Gonatopus sandovalae sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Dryinidae) is described from Los Rios Province (Ecuador). Gonatopus sandovalae can be distinguished from the related Neotropical species G. canadensis (Olmi) and G. malkini (Olmi) by the different sculpture of the scutum (with 2 lateral pointed apophyses in G. sandovalae; without lateral pointed apophyses in G. canadensis and G. malkini).
Dryinidae (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea) are parasitoids of Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera) (Guglielmino & Virla 1998; Guglielmino & Bückle 2003, 2010; Guglielmino et al. 2013). The biology of this small group of wasps is still poorly known (Carcupino et al. 1998; Guglielmino 2000; Guglielmino et al. 2006, 2008, 2015). The genus Gonatopus Ljungh, 1810 is present in all zoogeographical regions. About 441 species have been described from all continents (Olmi & Guglielmino 2013; Guglielmino & Olmi 2014; Olmi & Xu 2015).
The genus was revised at first at world level by Olmi (1984, 1991) and more recently by Xu et al. (2013) for the Oriental region, Olmi & Virla (2014) for the Neotropics, and Olmi & Xu (2015) for the Eastern Palaearctic region. One hundred and twenty-three species of Gonatopus are known from the Neotropical region (Olmi & Virla 2014). According to Olmi & Virla (2014), the genus Gonatopus is divided into 12 groups. They are distinguished on the basis of the following characters:
1.— Fully winged (not found in the Neotropical region) Group 11
1'.— Apterous (Fig. 1) 2
2.— Enlarged claw without subapical tooth, or with 1 very small subapical tooth (Plate 181A in Olmi & Virla 2014) 3
2'.— Enlarged claw with one large subapical tooth (Fig. 5) 6
3.— Distal apex of enlarged claw with group of lamellae (not found in the Neotropical region) Group 8
3'.— Distal apex of enlarged claw without lamellae (Plates 181A, E, 182E–G, 183C, D in Olmi & Virla 2014) 4
4.— Pronotum crossed by strong transverse impression (Plates 181C, D, 182A–D, 183A, B in Olmi & Virla 2014) Group 7
4'.— Pronotum not crossed by transverse impression or slightly impressed (Plates 202, 203A, C in Olmi & Virla 2014) 5
5.— Palpal formula 6/3 Group 12
5'.— Palpal formula different Group 6
6.— Pronotum not crossed by transverse impression or slightly impressed (as in Plate 172B in Olmi & Virla 2014) 7
6'.— Pronotum crossed by strong transverse impression (Fig. 2) 8
7.— Labial palpi 3-segmented Group 9 (not found in the Neotropical region)
7'.— Labial palpi 2-segmented Group 5
8.— Enlarged claw without lamellae, with or without bristles or peg-like hairs (Plate 153B, D in Olmi & Virla 2014) Group 1
8'.— Enlarged claw with lamellae (Fig. 5) 9
9.— Labial palpus 2-segmented 10
9'.— Labial palpus 3-segmented 11
10.— Maxillary palpus composed of 2–4 segments Group 2
10'.— Maxillary palpus 5-segmented Group 10
11.— Maxillary palpus 6-segmented Group 4
11'.— Maxillary palpus with 4–5 segments 12
12.— Maxillary palpus 5-segmented Group 3
12'.— Maxillary palpus 4-segmented Group 10
Figs. 1–5.
Female holotype of Gonatopus sandovalae sp. nov.: habitus in dorsal (1) and lateral (2) view; scutum, scutellum and metathorax + propodeum in dorsal view (3); mesosoma in lateral view (4); chela (5). Scale bar 1.28 mm for 1 and 2, 0.53 mm for 3, 0.58 mm for 4, and 0.14 mm for 5.
In 2015, we examined additional specimens of Gonatopus from Ecuador and found the new species described herein.
