A new species of Taeniogonalos is described and illustrated from Western Ghats, Kerala, India. The male of Taeniogonalos eurysoma Chen & van Achterberg, 2020 is described for the first time along with its first distribution record from India. The new species and T. eurysoma are illustrated along with a distribution map of Indian Taeniogonalos.
Hymenoptera , Lepidoptera , Male , Animals , India
The Indian fauna of the microgastrine genus Promicrogaster is reviewed and three new species are described: P. constricta, P. flava, and P. incompleta, all authored by Ranjith & Fernandez-Triana. Until now only one species had been reported from India. An illustrated key for the Oriental region, including all previously described species, is also provided.
Hymenoptera , Animals , India
A new genus in the braconid subfamily Miracinae is described from the Oriental region including a new species from south India. Additionally, six new species of the genus Centistidea Rohwer is described from India and Sri Lanka. Taxonomic keys to separate the new genus from other miracine genera, to the extant species of Rugosimirax gen. nov. and to the Oriental species of Centistidea are provided.
Hymenoptera , Animals , India , Sri Lanka , Hymenoptera/classification
Subgenera of the braconid genus Chelonus Panzer, Carinichelonus, Megachelonus, Mirachelonus and Parachelonus from India and Areselonus from Sri Lanka are reported for the first time with the description of nine new species. Taxonomic keys for the identification of subgenera reported from India and extant species of Areselonus and Megachelonus are provided. All the subgenera included in the present study are provided with revised diagnoses.
Two new genera and one new species of the Braconinae tribe Adeshini are described and illustrated: Crenuladesha Ranjith & Quicke, gen. nov., type species Adeshanarendrani Ranjith, 2017, comb. nov. from India, and Protadesha Quicke & Butcher, gen. nov., type species Protadeshaintermedia Quicke & Butcher, sp. nov. from South Africa. The former lacks the mid-longitudinal propodeal carina characteristic of the tribe, and the latter displays less derived fore wing venation with two distinct abscissae of vein 2CU. A molecular phylogenetic analysis is included to confirm their correct placement. Since neither of the two new genera displays all of the characters given in the original diagnosis of the Adeshini a revised diagnosis is provided, as well as an illustrated key to the genera.
The eulophid genera Dermatopelte Erdös & Novicky and Iniostichus Kamijo & Ikeda are reported for the first time from India. Two new species, Dermatopelte striata n. sp. and Iniostichus proximus n. sp. are described and illustrated. A revised key to the Indo-Malayan species of Dermatopelte and a key to the extant species of Iniostichus are included.
Hymenoptera , Polychaeta , Animals , India
A new genus of Braconinae, Pseudorhadinobracon Ranjith & van Achterberg, is described based on the species (P. luteus (Szpligeti) gen. et. comb. nov.) earlier classified under the genus Rhadinobracon Szpligeti. Additionally, the genus Rhadinobracon is newly reported from the Oriental region with the description of two new species from India, R. levigatus Ranjith and R. nitidus Ranjith. A taxonomic key to separate Pseudorhadinobracon from Rhadinobracon is provided. The generic diagnosis of Rhadinobracon is revised along with a taxonomic key to the extant species.
Hymenoptera , Wasps , Animals
The Darwin wasp subfamily Lycorininae is newly reported from India with the description of a new species, Lycorina sehgali. A taxonomic key to the identification of Indomalayan and Palaearctic species is given along with the illustration of L. ruficornis, L. spilonotae and L. triangulifera.
Wasps , Animals , India
The orthocentrine ichneumonid genera Gnathochorisis and Symplecis are reported for the first time from India with the description of two new species. Taxonomic keys for the identification of Indomalayan Gnathochorisis and Symplecis are provided along with the illustration of the new species.
Wasps , Animals , India
The rogadine genus Kerevata Belokobylskij is newly reported from the Indomalayan region. We describe and illustrate three new species, two from India (K. kethai sp. nov. and K. orientalia sp. nov.) and one from Vietnam (K. longi sp. nov.) and provide an illustrated key to the extant species of the genus along with the photographic illustration of the type species of K. pacifica Belokobylskij. Range extension and morphological characters of Kerevata are discussed.
Hymenoptera , Wasps , Animals , Papua New Guinea
The braconid tribe Diospilini (subfamily Brachistinae) is reported for the first time from India with the description of a new genus, Atree, along with the description of a new species A. rajathae from south India. The newly described genus belongs to the Aspigonus genus group showing the presence of a wide, deep sculptured groove on the propleuron. Based on morphological affinities, two species reported from Taiwan which were earlier included in the genus Diospilus have been transferred to the new genus, as A. improcerus (Chou Hsu, 1998) comb. nov. and A. validus (Chou Hsu, 1998) comb. nov. A key to the Indomalayan and Palaearctic genera of Diospilini is provided along with the key to the species of Atree gen. nov.
