Odontomutilla fletcheri Lelej, Terine & Girish Kumar 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lelej, Arkady S.
name: Terine, Joshua B.
name: Kumar, Girish P.
name: Das, Dipanwita
name: Sureshan, Pavittu M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Mutillidae
Odontomutilla
Odontomutilla fletcheri

description: 5. Odontomutilla fletcheri Lelej, Terine & Girish Kumar, sp. nov.
(Figs 4–13)
Odontomutilla trichocondyla: Lelej 2005: 117, ♀, part. (Sri Lanka).
Diagnosis. FEMALE. Head and mesosoma brownish-red. T 2 in basal half without pale spots or wide band of pale setae. T2 length equal to its maximum width. Width of apicolateral spot of golden setae of T2 equal to or less than distance between spots. Propodeum posterolaterally with shallow sparse punctures. MALE. Head and mesosoma ferruginous. T 2 in basal two thirds without band or spots of pale setae. Propodeum dorsally without dense recumbent pale setae; posterolateral dent with sparse long pale setae. Mesoscutellum apically with short (less than mesoscutellum length) sparse yellowish setae, oriented upward posterad.
Description. FEMALE. Body length 12.0– 13.6 mm. Colouration and setation. Head and mesosoma brownish-red, mandible with brown apex. Legs black, coxae and proleg brownish-red; palps pale brown. Metasoma black. Body setae generally sparse and golden, except posterior propodeal face and anterior face of T1 with long dense erect golden setae; frons, vertex, and mesosomal dorsum with short sparse sub-erect yellowish setae. Mesopleural vertical carina with long erect golden setae. Legs, especially meso- and metatibia with long dense recumbent golden setae. T2 posteromedially and T4–T5 setae dense black; T1 posterad with fringe of dense black setae. T2 apically with broadly interrupted band of golden setae, width of apicolateral spot of golden setae of T2 equal to or less than distance between spots; T3 with band of golden setae. T6 except pygidial area with golden setae. S2–S5 with sparse sub-erect long golden setae, S2 and S3 apically with fringe of dense golden setae, S6 with dense golden setae oriented backward.
Head. Width behind eye 0.86 × humeral mesosomal width. Frons, vertex, and gena with large confluent punctures. Mandible with dorsal carina extending from base to apex, apex unidentate. Clypeus apically weakly bidentate, basomedial portion coarsely sculptured, anteriorly bordered by transverse carina. Antennal scrobe with arcuate lateral carina. Genal carina strong, forming tooth at hypostomal carina and extending posteriorly to occipital carina where distinctly angulate. F1 1.1 × F2 and 2.3 × pedicel length, F2 2.0 × pedicel length.
Mesosoma. Length 1.2 × maximum width. Dorsum of mesosoma with large coarse confluent punctures; mesopleuron convex, punctured, vertical carina ending dorsally to strong tooth. Humeral carina well developed with oblique carina posterad. Ratio of width of humeral angle, anterior spiracle, lateral mesonotal tooth, propodeal spiracle, and posterolateral propodeal angle 75:85:95:85:65. Scutellar scale lacking. Posterior propodeal face abrupt, lateral propodeal face with shallow sparse punctures. Metatibio-tarsal ratio 65:25:15:10:8:10.
Metasoma. T1 broad with anterior and dorsal faces, dorsally with small dense punctures. T2 with large coarse punctures, posteromedially with small dense ones. T4–5 and S3–5 with small dense punctures. S1 with simple longitudinal lamella. S2 with dense large punctures. T2 anterolaterally with deep elongated pubescent fovea. T6 basally and laterally coarsely punctate, setose, apical half with medial part without setae, not carinated laterad even apically, considerably convergent basally, with weak transverse striae.