Material and Methods
The descriptions follow the terminology used by Olmi (1984), Olmi & Guglielmino (2010), and Olmi & Virla (2014). The measurements reported are relative, except for the total length (head to abdominal tip, except antennae), which is expressed in millimeters. In the descriptions, POL is the distance between the inner edges of the 2 lateral ocelli; OL is the distance between the inner edges of a lateral ocellus and the median ocellus; OOL is the distance from the outer edge of a lateral ocellus to the compound eye; OPL is the distance from the posterior edge of a lateral ocellus to the occipital carina; and TL is the distance from the posterior edge of an eye to the occipital carina. The material studied in this paper is deposited in the collections of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador (QCAZ).
Results
Gonatopus sandovalae sp. nov. (Figs. 1–5)
DESCRIPTION
Holotype female. Apterous (Fig. 1). Length 3.4 mm. Body testaceous- ferruginous, except petiole black; antenna brown, except segments 1 and 2 testaceous and segment 10 whitish. Antenna clavate; antennal segments in following proportions: 8:6:14:9:7:6:6:6:5:10. Head very excavated, glossy, unsculptured; frontal line complete; occipital carina absent; temple absent; POL = 1; OL = 1; OOL = 6. Palpal formula 5/2. Pronotum glossy, unsculptured, crossed by strong transverse impression. Scutum glossy, unsculptured, with 2 lateral pointed apophyses (Figs. 1 and 3). Scutellum inclined. Metanotum inclined, unsculptured, not transversely striate, not hollow behind scutellum (Figs. 2 and 4). Meso- and metapleuron transversely striate. Metathorax + propodeum glossy, with anterior surface unsculptured; posterior surface transversely striate. Meso-metapleural suture obsolete. Protarsal segments in following proportions: 14:3:4:14:22. Enlarged claw (Fig. 5) with 1 large subapical tooth and 1 row of 5 lamellae. Segment 5 of protarsus (Fig. 5) with 2 rows of 4+11 lamellae; distal apex with at least 15 lamellae. Tibial spurs 1/0/1.
Male: Unknown.
TYPE MATERIAL
HOLOTYPE female, ECUADOR: Los Rios Province, Centro Científico Rio Palenque, 180 m, Col. MAB-UNESCO, 10-I-1981, col. S. Sandoval (QCAZ).
ETYMOLOGY
The species is named after the collector, Ms. Sonia Sandoval.
REMARKS
The characters distinguishing the new species are as follows: female apterous (Figs. 1 and 2); palpal formula 5/2; pronotum crossed by strong transverse impression (Figs. 2 and 4); scutum with 2 lateral pointed apophyses (Figs. 1 and 3); metanotum not hollow behind scutellum (Figs. 2 and 4); meso-metapleural suture obsolete; posterior surface of propodeum strongly transversely striate (Figs. 1, 3, 4); enlarged claw with lamellae and 1 large subapical tooth (Fig. 5). Because of the above characters, G. sandovalae belongs to Gonatopus group 10 (see Introduction of this paper). Gonatopus sandovalae is close to G. canadensis (Olmi 1984) and G. malkini (Olmi 1991). The main differences among these 3 species regard the sculpture of the scutum: with 2 lateral pointed apophyses in G. sandovalae (Figs. 1 and 3); without lateral apophyses in G. canadensis and G. malkini (Plate 154D in Olmi & Virla 2014). Following the description of G. sandovalae, the key to the females of the Neotropical species of Gonatopus group 10 published by Olmi & Virla (2014) can be modified by replacing couplet 4 as follows:
4.— S cutum with 2 lateral pointed apophyses (Figs. 1 and 3) G. sandovalae sp. nov.
4'.— S cutum without lateral pointed apophyses (Plate 154D in Olmi & Virla 2014) 4*
4*.— Metathorax + propodeum with anterior region granulated and disc with strong track of median longitudinal furrow G. canadensis (Olmi)
4*'.— Metathorax + propodeum with anterior region alutaceous and disc without strong track of median longitudinal furrow G. malkini (Olmi)
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Giovanni Onore for his help during a recent trip to Ecuador. We are also grateful to the QCAZ Museum staff (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito) for the loan of the specimen studied in the present paper.