Hymenoptera , Animals , India
A new chalcidid genus, Mischochalcis (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), is erected with the description M. enigmatus sp. nov. from the Western Ghats as the type species. An Afrotropical species, initially described in Haltichella Spinola, is transferred into the new genus as Mischochalcis inermis (Schmitz) comb. nov. The new genus belongs to the very diverse subfamily Haltichellinae and differs from other genera of the subfamily in having an obliquely truncate metatibia in which the truncation ends in a spine formed by the continuation of an additional carina. The systematic placement of Mischochalcis and its presence in two distant biogeographic realms showing disrupted distribution are discussed.
Hymenoptera , Animals
Beta diversity represents how species in the regional pool segregate among local communities and hence forms a link between local and regional species diversities. Therefore, the magnitude of beta diversity and its variation across geographic gradients can provide insights into mechanisms of community assembly. Along with limits on local or regional level diversities, effects of local abundance that lead to under-sampling of the regional species pool are important determinants of estimated beta diversity. We explore the effects of regional species pools, abundance distributions, and local abundance to show that patterns in beta diversity as well as the mean of species abundance distribution have distinct outcomes, depending on limits on species pools and under-sampling. We highlight the effect of under-sampling in some established relationships between gamma diversity and beta diversity using graphical methods. We then use empirical data on ant communities across an elevational gradient in the Eastern Himalayas to demonstrate a shift from effect of reduction in species pool to under-sampling at mid-elevations. Our results show that multiple processes with contrasting effects simultaneously affect patterns in beta diversity across geographic gradients.
Ants/physiology , Biodiversity , Biological Evolution , Ecosystem , Models, Biological , Altitude , Animals , Species Specificity
A new species of cynipid inquiline, Lithosaphonecrus nagalandi Melika, Lobato-Vila Pujade-Villar, sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Synergini), is described from the state of Nagaland (India) reared from undescribed bud galls on an undetermined species of Lithocarpus (Fagaceae), thus being the first Lithosaphonecrus known from India. Description, diagnosis, data on phenology and host associations, and illustrations of the new species are given. An identification key to all known Lithosaphonecrus is also provided. The biology of the genus Lithosaphonecrus and the distribution range of Saphonecrus and Lithosaphonecrus in Asia and Oceania are discussed.
Fagaceae , Hydrozoa , Hymenoptera , Animals , India
Two new species of the subfamily Dorylinae Leach, 1815 namely Parasysciaganeshaiahi sp. nov. and Sysciaindica sp. nov. are described and illustrated based on the worker caste. These species were collected in the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. Keys to Parasyscia of India and Syscia of Asia are provided based on the worker caste.
The Indo-Australian braconine genus, Nedinoschiza Cameron, 1911 is reported for the first time from the Indian subcontinent. A new species, N. indica Ranjith sp. nov. is described and illustrated with the taxonomic key for the extant Nedinoschiza species. The generic diagnosis of Nedinoschiza is revised along with the illustrations of two species viz., N. seminigra (Szépligeti) and N. pinguis Papp.
Wasps/classification , Animals , India
Two new species of the ant genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829, M. bawai sp. nov. and M. reticulata sp. nov., are described and illustrated based on the worker caste from Mizoram, Northeast India. The genus is reported for the first time from Mizoram, the Indian state with the highest percentage of forest cover. A key to the Indian fauna of Myrmecina is also provided based on the worker caste.
Ants/classification , Animals , India
Worldwide species of the genus Spathius Nees with reduced wings are reviewed. A new micropterous species, Spathius himalayicus Ranjith et Belokobylskij, sp. nov. from Northeast India is described and illustrated. A key to all known brachypterous, micropterous and apterous Spathius species is provided. Images of seven species not previously imaged, viz., S. apotanus Wilkinson, 1931, S. canariensis Hedqvist, 1976, S. critolaus Nixon, 1939, S. cursor Wilkinson, 1931, S. maderi Fahringer, 1930, S. pedestris Wesmael, 1838 and S. turneri Nixon, 1943, are provided.
Wasps , Animals , India
Elevational gradients are considered important for understanding causes behind gradients in species richness due to the large variation in climate and habitat within a small spatial extent. Geometric constraints are thought to interact with environmental variables and influence elevational patterns in species richness. However, the geographic setting of most mountain ranges, particularly continuity with low elevation areas may reduce the effect of geometric constraints at lower elevations. In the present study, we test the effects of climatic gradients and continuity with the low elevation plains of the eastern Himalayan mountain range on patterns of species richness. We studied species richness of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on an elevational gradient between 600m and 2400m in the Eastern Himalaya-part of Himalaya biodiversity hotspot. Ants were sampled in nine elevational bands of 200m with four transects in each band using pitfall and Winkler traps. We used regression models to identify the most important environmental variables that predict species richness and used constrained null models to test the effects of contiguity between the mountain range and plains. We find a monotonic decline in species richness of ants with elevation. Temperature was a more important predictor of species richness than habitat complexity. Geometric constraints model weighted by temperature with a soft lower boundary and hard upper boundary best explained the species richness pattern. This suggests that a combination of climate and geometric constraints drive the elevational species richness patterns of ants.
Altitude , Ants/metabolism , Species Specificity , Animals , Biodiversity , Climate , Data Collection , Ecosystem , Geography , India , Temperature
