Lutnes afrotropicus Gibson 2018, n. sp.
Creators: name: Gibson, Gary A. P.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Eupelmidae
Lutnes
Lutnes afrotropicus

description: Lutnes afrotropicus n. sp.
Figs 1–9
Type material. Holotype ♀ (BMNH, at the request of Gérard Delvare, Montpellier, France). [upper surface of label:] CAMEROUN | Réserve de Campo | Camp Akok | 2°38'59"N | 9°54'21"E [under surface of label, handwritten:] SOUS –BOiS | PiÉGE MALAiSE 16 | 31.X + 13.XI.1991 / HOLOTYPE ♀ | Lutnes afrotropicus | Gibson. Holotype card-mounted by venter; entire; uncontorted (Figs 1, 2).
Etymology. Named to reflect the biogeographic region from which this species is known.
Description. FEMALE (habitus: Figs 1, 2). Length about 6.6 mm. Head (Figs 1–5) black with slight greenish tinge on lower face (Fig. 3) and gena (Fig. 4). Head in lateral view (Fig. 4) high-triangular with almost flat frontovertex (Fig. 4: fvt) acutely angled relative to flat face (Fig. 4: fa) at level of dorsal limit of scrobal depression (Fig. 3), with length of dorsal horizontal surface about 1.6× height of vertical surface; malar space 0.5× eye height. Head in dorsal view (Fig. 5) with ridge-like ocellocular line between anterior margin of posterior ocellus and inner orbit, and with sinuous, acutely to carinately margined anterior margin between inner orbits formed by anteriorly rounded parascrobal regions (Figs 3, 5: psr) relative to incurved scrobal depression; frons irregularly meshlike reticulate-rugulose roughened and vertex more transversely imbricate to somewhat granular, but both with white hairlike setae except for comparatively long and dense, conspicuous black setae along extreme posterior margin of vertex extending onto occiput (Fig. 4); interorbital region 0.44× head width; OOL: POL: LOL: MPOD = 22: 63: 40: 11. Head in frontal view (Fig. 3) strongly transverse, about twice as wide as high, with genae strongly converging toward mouthparts; lower face and interantennal prominence more uniformly meshlike reticulate than frontovertex, and scrobes and region of parascrobal region overhanging torulus meshlike coriaceous; lower face and interantennal prominence with shorter but similarly slender, hairlike, white setae as on frontovertex; scrobal depression broadly ƞ-shaped. Labiomaxillary complex or at least palpi brown (Figs 3, 4). Eye distinctly setose (Fig. 3); mostly faced dorsally but anterolaterally with small region faced vertically. Antenna (Fig. 7) with scape obviously compressed-oblong (Fig. 3), about 3× as long as greatest width, and yellowish except dark on both inner and outer surfaces along ventral margin and dorsobasally, and flagellum brown except fl3 and fl4 mostly yellowish; fl1 slightly transverse, but slightly more than half as long as pedicel and about half as long as fl2; fl2 about 1.33× as long as wide with subsequent funiculars shorter such that fl3 subquadrate and apical four funiculars distinctly transverse; clava with ventral surface collapsed, but about as long as combined length of fl4–fl8.
Mesosoma similarly dark as head (Figs 1, 2, 5), but mesoscutum with mostly greenish luster under different angles of light (Fig. 5), most distinctly posteriorly, and propodeum with greenish or limited bluish to violaceous to purple lusters under some angles of light (Fig. 6). Pronotum (Figs 4, 5) covered with comparatively long and conspicuous dark hairlike setae similar to occiput; propleuron and prosternum with white setae. Mesoscutum (Fig. 5) mostly punctate-reticulate except lateral lobe with more finely, minutely sculptured region anteriorly (parapsidal region) and carinately margined posteriorly, and slender lateral flange more shallowly meshlike reticulate; with comparatively short dark setae over about anterior half and similar but mostly white setae over about posterior half, particularly within shallowly concave posterior region of medial region and laterally on lateral lobe. Scutellaraxillar complex (Fig. 5) similarly but somewhat more coarsely (deeply) punctate-reticulate than mesoscutum and with entirely dark setae except for a few white setae posterolaterally on scutellum. Prepectus bare and subdivided by distinct vertical sulcus near mid-length. Mesopleurosternum ventrally with setae concealed under glue, but with white hairlike setae anterolaterally on mesopectus; acropleuron entirely bare posterior to acropleural sulcus, largely concealed by legs but apparently more finely reticulate anteriorly and coarsely reticulate with much larger reticulations posteriorly. Macropterous (Figs 1, 2). Fore wing (Fig. 8) with ratio of cc: mv: stv: pmv = 4.4: 2.6: 1.0: 1.7; costal cell bare dorsally; basal cell basally infuscate with comparatively long and dense, dark hairlike setae (apices of setae converging so as to form several more or less conical tufts of setae behind about basal half of smv), but apically hyaline slightly beyond middle of smv to base of parastigma, with small, comparatively inconspicuous region of white hairlike setae adjacent to smv at base of hyaline region and dark but with somewhat sparser and shorter dark setae than basally within cell to base of parastigma; discal region comparatively strongly infuscate with brown lanceolate setae to about level of apex of stv, but about apical half progressively more hyaline with brown hairlike setae, except for posteriorly tapered hyaline region with white setae behind mv just beyond midlength not extending to base of stv, and with somewhat more hyaline region with entirely dark setae near posterior margin of wing behind anterior region. Front leg dark brown except about apical half of tibia orangish and middle three tarsomeres orangish-brown; protibia concave anteroapically with dorsoapical margin almost angulate near posterior margin. Middle leg dark brown except extreme apex of femur whitish, and tibia broadly orangish mesally to subapically; mesotibia dorsally extensively carinately margined except basally and apically. Hind leg almost entirely dark brown except femur apically and middle tarsomeres slightly paler. Propodeum (Fig. 6) with foramen ƞ-like incurved virtually to v-like emarginate anteromedial margin of propodeum and with triangular, concave plical region on either side of median relative to broad, convex callar region, with regions mesal and lateral of comparatively obscurely developed postspiracular groove (Fig. 6: psg) similarly meshlike coriaceous-reticulate.
Gaster (Figs 1, 2) dark brown with slight violaceous to coppery lusters dorsally within about basal half and slight greenish luster dorsally within apical half under some angles of light; Gt1and Gt2 similarly meshlike coriaceous, Gt3 and Gt4 somewhat more strongly but similarly coriaceous-reticulate, Gt5 punctulate-reticulate to reticulate-rugulose, Gt6 punctate-reticulate and slightly, irregularly roughened (Fig. 9), and syntergum more regularly meshlike reticulate; Gt1 bare dorsally and Gt2 bare dorsomedially, but other tergites with dark setae except syntergum with some whitish setae; syntergum strongly transverse relative to large Gt6, the syntergum medially only about 1/6 length of Gt6 (Fig. 9).
Distribution. Afrotropical: Cameroon.
Remarks. The known female of L. afrotropicus differs in numerous respects from Neotropical species of Lutnes, as given in the key and above description and as discussed under the genus. The holotype was collected by a malaise trap in a treed environment and thus from a similar habitat as indicated by canopy fogging for the Neotropical species.
description: Published as part of Gibson, Gary A. P., 2018, Revision of Lutnes Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), pp. 330-356 in Zootaxa 4415 (2) on pages 337-339, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4415.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/1242004