MALE. Body length: 13.6 mm. Forewing length: 9.6 mm. Coloration and setation. Black with head, mesosoma, fore legs, scape, pedicel, and F1 ferruginous. Head and mesosoma with yellowish sparse subappressed setae; propodeal dorsum without recumbent setae, posterolateral propodeal dent with sparse long yellowish setae; mesoscutellum apically with short (less than mesoscutellum length) sparse yellowish setae, oriented upward; legs with recumbent yellowish setae, denser and golden on meso- and metatibiae. T1 and T2 anterolaterally with sparse whitish setae; T2 posteriorly with medially interrupted band of dense golden setae; T3 and T4 with band of dense golden setae; S2 and S3 posterolaterally with fringe of whitish setae; remaining metasomal segments with recumbent black setae, denser on T5 and T6. Lateral felt line of T 2 in deep narrow groove. S2 without lateral felt line.
Head. Relation of head width between the eyes and mesosomal maximum width (including tegulae) about 70:90. Mandible tridentate at apex, without subbasal tooth on inner border and with weak dorsal carina extending from base to subapical tooth; outer margin without any subbasal tooth ventrally. Clypeus with preapical transverse groove defined dorsally by carina. Scape slightly curved ventrally, shiny, with two obscure carinae, F1 0.43 × F2; antennal scrobe dorsally carinate. Genal carina strong, forming tooth at hypostomal carina and extending posteriorly to occipital carina where distinctly angulate. Ocelli small, POD:OOD=0.71. Distance between outer margins of lateral ocelli 0.85 × distance between posterior ocelli and posterior head margin. Ventral region of the postoccipital carina raised, with medial lamella. Frons, vertex, and gena with coarse punctures.
Mesosoma. Notauli and parapsids scarcely visible near scuto-scutellar suture. Tegula large, disc and posterior rim smooth and shiny. Mesoscutellum flat, shallowly emarginate medially, laterally with strong carina ending on tooth-like projections. Metanotum with median raised setose area. Pronotum, scutum, and mesopleuron with dense confluent punctures; mesoscutellum with moderately coarse, somewhat confluent punctures; propleuron shiny with few punctures; inferior portions of metapleuron glabrous and shiny. Propodeum reticulate, dorsal and posterior faces not separated, laterally with strong dent. Forewing fuscous, with two submarginal cells and one medial cell.
Metasoma. Longitudinal carina on S1 well developed, triangle shape, 0.5 × as long as S 1 in profile; T1, T2 and S2 with dense large punctures mixed with smaller ones; T2 posteriorly, T5, T6, and S3–S6 with moderately fine, well separated punctures; S7 with apical transverse carina; S8 simple, with dense punctures; T7 with moderately coarse, dense punctures without pygidial plate. Gonostylus of genitalia sharply enlarged distally of volsellar cuspis and dorsally strongly carinated. Volsellar digitus lamelliform, setose. Volsellar cuspis lamelliform, ventrally carinate, with apicoventral angle almost right and apicodorsal angle curved. Paracuspis absent. Penis valve apically as wide as cuspis apically, widely curved, ventrally with apical tooth, preapical emargination without setae; distance between apex of penis valve and apex of cuspis more than apical width of cuspis.
Type material. Holotype, ♀, Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Hambantota District, Yala, 8.[19]15, N 343, collector unknown [NMC]. Paratypes: 1 ♀, Ceylon [Sri Lanka], S.[outhern] P.[rovince], T.[omas] B.[ainbrigge] F.[letcher], 29.XI.1908, N 342 [NMC]; 1 ♀, Ceylon, [Southern Province, Hambantota District], Hambantota, T.B.P., 9.XI.1909, N 342 [NMC]; 1 ♂, Southern Province, Hambantota District, Vilapala Wewa, 9–10.XII.[19]31, Henry [NMC].
Distribution. Sri Lanka: Southern Province (Fig. 36).
Etymology. This species named after Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (1878–1950), English entomologist, who was the second Imperial Entomologist in India.
Remark. Both sexes of this new species are related with those of Odontomutilla trichocondyla.
description: Published as part of Lelej, Arkady S., Terine, Joshua B., Kumar, Girish P., Das, Dipanwita & Sureshan, Pavittu M., 2020, Review of the genus Odontomutilla Ashmead, 1899 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) of the Indian subcontinent, with description of two new species, pp. 191-208 in Zootaxa 4822 (2) on pages 194-197, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4822.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/4401429