width of clypeus; clypeus evenly convex in lateral view. Vertex 2 × as long as distance between posterior ocellus and inner eye margin; gena 0.85 × as wide as eye at bottom of ocular sinus; occipital carina complete, barely visible on vertex, strong and lamellate on gena, strongly bent in lower half. F1 1.4 × as long as wide and 1.5 × as long as F2, F2–3 subquadrate, F4–8 transverse, F9 about as long as basally wide, F11 finger-shaped, almost reaching middle of F8 and weakly curved in lateral view, sides barely converging to rounded apex in dorsal view. Mesosoma 1.4 × as long as wide. Sides of pronotum almost parallel-sided and straight in dorsal view; pronotal carina complete and lamellate on dorsal face, more than half as long as ocellar diameter on humeri; pretegular carina fine and visible just above pronotal lobe only; transition between dorsal and lateral faces of pronotum distinctly angled but lacking humeral carina. Mesoscutum as long as wide, evenly convex in lateral view. Scutellum almost flattened, smoothly passing into mesoscutum anteriorly; anterior margin crenate with a series of seven pits, the median one larger. Metanotum flattened with slightly projecting anterior margin in lateral view. Tegula short and almost equaling parategula, outer margin evenly rounded, posterior lobe more or less right-angled and blunt; parategula small, strongly curved and depressed, apex pointing medially. Epicnemial carina short and dull, visible only for a short length in middle of mesepisternum, not reaching epipleural suture and mesosternum. Propodeum in lateral view falling vertically just below metanotum; posterior face very shallowly concave, almost flattened, clearly separated from dorsal faces but without dorsal carinae; lateral faces flattened, with a deep incision above propodeal valvula; all carinae absent. T1 more or less semicircular, 0.55 × as long as wide and anteriorly evenly rounded in dorsal view; apical margin duplicate, with a translucent apical lamella. T2 0.9 × as long as wide in dorsal view, apical translucent margin about 3 × as long as that on T1, preceded by large punctures forming a shallow step. T3 with a lamellar margin similar to that on T2. S2 evenly convex from base to apex in lateral view, basally with a short but deep longitudinal furrow. S2–3 with lamellar margins similar to respective tergites but shorter.
SCULPTURE AND VESTITURE. Clypeus weakly shiny, almost matte due to very fine irregular shagreen, with very shallow punctures finer and denser basally, becoming larger and sparser apically. Frons and vertex with deep punctures, interspaces mostly shorter than puncture diameter and with few very sparse micropunctures, mid-line of frons without large punctures, some interspaces on vertex exceeding one puncture diameter; punctures on gena smaller and much sparser than on vertex, interspaces up to several puncture diameters on lower part and more shiny. Scape matte and very finely micropunctate, with some sparse fine punctures. Punctures on mesosoma similar to vertex but larger; interspaces much shorter than puncture diameter on mesoscutum, becoming larger on pronotum and scutellum, equaling several puncture diameters on mesepisternum; epicnemium micropunctate and shiny, with fine deep punctures on mesosternum; metaepisternum shagreened with silky shine, scattered small deep punctures; dorsal faces of propodeum with large flat-bottomed punctures variable in size, interspaces reduced to sharp ridges in median third, flattened and very large laterally, matte due to very fine microstriation, posterior face shiny with some irregular punctures in upper half, lateral faces with some very fine striation and shallow irregular punctures. T1–2 very finely and shallowly micropunctate, weakly shiny, with well-marked deep oblique punctures, larger and denser on T1, T2 with a preapical series of coarser but shallow punctures; T3–4 sculpted similar to T2 but smaller punctures; T5–7 shagreened with sparse very small and fine punctures. S1 weakly shiny, with irregular punctures and ridges; punctures on S2 larger and denser than on respective tergite; S3–6 densely micropunctate, macropunctures small and becoming progressively finer; S7 shiny and finely shagreened, with sparse fine punctures. Head and mesosoma with dense short brownish setae; silvery pubescence on clypeus, frons, gena and sides of mesosoma; longer curved white setae on clypeus, mesepisternum and propodeum; metasoma with very short brownish pubescence, short erect setae on T4–7 and S1–7.
COLORATION. Red with black bottom of punctures; most of mesoscutum and mesosternum black; following parts yellow: clypeus, base of mandible, inner eye margin, line connecting clypeus and anterior ocellus, anterior and humeral margin of pronotum, narrow posterior margin of pronotum, parategula, anterior margin of metanotum, regular apical band on T1, sinuate apical band on T2–4 and S2–3, most of lower face of mid and hind coxae, narrow line on outer face of all tibiae, shorter on mid tibia; apical tergites ferruginous-orange. Wings hyaline, weakly infuscate along costal margin.
Female
Measurements. Body length 8.7 mm; fore wing length 7.0 mm.
Differing from male as follows: clypeus 1.4 × as wide as long, apical teeth more strongly projecting, matte due to shagreen and micropunctures, small deep punctures with interspaces equal to several puncture diameters; vertex 2.3 × as long as distance between posterior ocellus and inner eye margin, cephalic foveae very small and almost touching, placed in barely depressed subtriangular area smaller than one ocellus; mesosoma more elongate, 1.5 × as long as wide; pronotal lamella higher; punctures on T2 finer; clypeus ferruginous, tegula with posterior yellow spots, yellow markings on mesosoma and T1–2 wider, yellow markings on legs less developed.
Distribution
South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal.
description: Published as part of Selis, Marco & Carpenter, James M., 2024, Revision of the Afrotropical genus Afrepipona Giordani Soika, 1965 and description of Afrepsilon gen. nov. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae), pp. 1-80 in European Journal of Taxonomy 944 on pages 28-31, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.944.2607, http://zenodo.org/record/12808564