Sycophila (Sycophila) meridionalis Lotfalizadeh, 2024

Lotfalizadeh, Hossein, Delvare, Gérard, Cruaud, Astrid & Rasplus, Jean-Yves, 2024, Morphological phylogeny and revision of Sycophila and Ficomila (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea, Eurytomidae) associated with Afrotropical fig trees (Moraceae, Ficus), Zootaxa 5401 (1), pp. 1-190 : 111-115

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5401.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:376CAB04-43BE-4C9A-950B-80DBD676CFB0
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10524477
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FD6B5E-725B-615C-5486-B78AFC9FFB9E
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Sycophila (Sycophila) meridionalis Lotfalizadeh
status	sp. n.

Treatment

Sycophila (Sycophila) meridionalis Lotfalizadeh & Rasplus sp. n.

( Figs 77–79 View FIGURE 77 View FIGURE 78 View FIGURE 79 )

Type material examined. Holotype ♀, Republic of South Africa, Pretoria , Wonderboom Rese, ex syconia of Ficus abutilifolia , 18.iv.1995, Gibernau M. leg. Deposited in CBGP . Paratypes: same data as holotype, 2♂ .

Etymology. The specific name refers to the type locality located in the southern part of Africa.

Diagnosis. Body of female without a distinct dark band dorsally, sometimes a slight dark brown mark dorsally ( Fig. 77A View FIGURE 77 ). Funiculars distinctly long, about 1.5× as long as wide ( Fig. 77B View FIGURE 77 ). Propodeum with median carina ( Fig. 78B View FIGURE 78 ). Gt4 as long as Gt3, Gt5 as long as Gt4 dorsally ( Fig. 78C View FIGURE 78 ). Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent.

Body of male yellowish, propodeum partly dark ( Fig. 79A View FIGURE 79 ). Flagellum with fu1–fu4 much longer than wide ( Fig. 79B View FIGURE 79 ). Fore wing partly setose, with distinct speculum ( Fig. 78C View FIGURE 78 ).

Description of holotype ♀ ( Figs 77–78 View FIGURE 77 View FIGURE 78 ). Length 3.39 mm. Body yellowish-brown ( Fig. 77A View FIGURE 77 ), except ocellar area, mesosoma dorsomedially, propodeum, petiole and gaster dorsally, flagellum and Gt2–Gt4 lateroventrally dark brown to black; antennal colour mostly dark brown; pronotum yellowish and black dorsomedially; fore wing with a dark brown spot below mv, not reaching base of mv, lower margin of mv not obscured by dark brown spot ( Fig. 78D View FIGURE 78 ); gaster brownish, not uniformly coloured, darker on side of gaster ( Fig. 78C View FIGURE 78 ); body setation whitish, setation of fore wing entirely dark.

Head in frontal and dorsal views coriaceous with sparse punctures; in frontal view 1.39× as broad as high [HW 188 & HH 135] ( Fig. 77C View FIGURE 77 ); in dorsal view transverse, 1.95× as broad as long [HW 242 & HL 124] ( Fig. 77D View FIGURE 77 ); malar space 0.5× length of eye [ms 40 & EH 80]; malar sulcus distinct, straight ( Fig. 77E View FIGURE 77 ); genal margin regularly curved, edged but not carinate; antennal toruli narrowly separated; interantennal space not raised, not carinate laterally; scrobal depression smooth, reaching the median ocellus, not carinate on margin; POL 2.82× as long as OOL [POL 62 & OOL 22]; temple rounded, 0.24× the eye length (in dorsal view) [TL 24 & EL 98] ( Fig. 77D View FIGURE 77 ); setation oriented downwards on face, outwards on the punctuate frons.

Antenna. Scape reaching lower margin of median ocellus, 3.77× as long as broad [SL 83 & SW 22]; fu1 1.73× as long as broad [fu1L 38 & fu1W 22], distinctly longer than pedicel, not bulging dorsally; funicular (fu2–fu4) with two rows of mps and 2 whorls of adpressed setae; fu2–fu4 slightly longer than broad; fu5 as long as broad ( Fig. 77B View FIGURE 77 ).

Mesosoma weakly arched dorsally, 1.7× as long as wide (170:100), with deep sculpture ( Fig. 78A View FIGURE 78 ); pronotum with coarse umbilicate punctures; mesepisternum raised medially, with piliferous sculpture on epicnemium, being closer to anteroventral margin of mesepisternum than to mesocoxa; mesoscutum 0.6× as long as wide (60:100), 0.65× longer than length of pronotal collar (60:90), with dense umbilicate punctures, transversely strigose anteriorly; notauli conspicuous, slightly obliterated by mesoscutum sculpture;prepectus bare, slightly sculptured; mesoscutellum uniformly umbilicate and coriaceous sculpture; mesepimeron transversally strigose; metepimeron subtriangular and areolate with long white hairs; propodeum ( Fig. 78B View FIGURE 78 ) with deep median depression, and a smooth median band, and a distinct median carina; lateral rows of areolae short (extending at most to half-length of propodeum); basal carina inverted V, truncate mesally, lateral branches of propodeal basal carina slightly convex; distance between lateral carinae less than 0.5× width of nucha.

Fore wing with short marginal fringe, distal margin round; dark brown spot only behind mv; basal cell bare or nearly so; mv distinctly enlarged, rounded, lower margin convex, not longer than pmv; stv not curved; pmv distinct, longer than stv; ventral side of costal cell sparsely setose, dorsally bare; speculum present; parastigmal bristles absent ( Figs 78E, F View FIGURE 78 ).

Legs. Fore coxa without depression on frontal surface, hind coxa bare basodorsally; fore (25:10) and hind femora (35:10); hind tibia dorsally with less than 10 setae, setae shorter than hind tibia width.

Metasoma. Petiole longer than broad dorsally, ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 present. Metasoma 1.5× as long as wide (150:100) ( Fig. 78C View FIGURE 78 ), longer than mesosoma, strongly compressed laterally and dorsally angulate; ventral transverse carina between petiole and St1 absent; petiole in dorsal view longer than wide, shorter than half length of hind coxa; tergites smooth; Gt4 (in lateral view) much as long as Gt3 (at least 1.5× longer), sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 partly covering Gt6; sinuous posteriorly; Gt5 with few setae dorsally, Gt6 sparsely setose ventrally; ovipositor oriented dorsad but not distinctly upturned ( Fig. 78C View FIGURE 78 ).

Male ( Fig. 79 View FIGURE 79 ). Length 3.08–4.00 mm. Similar to female with longer petiole ( Fig. 79A View FIGURE 79 ); exhibiting same colouration, but most yellowish than female; antennal formula 11143, with much longer segments, at least 2× as long as broad; each funicular with 3 rows of mps and several whorls of relatively short adpressed setae ( Fig. 79B View FIGURE 79 ); fore wing more setose than in female, speculum relatively narrow, costal cell with two rows of setae dorsally and dense setae ventrally ( Fig. 79C View FIGURE 79 ).

Variation. None.

Host plant. Ficus abutilifolia .

Geographical distribution. Republic of South Africa.