Sinotilla Lelej 1995

Genus Sinotilla Lelej, 1995

(Figs 19–40)

Sinotilla Lelej, 1995b: 18, ♁ ♀. Type species: Smicromyrme boheanus Chen, 1957, by original designation (misspelled as boheana).

Diagnosis. Male. Head elevated posteriorly; frons and vertex longitudinally striate; ocelli each with longitudinal carina posteriorly; anterior margin of clypeus protruding medially; mandible with one preapical inner denticle; ventral margin of mandible excised into large tooth or not excised and with weak lobe; F1 0.5–0.6 times as long as wide and 0.3–0.4 times the length of F2; maxillary palpus almost as long as antenna; pterostigma length (Fig. 23) less than 0.6 times the distance between pterostigma and base of RS on vein Sc + R; T2 and S2 each with lateral felt line, shorter on S; T7 densely punctate, sometimes with median longitudinal impunctate line; volsellar cuspis short and oval, apically and its inner margin with setae, without basal external lobe.

Female. Genal carina weakly developed; hypostomal teeth present; clypeus with median basal tubercle, and with protruding transverse lamellate carina on anterior margin; mandible slender; fore tarsus without external comb of spines; scutellar scale weak but distinct; T2 with apical narrow band of dense, appressed setae, slightly widened medially (except Sinotilla spinicauda comb. nov.); T3 with wide uniform band of dense, appressed setae; T6 lacking distinct flattened pygidium, glabrous, unsculptured and polished throughout, with lateral margins remarkably convergent basally and not carinate even apically.

Species included. Smicromyrme serpa columnata, Sm. spinicauda, and Sm. trisectus possess the diagnostic characters listed above. This genus includes 21 species including these ones (for the other 18 species see OKAYASU (2017) and OKAYASU et al. (2018)).

Gender. The gender of this genus was not mentioned in the original description. It is feminine according to LELEJ & BROTHERS (2008), so the original spellings of Chen’s species are maintained below.

Remarks. Males of this genus are similar to those of Ephucilla, Nordeniella Lelej, 2005, and Smicromyrme in mandible narrowed to apex, propodeum without dorsal teeth, fully developed wing, and volsella without external lobe, but differ in mandible with lobe or tooth on ventral margin (without lobe or tooth in Nordeniella), maxillary palpus as long as antenna (much shorter in others), F1 0.5–0.6 times as long as wide (as long as wide in others) and S2 with short lateral felt line (without felt line in Ephucilla and Nordeniella). Females of this genus are similar to those of the genera Promecilla, Nordeniella, Karunaratnea Lelej, 2005, Ephucilla, and Indratilla Lelej, 1993 in having an indistinct pygidial area, but differ in having the scutellar scale weak but distinct (absent in Promecilla and Nordeniella; strongly developed in Karunaratnea) and pygidial area remarkably convergent basally without any trace of lateral carina (elongate with weak lateral carina apically in Ephucilla and Indratilla). Females of this genus can be divided into four expedient groups (OKAYASU 2017). In females, Sinotilla is similar to Promecilla, but in males they can be separated by F1 (as long as wide in Promecilla), maxillary palpus (much shorter than antenna in Promecilla), S2 (without lateral felt line in Promecilla), and the volsellar shape (with more or less widened external lobe in Promecilla).