Crossocerus (Panjal), Saini & Dey, 2022

Saini, V. & Dey, D., 2022, Panjal, a new subgenus of the genus Crossocerus (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae), with description of a new species from Pakistan, Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 31 (1), pp. 87-97 : 88-89

Subgenus Panjal subgen. nov.

Type species: Crossocerus (Panjal) dutti sp. nov.

Diagnosis. The new subgenus is based on the female characters only. It shares several important characters with the subgenera Bnunius and Ortocrabro : mandible apically tridentate; mesopleuron with conspicuous precoxal tubercle; pronotum shallowly notched medially, notch from behind not reaching anterior margin of pronotum; propodeal enclosure well limited posteriorly; occipital carina not reaching hypostomal carina; fore femur distinctly hollowed on outer surface, with its upper and lower margins acutely edged; hind femur flattened beneath.

The new subgenus shares some characters with Bnunius (posterior margin of tergum V finely punctate; antennomere III 2.3 times as long as broad at apex) and some characters with Ortocrabro (innermost apical tooth of mandible small and obtuse; pronotum with transverse furrow and carina in front of posterior margin, with roundly curved anterior margin and bluntly produced anterolateral angles; propleural tooth present).

The new subgenus differs from both Bnunius and Ortocrabro in the following characters: recurrent vein joining submarginal cell beyond its middle; clypeal medial apical margin with a distinct protruding tridentate lobe along with lateral teeth, lateral tooth emarginate; inner margin of mandible with large tooth; tergum I nodose at apex; pygidial plate in shape of isosceles triangle, with inconspicuous carina laterally, with large punctures basally, dorsal surface slightly concave; prosternal tooth present; anterolateral surface of fore coxa with a tooth.

Etymology. The subgeneric name is derived from the Pir Panjal Mountain Ranges (Murree Hills), where the holotype was collected. Gender is feminine.

Insertion of Panjal subgen. nov. into a key to the subgenera of the genus Crossocerus

18. Head broad, transverse, wider than thorax; pygidial plate slightly depressed posteriorly; mandible bidentate, inner margin toothless; clypeus short; pronotal collar with median notch; mesopleuron with precoxal tubercle; propodeal enclosure bordered posteriorly by very fine groove (not crenulate); terga completely black; body length 3−4.5 mm; male unknown. (Distribution: Philippines)......................... Paroxycrabro

– Head subquadrate; pronotal collar usually (possibly, always) with median notch............... 19

19. Inner mandibular margin without tooth (sometimes with a small denticle, e.g. in P. tyuzendzianus Tsuneki, 1954 ); mandible bidentate, tridentate, or quadridentate; propodeal enclosure often not bordered posteriorly; pygidial area with or without anterior hump; mesopleuron with or without precoxal tubercle.................... Blepharipus

– Inner mandibular margin with tooth; other characters varying................................. 20

20.Female: inner mandibular margin with a large tooth ( Figs 4 and 5); recurrent vein joining submarginal cell beyond its middle ( Figs 2 and 3); prosternal tooth present ( Figs 11 and 12); anterolateral surface of fore coxa with tooth ( Fig. 7); tergum I longer, nodose at apex ( Fig. 16); pygidial plate in shape of isosceles triangle, inconspicuously carinate laterally, with large punctures basally, slightly concave dorsally ( Fig. 17). Body length 7.74 mm .................. Panjal subgen. nov.

– Female: inner margin of mandible with a small tooth; recurrent vein joining submarginal cell at its middle; prosternal tooth absent; anterolateral surface of fore coxa without tooth. Other characters varying..................................... 21

21. Female: tergum I shorter, slightly nodose at apex (Fig. 46 in Tsuneki, 1971); pygidial plate simple, slightly convex anteriorly. Body length no more than 6.5 mm. Male unknown........... Bnunius

– Female: tergum I more distinctly elongate, simply rounded at apex; pygidial plate with anterior Y-shaped hump ( Tsuneki, 1990: Fig. 25). Male: mandible bidentate, without tooth at inner margin ( Tsuneki, 1990: Fig. 16); mesopleuron with a small precoxal tubercle. Body length at most 7.5 mm ........................................ Ortocrabro