Pristaulacus karinulus Smith, 2001

Turrisi, Giuseppe Fabrizio, Yeh, Wen-Chi & Lu, Sheng-Shan, 2025, Taxonomic review of the Aulacidae of Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5618 (4), pp. 584-594 : 587-589

Pristaulacus karinulus Smith, 2001

( Figure 2 )

Pristaulacus kiefferi Enderlein, 1912: 266 ; Enderlein 1913: 319, 326; Hedicke 1939: 11.

Pristaulacus karinulus Smith 2001: 288 ; Sun & Sheng 2007: 219; Turrisi et al. 2009: 57; Chen et al. 2016: 78 , 106; Turrisi 2017: 935; Turrisi & Nobile 2024: 15; Pham et al. 2024: 216.

Type material. According to Enderlein (1912) the type material of Pristaulacus kiefferi includes both females and males. TAIWAN: lectotype ♀ of Pristaulacus kiefferi Enderlein, 1912 (examined), “ Hoozan, Formosa, V.10, H. Sauter/ Pristaulacus kiefferi Enderl. ♀, Type, Dr. Enderlein det 1912/Syntypus [red label]/Coll. DEI Eberswalde/ Eberswalde Coll. DEI/Lectotypus ♀, Pristaulacus kiefferi Enderlein, 1912 , des. T. Megjaszai 1999/Lectotypus ♀, Pristaulacus kiefferi Enderlein, 1912 , des. G.F. Turrisi 2024 ( SDEI) (examined) . INDIA: syntype specimen ♂, “ Sikkim, Darjeelingis ” ( SZMC) (not examined).

The description by Enderlein (1912) is based on specimens of both sexes and the holotype was not indicated. The previous syntype ♀ was identified by T. Megjaszai in 1999 and considered as lectotype (unpublished). We here formally designate this syntype ♀ as lectotype according to the article 74 of ICZN (1999). The new name Pristaulacus karinulus Smith 2001 was proposed by Smith (2001) for Pristaulacus kiefferi Enderlein, 1912 , preoccupied in Pristaulacus by Bradley (1908).

Additional material examined. TAIWAN: 1♀, Xinxian, Wulai , New Taipei City, 23.VI.2010, collected, 8.I.2011, emerged, S.S. Lu /Artificial rearing/00168171 ( TFRI) ; 1♂, same locality and collector, 23.VI.2010, collected, 18.I.2011, emerged/Artificial rearing/00167964 ( TFRI) .

Diagnosis. Medium sized, body length: 9.2–12.0 mm (♀); 11.0 mm (♂); fore wing length: 7.8–9.2 mm (♀); 8.1 mm (♂). Colour blackish except: medial part of mandible, A1 and hind trocanther, femur and tibia, dark reddish orange ( Fig. 2D ); fore and mid legs (except coxae), hind tarsus, and most of metasomal segments 1+2 (except dorsal part of T1 and apex of T2) reddish orange ( Figs. 2A, 2B ); wings very weakly infuscated throughout; fore wing with irregular dark markings on cell B and plical area hyaline, and a wide substigmal dark brown band, extended to D2; setae: whitish. Head, from above, 1.2 × wider than long, shiny; gena, from above, subparallel and straight behind eye, regularly rounded posteriorly, well developed and 0.8 × eye length; occipital margin nearly straight ( Fig. 2D ); occipital carina narrow, rim-like, 0.2 × diameter of an ocellus; vertex with fine, deep and dense punctures (distance between punctures 2.0–2.5 × punctures diameter). Mesosoma moderately elongate ( Fig. 2C ), 2.0 × longer than high, coarsely sculptured; pronotum mostly areolate-punctate, rugulose-punctate along lateroventral margin, with one well developed, acute anterior tooth-like process strongly curved on each lateroventral margin, posterior margin weakly angulate, without process; mesoscutum transverse-carinate, anterior margin, in lateral view, widely rounded, not overhanging pronotum; fore wing with vein 2-rs+m long; hind coxa elongate and slender, subcylindrical, 2.8 × as long as broad, transverse-carinulate dorsally, polished-punctate ventrally; hind basitarsus 10.4 × longer than broad and 1.2 × longer than tarsomeres 2–5; tarsal claws with four tooth-like processes along inner margin. Metasoma pyriform in lateral view, strongly compressed laterally; petiole elongate, slender, 3.5 × as long as broad; ovipositor length slightly less than fore wing length.

Distribution. China (Henan, Jiangsu), Taiwan, India (Sikkim) ( Enderlein 1912, 1913; Smith 2001; Chen et al. 2016; Turrisi 2017; Smith & Turrisi 2020; Turrisi & Nobile 2024).

Remarks. This species has been known only from type material since its description and its identity has been very vague. The few diagnostic features recognized have been long based on the description by Enderlein (1912) under P. kiefferi , and herein expanded. The colour pattern, the shape of the head in dorsal view, and the length of ovipositor compared to fore wing length, are the best combination of features to recognize this species.

Biology. Based on available data, this species flies from April to June. Host not known.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Pristaulacus karinulus Smith, 2001, ♀ (TFRI). A Habitus, dorsal view. B Habitus, lateral view. C Head and mesosoma, lateral view. D Head, dorsal view. E Head, frontal view.