Arpactophilus kumak Breitkreuz, Ohl & Engel, 2016, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Breitkreuz, Laura C. V.
name: Ohl, Michael
name: Engel, Michael S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Crabronidae
Arpactophilus
Arpactophilus kumak

description: Arpactophilus kumak sp. nov.
(Figs. 10, 18, 69–70)
Diagnosis. Arpactophilus kumak is the only New Caledonian species in the genus with the combination of a metasomal sternum II with a bulge (as in Fig. 2), a dorsally-interrupted occipital carina (Fig. 6), brown femora, a hypostomal midventral line without a prominent strongly angulate edge medially, no prominent darker colored area on the metatibia, and a frons with a distinct carina parallel to the inner compound eye margin (Fig. 69).
Description. FEMALE: Total length 5.2–6.5 mm, mean = 5.6 mm; forewing length 3.3–3.8 mm, mean = 3.4 mm.
Body black, with areas of dark yellow and brown. Dark yellow: scape; apical margin of pronotal lobe; trochanters; femora apically and basally; tibiae; tarsi. Brown: pedicel; flagellum; anterior pronotal margin; tegula; coxae; most of femora. Wings hyaline; pterostigma dark brown.
Head about 1.1 × as long as wide in frontal view. Apical margin of clypeus strongly projecting medially (Fig. 69), medioapical margin nearly straight. Apical margin of labrum projecting medially, slightly bilobed. Ventral mandibular tooth about ¼–1/5 of total mandibular length, not reaching opposite mandibular base. Palpal formula 4:3. Frons reticulate, with a prominent carina parallel to inner compound eye margin (Fig. 69) and dense inconspicuous short setae. Frontal carina present from median ocellus to midlength of clypeus, forming a flat tip on basal clypeal margin. Scape 3.1 × as long as wide. Ocellar triangle anterior of tangent between upper posterior orbits of compound eyes, lateral ocelli anterior of tangent by approximately their diameter. Occipital carina interrupted dorsally (Fig. 6). Gena imbricate with sparse punctation and associated setae, without tubercles, spines, or dorsoventral carina. Hypostomal midventral line faint anteriorly, carinate posteriorly, slightly angulate medially.
Mesosoma about 1.8 × as long as wide in dorsal view. Propodeum about 1.0 × as long as wide in dorsal view. Mesosoma colliculate (Fig. 70), except on propodeum; lateral surface of propodeum transversely carinulate; dorsal surface of propodeum coarsely reticulate (Fig. 18). Pitted sulcus present posterior to mesoscuto-mesoscutellar sulcus. Hypersternal sulcus absent. Metafemur 2.7 × as long as wide. Metatibia without differently colored area apically. Pretarsal claws without teeth. Forewing with two submarginal cells; anterior border of submarginal cell II slightly shorter than posterior border. Hind wing with five distal hamuli.
Metasoma polished, punctation sparse (Fig. 70). Metasomal sternum II swollen medially, forming bulge (as in Fig. 2). Pygidium with broad row of silk setae.
MALE: Unknown
Remarks. Arpactophilus kumak is similar to A. vamale, A. nyelayu, A. numee, A. xaragure, A. orowe, A. pwapwa, and A. arboreus in that all share the combination of a dark brown or black metasoma with a bulge on the metasomal sternum II (Figs. 26, 70, 80, 82, 84, 94, 104, 110, and as in Fig. 2) and a dark brown or black clypeus with a medially strongly projecting apical margin that has no or only a small incision medially (Figs. 25, 69, 79, 81, 83, 93, 103, 109). These species have many similarities but differ in several characters which cannot be assigned to definable groups due to their features. It is well possible that the species proposed here do not represent natural groupings and may even belong to only few morphologically diverse species. Without the presence of further material, we propose the following distinction: The most effective way of grouping the species is by the differentially colored and structured area apically on the metatibia (Figs. 7–9). It is well defined and dark brown in A. nyelayu, A. orowe (Figs. 8–9) and A. pwapwa, and present as a less well-delimited light brown area in A. xaragure (Fig. 7). It is differentially structured but not colored in A. arboreus and A. numee and absent in A. kumak and A. vamale. Among the group with a well-delimited apical area on the metatibia (A. nyelayu, A. orowe, and A. pwapwa) A. nyelayu differs from the other two species by the presence of a carina parallel to the inner compound eye margin on the frons (Fig. 81) and the strongly angulate hypostomal midventral line (Fig. 12). Arpactophilus orowe can be distinguished from A. pwapwa most easily by the coloration of the femora as well as antenna. Both are mostly black or dark brown in A. orowe (Figs. 83–84) and mostly yellow with only some faint brown markings in A. pwapwa (Figs. 93–94). Arpactophilus xaragure has a weakly defined light brown area apically on the metatibia, which is not as well defined as in A. nyelayu, A. orowe and A. pwapwa but still prominent owing to the swollen integumental surface. Apart of the light brown apical area of the metatibia, it differs from A. pwapwa by its mostly brown femora, from A. orowe by its yellow scape (Fig. 109), and from A. nyelayu by its straight, nonangulate hypostomal midventral line and the absence of a carina parallel to the inner compound eye margin on the frons.
Arpactophilus arboreus and A. numee, which both have a differentially structured, but not darker area apically on the metatibia, can be distinguished by the presence of an angulate hypostomal midventral line (Fig. 11), a carina parallel to the inner compound eye margin on the frons, a black-reddish mandible (Fig. 79) and a partially dark brown femora (Fig. 80) in A. numee. A delimited, differently colored area on the metatibia is not present in A. kumak and A. vamale. They can be distinguished by the presence of a prominent carina parallel to the inner compound eye margin on the frons in A. kumak (Fig. 69). There are several other characters that define different groups–for example is the presence of a carina parallel to the inner compound eye margin on the frons in A. kumak, A. numee and A. nyelayu –but none are not consistent with a groupings defined by other features.
Material examined. HOLOTYPE ♀: “ NEW CALEDONIA 8926: 21°11’S x 165°18’E, 850m, Aoupinie top camp. 23 Nov 2001 – 1 Feb 2002. Burwell, Monteith. Malaise” [QM].
PARATYPES 7♀: (1x) “ NEW CALEDONIA 8711: 21°11’S x 165°18’E, 850m, Aoupinie top camp. 3–23 Nov 2001. C. Burwell & G. Monteith. Malaise, rainforest” [QM]; (3x) “ NEW CALEDONIA 8926: 21°11’S x 165°18’E, 850m, Aoupinie top camp. 23 Nov 2001 – 1 Feb 2002. Burwell, Monteith. Malaise” [QM]; (1x) “ NEW CALEDONIA 9964: 20°33’S x 164°46’E, 900m, Mt Panie track. 25 Sep–19 Nov 2000. Skevington & Burwell. Malaise” [QM]; (1x) NEW CALEDONIA 11858: 22°15’S x 166°49’E, 280m, Pic du Pin, site 1. 25 Nov –23 Dec 2004. Burwell, Wright. malaise rainforest [ZMB]; (1x) NEW CALEDONIA 12074: 22°19’S x 166°55’E, 480m, Foret Nord, site 1. 22 Dec 2004– 9 Jan 2005. Burwell, Wright. Malaise, rainforest [ZMB].
Etymology. The specific epithet is taken from the name Kumak, one of the New Caledonian native languages. It is treated as a noun in apposition.
description: Published as part of Breitkreuz, Laura C. V., Ohl, Michael & Engel, Michael S., 2016, A review of the New Caledonian Arpactophilus (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), pp. 1-66 in Zootaxa 4063 (1) on pages 30-31, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4063.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/270412