Odontoscelio Kieffer 1905

Genus Odontoscelio Kieffer, 1905

Odontoscelio Kieffer, 1905: 13

(type species: Odontoscelio striatifrons Kieffer, 1905).

Macrogryon Nixon, 1936: 116 (synonymized by Masner 1976).

Diagnosis

The genus Odontoscelio is diagnosed by the following combination of character states: axillular spine elongate and posteriorly directed; eyes with dense, long setae; radicle very short; netrion narrow; T 6 in females with two lateral spines and a medial lobe; very large, robust black species (Masner 1976).

Description

Large, robust, densely setose, black species, with coarse sculpture; antennae in shades of dark brown except light yellow to light brown A3 and A 4 in females; radicle short, less than half length of interantennal process; A3 more than 2 × length of A 4 in females; clypeus wide with lateral corners pointed; eyes with dense bristles; mandible either tridentate or subtridentate (with median tooth shorter than upper and lower teeth); facial striae present; frons generally entirely carinate, sometimes with a medial smooth patch; central keel either present or absent; hyperoccipital carina absent; pronotum visible when viewed dorsally, sometimes with a short spine on pronotal shoulders; epomial carina present; notaulus absent; netrion present; femoral depression transversely carinate; mesoscutum and mesoscutellum coarsely sculptured, latter sometimes with a median keel; axillular spine elongate and posteriorly directed; metascutellum with a strong posteromedial spine; posterior propodeal projection present; metasoma spatulate; T1 sometimes with a horn; T1 and T2 longitudinally costate; T3 with varied sculpture; T 6 in females with lateral teeth and a median lobe. Males with elongate, stout antennomeres, A4 and A5 shorter than A3; T3–T6 densely setose, with lateral patch.

Remarks

Masner (1976), in his revision of the world genera of Scelionidae, furnished a key to the genera of Teleasinae. Odontoscelio and Gryonoides Dodd, 1920 are diagnosed in this key by the presence of lateral mesoscutellar spines (sensu Masner 1976). Veenakumari et al. (2011b) described a third genus, Dvivarnus Rajmohana & Veenakumari, also possessing lateral mesoscutellar spines. Talamas et al. (2016) included the Trimorus carus (Nixon, 1936) species group with this character state and provided a key for the three genera – Gryonoides, Dvivarnus and the Trimorus carus species group – all sharing lateral mesoscutellar spines. The lateral spines on the mesosoma in Odontoscelio have now been clarified to be elongations of the axillula, and they are hence axillular spines and not mesoscutellar spine as in Gryonoides, Dvivarnus and Trimorus carus. As of now there are four lineages in Teleasinae possessing lateral spines, one with an axillular spine and three with mesoscutellar spines.