Megachalcis kannapuramensis Sureshan and Girish Kumar 2018
Creators: name: Binoy, C.
name: Nasser, M.
name: Santhosh, S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Chalcididae
Megachalcis
Megachalcis kannapuramensis

description: Megachalcis kannapuramensis Sureshan and Girish Kumar, 2018
Megachalcis kannapuramensis Sureshan and Girish Kumar in Sureshan et al. 2018: 181.
(Figures 8a–e, 9, 10a–h, 11a–h)
Type material
Holotype ♀ (Figure 8a–e), India: Kerala, Kannur district, Kannapuram mangroves (11.5835° N and 75.1817°E), 13 May 2018, coll. C. Charesh, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI / WGRC / IR/ INV/ 11417 (examined).
Additional material examined
♀ (Figures 9,10a–h,11a–h) India: Kerala, Kannur district, Aaralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kurukkanpuzha (11.931°N, 75.836°E; alt. 110 m), 25 March 2021, coll. D. Ghosh, ZSI LTEO team. (ZSIK) Regd. No. ZSI / WGRC /IR/INV.22004.
Recognition
Antenna attached at lower margin of clypeus (Figures 8c, 10d); scrobal margin distinctly carinate, forming sharp conspicuously produced angle in front of eye; postorbital carina distinct, obsolete at genotemporal margin (Figures 8a, 10a); pronotum subquadrate, with two raised projections medially (Figures 8d, 10f); hind coxa without any dorsobasal protuberances or tooth; hind femur ventrally with 9–10 teeth, basal one subequal in size to succeeding one (Figures 8a, 11c); Rs vein of fore wing indicated as a pigmented fold (Figures 8a, 11a); mesosoma with raised rasp-like sculpture in profile; propodeum with large irregular and smooth variably sized areola; metasoma with a short petiole visible dorsally (Figures 8b, 10h); Gt1 smooth, largest, occupying 0.5× of metasoma (excluding ovipositor); Gt2 telescopic behind Gt1; Gt3 distinctly pitted on anterior half; Gt4–Gt6 regularly pitted, laterally setigerous; surface shiny on Gt1–Gt4, Gt5–Gt6 with matt surface; Gt6 coarsely punctate with six rows of punctures, spiracle rounded, prominent, peritreme well expanded from surface; syntergum distinctly pitted (Figures 8b, 11g); ovipositor sheath long, 1.26× as long as metasoma (excluding ovipositor sheath) (Figures 8a, 9).
Redescription
♀ (Figures 9, 10a–h, 11a–h) Body length 10.29 mm (including ovipositor sheath); length of fore wing 5.12 mm.
Colour. Body black with the following parts variably coloured: eyes and ocelli reflective red-gold, radicle liver-brown, flagellar segments brown-black, tegula liver-brown, wing lamina brown, veins deep brown; all coxae brown-black, trochanters liver-brown, fore and mid femora and tibiae red-brown with base and apex paler, all tarsi red-brown, metasoma black with posterior margin of terga brown.
Setation. Face with moderately dense white setae arising from both punctae and interspaces; golden setae on vertex, clypeus and mandible (Figure 10d); adpressed white setae on scape; gena densely pubescent; pronotum anteriorly with moderately dense yellowbrown setae, remainder with sparse suberect setae throughout mesosoma; tuft of long white setae on axilla; propodeum with moderately dense setae on dorsum; legs with short, moderately dense white setae; metasoma with long white pubescence laterally arising from pits.
Head. Head distinctly wider than mesosoma in dorsal view (1.13×), coarsely rugosepunctate; OOL 1.17× POL, 1.45× OD; POL with short raised humps; occiput with similar sculpture to that on vertex (Figure 10e); in frontal view, head 1.42× as wide as long, rugose punctate with large shiny setigerous areola; preorbital indicated; scrobal margin distinctly carinate, scrobal margin prominently angulate in profile in front of dorsal and ventral margin of eye, scrobal surface reticulate, maximum width of scrobe 0.5× median interocular width; scrobe at most meeting anterior ocellus; interantennal projection finely punctate, 0.36× as long as scrobe (Figure 10c, d); mandible bidentate (Figure 10d); antenna inserted slightly below ventral margin of eye; scape not attaining median ocellus; two anelli indicated; clava 2-segmented; genotemporal margin carinate, straight; postorbital carina distinct, moving along outer eye margin onto occiput (Figure 10a); relative length of scape, pedicel, anellus, funiculars and clava = 6.7: 1.1: 0.8: 2.0: 2.2: 2.1: 2.0: 1.9: 1.6: 1.3: 1.7: 2.9.
Mesosoma. Pronotum quadrate, 3.75× as long as wide, with varyingly sized areola, anteriorly small becoming large posteriorly, margins conspicuously rugate, forming submedian tubercles, posterior margin of pronotum deeply emarginate inwards; mesoscutum 2.9× as long as wide, with irregular variable sized punctures, anteriorly small, becoming large posteriorly, middle lobe of mesoscutum punctate, margins carinate; lateral lobe of mesoscutum punctate with margin conspicuously rugate; scutellum small, 1.41× as long as wide with large areola, basad of axilla with prominent tuft of pale yellow setae, apical margin of scutellum conspicuously emarginated (Figure 10f); lateral lobe of pronotum coarsely rugose; propleura engraved reticulate; meso and metapleura with similar sculpturing to that of thoracic notum (Figure 10g); propodeum gradually declining onto metasoma, with dense white setae along the costula; spiracles subhorizontal, bean-shaped and well exposed; transverse and sublateral carina prominent; lateral teeth distinct (Figure 10h).
Legs. Fore coxa wide, as long as wide (Figure 11b); hind coxa smooth with numerous setigerous punctures, no dorsobasal tooth or protuberance; outer disc of hind femur smooth and shiny with numerous setigerous pits, inner basal protuberance present (Figure 10d); ventrally with 9–10 teeth, basal one larger than rest of subequal teeth; hind tibia coarsely pitted (Figure 10c).
Wings. Lamina infumate brown; fore wing with PMV 1.8× MV, SMV 2.7× MV, STV 0.2× PMV; lamina densely setose; Rs vein clearly indicated, present as a pigmented fold (Figure 10a).
Metasoma. Metasoma (excluding ovipositor sheath) longer than combined lengths of head and mesosoma (1.2×), metasoma including ovipositor 2.64× as long as lengths of head and mesosoma combined; short petiole visible dorsally; Gt1 with basal fovea, 0.5× as long as combined length of remaining tergites, dorsum shiny with scattered shallow pits medially, posterior 1/3rd smooth; Gt2 telescopic beneath Gt1; Gt3 with 6–7 rows of pits on anterior half, posterior half smooth, shiny; Gt4 distinctly pitted, a median impunctate strip on dorsum; Gt5 and Gt6 densely pitted, with a distinct median carina; spiracle on Gt4 prominent, peritreme distinctly produced laterally; syntergum 1.56× as long as Gt6, pitted anteriorly, posteriorly smooth; ovipositor sheath 0.56× as long as entire length of metasoma, 1.26× as long as metasomal terga combined (Figure 11e–h).
Male
Unknown.
description: Published as part of Binoy, C., Nasser, M. & Santhosh, S., 2022, The Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot: the example of Chalcididae (Hymenoptera) with the description of a new species of Phasgonophora Westwood and a review of the regional species, pp. 1627-1655 in Journal of Natural History 56 (41 - 44) on pages 1639-1644, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2022.2134059, http://zenodo.org/record/7340886