Eschatocerus niger Kieffer & Joergensen 1910
Creators: name: Nieves-Aldrey, José Luis
name: Blas, Germán San
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Cynipidae
Eschatocerus
Eschatocerus niger

description: Eschatocerus niger Kieffer & Joergensen, 1910
(Habitus Figs 8 C, 8D)
Eschatocerus niger Kieffer & Joergensen, 1910. Centralbl. Bakter. Parasit. Infekt., 2(27): 418.
Type material. The type material of this species is apparently lost, as is the case with the majority of Kieffer types (Gagne 1994). Joergensen’s collection is deposited in the Museo de La Plata, Argentina, although it mostly comprises higher Hymenoptera and does not hold the types described in Kieffer and Joergensen (1910) (Martínez et al. 2008). However, non-type materials of E. niger are deposited in the Cynipoidea collection of the Museo de la Plata (Argentina) (Díaz & Loiácono 1995; Díaz et al. 2011).
Material examined. 3 males, 4 females, “ ARGENTINA, Mendoza, Las Heras, Cancha Chacra, ex galls Prosopis flexuosa, collected 21/I/2013, emerged I/2013 ”; 9 males, 4 females, “Cerro Petaca (10/III/2013), emerged III/2013. G. San Blas leg”.
Diagnosis. Closely similar to Eschatocerus acaciae. Differs easily from this species, aside from the characters given in the identification key, by the black coloration of the females.
Redescription. Length 2.7 mm (range 2.5–2.8; N = 4) for females; 2.3 mm (range 2.2–2.5; N = 4) for males. Coloration: female body entirely black; face medially dark reddish; antennae pale yellow or whitish, legs blackish, excepting tibiae and tarsi yellowish. Forewing hyaline, veins brown, with darkened smoky areas around veins 2r and cubitalis. Male similar to female in the black coloration; dorsal parts of mesopleuron reddish; legs mainly yellow, excepting coxae which are darker.
Female. Head. In dorsal view 2 times as wide as long. Gena slightly expanded behind compound eye. POL 1.7 times as long as OOL, posterior ocellus separated from inner orbit of eye by about 1.1 times its diameter. In anterior view (Fig. 1 C) head slightly wider than high. Inner margin of compound eyes straigth. Face weakly pubescent and with irregular reticulate sculpture, only slightly coarse on frons and vertex; ocellar plate slightly raised; malar space 0.17 times height of compound eye. Clypeus distinct, more or less trapezoidal with reticulate sculpture; anterior tentorial pits conspicuous; epistomal sulcus indistinct and clypeo-pleurostomal lines deeply and widely impressed (Fig. 1 C); ventral margin of clypeus broadly projecting over mandibles. Genal furrow not well impressed, but present as an area of transition between two different sculptures. Genae slightly expanded behind compound eyes (Fig. 1 C). Torulus situated at upper height of compound eye; transfacial line 0.9 times height of eye; distance between antennal rim and compound eye 1.1 times width of antennal socket including rim. Ventral margin of toruli deeply excavated; a strong median raised vertical carina present between toruli and the median ocellus (Fig. 1 C). Head posterior view (Fig. 1 D). Occiput weakly pubescent and with regular reticulate sculpture, without dorsal occipital carina; occiput medially concave, with a pair of vertical lateral carinae present, separating the concaves area of the lateral raised areas (Figs 1 D). Posterior tentorial pits narrow, slit-like; hypostomal sulci weak and incomplete, free, not united, meeting or converging at hypostoma (Fig. 1 D). Distance between dorsal cranial margin and occipital foramen 0.7 as long as occipital foramen height; distance between occipital and oral foramina 0.7 as long as occipital foramen height.
Mouthparts (Fig. 1 D). Both mandibles with two teeth, but a small basal secondary tooth present on right mandible. Cardo of maxilla invisible posteriorly; maxillary stipes short, not reaching base of labial palpus. Maxillary palp with only three visible segments. Labial palp with three segments.
Antenna (Fig. 2 E) 0.7 times as long as body, filiform, with 13 segments. Placodeal sensilla present in flagellomeres F4–F11; large coeloconic sensilla Type A visible on flagellomeres F5–F10. Relative lengths of antennal segments: 30:22:29:22:20:25:22:20:18:17:16:13:16; pedicel 1.9 times as long as wide; F1 1.3 times as long as pedicel and F2. Ultimate flagellomere longer than penultimate.
Mesosoma. Pronotum anterior view very short medially, almost glabrous and with reticulate sculpture. Admedian depressions of pronotum and pronotal plate absent; spiracular incision of pronotum more deeply incised (Fig. 3 D).
Mesonotum. Mesoscutum (Fig. 3 C) similar to E. acaciae; median mesoscutal impression absent. Mesopleuron (Fig. 3 D) with regular reticulate sculpture, without mesopleural impression. Ventral border of mesopleural triangle only indicated by a change in curvature of mesopleural surface.
Metanotum (Fig. 4 D). Metascutellum without distinct median constriction; with reticulate sculpture medially and laterally. Metapectal-propodeal complex as in E. acaciae. Nucha short, with some longitudinal rugae medially.
Legs. Protibia 0.5 as long as protarsus. First protarsomerus 1.3 as long as the joint length of the protarsomerus 2–5; protarsomerus 1 not curved basally. Metafemur 2.6 as wide as long; metatibia 1.2 as long as metatarsus (Fig. 4 G). Metatarsal claw simple (Fig. 6 E).
Forewing (Fig. 5 B) 1.16 times as long as body. Radial cell open along anterior margin; R1 and Rs depigmented, hardly visible; radius (Rs) bowed, stopping far reaching anterior margin of wing. Areolet absent; vein basalis absent; Rs+M incomplete, addressed to junction of basalis with cubitalis. An infuscate area around the end of Cu1 vein. Wing margin without cilia.
Metasoma laterally compressed (Fig. 6 B), shorter than head plus mesosoma, in lateral view 1.1 as long as high. Abdominal petiole about as long as high. T2 and following tergites with weak reticulate sculpture and glabrous, covering about 1/4 of metasoma. Hypopygium keel shaped; projected ventral spine about three times as long as wide; its lateral margins with long erect setae, the subapical ones projected far beyond apex of spine (Fig. 6 B).
Male. Similar to female except as described below (size and coloration already discussed). Antenna (Fig. 2 F) with 13 flagellomeres. F1 as long as F2; placodeal sensillae present since F2. F1 not modified, only slightly enlarged towards apex.
description: Published as part of Nieves-Aldrey, José Luis & Blas, Germán San, 2015, Revision of the Neotropical genus Eschatocerus Mayr (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae, Eschatocerini) with biological notes and the first description of the terminal larva, pp. 135-155 in Zootaxa 4012 (1) on pages 147-149, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4012.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/236215