Chakra sanghamittae Veenakumari & Sreedevi & Mohanraj 2022, sp. nov.

Chakra sanghamittae Veenakumari sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 41523267-6968-4530-94C7-A8AAAFAB36B3

(Figures 20 (a–f), 23(k))

Female body length = 1.85 mm (n = 1).

Colour

Head brown-black, frons paler than vertex; mesoscutum brown with uneven dark brown patches medially; mesoscutellum and metascutellar spine black-brown; T1 anteriorly, T2– T3 laterally black-brown, remainder brown; remaining tergites black; radicle, A1 brown, A2 black-brown, A3–A7 yellow-brown, remaining antennomeres brown-black; all legs brownyellow with black apical tarsomeres.

Head

1.3× as wide as high, 1.4× as high as long. Setation on head: dense. IOS: 0.6× head width, 1.1× eye length. POL> LOL> OOL: 9.1:5.8:4.4. OOL: 1.6× MOD. Compound eye: large (L: W = 20.5:16.0). Sculpture on vertex: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances with weak rugose sculpture. Sculpture of frons: with setose protuberances, except for transverse striae medially and on either side of central keel. Central keel: present, 0.3× head height. Sculpture of gena: with setose protuberances interspersed with longitudinal carinae. Facial and malar striae: prominent. Interantennal process: triangular, narrow apically, beak-like.

Mesosoma

L:W of mesoscutum: 25.7:33.2. Setation of mesoscutum: dense. Sculpture of mesoscutum: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances with weak rugose sculpture. Mesoscutal humeral sulcus: not foveate. Mesoscutal suprahumeral sulcus: not foveate. Scutoscutellar sulcus: narrow, laterally foveate. L:W of mesoscutellum: 13.7:22.3. Sculpture of mesoscutellum: with setose protuberances, furrows between protuberances with weak rugose sculpture. Setation of mesoscutellum: dense. Sculpture of metascutellum: basally foveate, remainder smooth with longitudinal carinae. Armature of metascutellum: triangular spine. Sculpture of metanotal trough: weakly foveate. Sculpture of lateral propodeal area: with depressions. Posterior propodeal projection: pointed, directed posteriorly. Sculpture of lateral pronotal area: dorsally with setose protuberances, medially smooth, posteriorly transversely carinate. Pronotal cervical sulcus: not foveate. Netrion sulcus: with depressions. Speculum of mesopleuron: transversely carinate. Episternal sulcus: foveate. Postacetabular sulcus: not foveate. Prespecular sulcus: foveate. Mesepimeral sulcus: foveate dorsally. Mesepimeral area: smooth, narrower than mesepimeral sulcus. Mesopleural carina: present. Sculpture of femoral depression: obliquely carinate. Mesopleural pit: present. Sculpture of ventral mesopleuron: with setose protuberances. Sculpture of metapleuron: dorsally obliquely carinate, ventrally with setose protuberances. Metapleural sulcus: weakly foveate. Paracoxal sulcus: weakly foveate. Metapleural epicoxal sulcus: not foveate. L:W of fore wing: 101.8:33.5. L:W of hind wing: 95.0:18.7. Marginal cilia on posterior margin of proximal fore wing: absent.

Metasoma

L:W of metasoma: 85.9:38.5. Sculpture of T1: longitudinally costate. Length of T1: 0.7× the length of T2. Horn on T1: absent. Length of T2: 0.6× the length of T3. Sculpture of T2: basal foveae present, followed by longitudinal costae and smooth patch posteromedially. Sculpture of T3: longitudinally costate medially and coriaceous reticulate laterally. Sculpture of T4–T6: weakly coriaceous reticulate.

Male

Not known.

Material examined

Holotype. Female (ICAR / NBAIR / P4531), Tamil Nadu: Yelagiri, Thayalur, 12.578°N 78.662°E, 1111 m, YPT, 15 June 2016.

Etymology

This species is named after ‘Sanghamitta’, the Indian Emperor Asoka’s eldest daughter, who started the order of Buddhist nuns in Sri Lanka. The name is treated as a noun in the genitive case.

Diagnosis

Chakra sanghamittae sp. nov. resembles C. bournei sp. nov. The distinguishing characters are given above under the latter species.