Andinopanurgus chirosimpson Packer 2021, new species

Andinopanurgus chirosimpson Packer, new species ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 602929D3-03C0-459E-9641-5350C04C653C (Figs. 1–8, 24) DIAGNOSIS: The new species, known only from the male, can be differentiated from all other bees except the second new species described below by the very unusual setal patern on S4 (Figs. 4–5), which involves setae that are branched into two unequal halves or three or four more equal thirds or quarters respectively. Each branch is somewhat digitiform and the whole structure can look like a human hand (minus the thumb) or rake while the three-branched hairs look somewhat like tridents. There are weak longitudinal raised lines on these branches (Fig. 5). While some related species, A. bachue (Gonzalez & Ruz), A. rangeli (Gonzalez & Ruz), and A. wayruronga (Gonzalez & Ruz), have short, broad setae apicomedially on S5, these species do not have unusual setae on S4 (they also differ in numerous other ways, but the details of the setation of S4 of the new species alone is sufficient to diagnose it). It can be differentiated from A. lynnae, described below, by the absence of the pale transverse clypeal marking that is present in A. lynnae and in details of the setation on S4 (compare Figs. 4–5 with Figs. 11–12). DESCRIPTION: ♂: Body length 6.05 mm, forewing length 4.3 mm, head width 1.55 mm, intertegular distance ≈ 0.9mm [thorax somewhat distorted by pin]. Coloration. Black, following parts dark red-brown: apex of mandible, base of labrum, legs, tegula, vein R and prestigma; apex of apical impressed areas of T 4– T 6, all of T 7, apical impressed areas of S1–S5; all of S6; following parts dark yellow brown: reflexed sides of terga and most remaining wing veins and stigma; F2–F11 dark brown ventrally, black-brown dorsally; wing membranes pale yellow-brown. Pubescence. Whitish with numerous short branches, sparse unless stated otherwise; longest less than 2.5 MOD on face, mesoscutum and scutellum and relatively dense on sides and ventral surface of mesosoma including procoxa, protrochanter, and metacoxa; shorter ≈1.5 MOD on genal area below, lateral surface of propodeum above; dense, somewhat anteriorly oriented and short ≈1 MOD on metanotum; metasomal terga with obscure hairs except T 6– T 7 with pale orange hairs ≈1.5 MOD; apex of T 7 with dense cream-colored plumose short ≈0.5 MOD hairs obscuring underlying integument; S1 and apicolateral portions of S2–S6 with branched hairs ≈1.5 MOD; S4 apicomedially with setae that are divided from near the base into two to four parallel, digitiform branches, setae up to ≈0.3 MOD wide, the four-branched ones are less than twice as long as the width of a seta; S5 with erect hairs broad at base ≤1 MOD. Hairs on vertex brown, <1.5 MOD. Surface sculpture. Microsculpture absent on clypeus; weak lateral of lateral ocelli, on discs of mesoscutum and scutellum, T 7 and S6; distinct, surface somewhat dull elsewhere except strong and surface dull on metanotum, metapostnotum and sides of mesosoma. Clypeal punctures large, elongate, i<d except almost impunctate apicomedially; supraclypeal area impunctate medially, rest of face and genal area punctures shallow but distinct i≤d, vertex less densely punctate i=0.5–3d; mesoscutum disc irregularly punctate i=1–6d, margins of mesoscutum more densely punctate i≤d, scutellum i=0.5–1.5d, metanotum densely punctate i<0.5d; metapostnotum with a few radiating weak striae among crowded small punctures; mesopleuron punctures shallow obscure, metapleuron longitudinally rugoso-striate, propodeum with dense small punctures i<0.5d; T 1 punctures distinct on anterior portion of disc i=1–2d, sparser posteriorly; T 2– T 4 punctures shallow obscure among microsculpture i>d, T 5– T 7 punctures increasingly distinct, variable in size, i>d except towards side of T 7 i<d. Structure. Head shorter than wide (59:78); labrum almost twice as wide as long (38:20), basal box surface concave, apically strongly ridged, sides divergent, apical margin convex; labial palpomere 1 almost as long as remaining 3 combined (25:28); clypeus 2.5× as wide as long 80:32; interantennal to antennocular distances (29:22); malar area linear; supraclypeal area slightly more protuberant than clypeus in profile; anterior tentorial pit at junction of outer subantennal and epistomal sulci; epistomal lobe absent, epistomal sulcus straight from junction with inner subantennal sulcus to close to lateral clypeal margin; compound eyes ≈1.5× as long as wide (78:50), much wider than genal area in lateral view (32); inner margin of compound eyes weakly concave, strongly convergent below, upper to minimum to lower interocular distances (60:39:44); inner and outer subantennal sutures outwardly concave, subantennal sclerite widest above midlength 1.5× antennal socket diameter (15:10); frontal line weakly raised except depressed just above bluntly rounded process above lower tangent of antennal sockets; facial fovea deep, oval 1.5× longer than wide (6:4); interocellar distance half ocellocular distance (18:36); vertex strongly convex in frontal view; flagellum longer than width of head (90:78); flagellum unmodified, not crenulate; F1 length and width subequal (13:14); F2 shorter than wide (10:14); F3 shorter than wide (13:15); remaining flagellomeres with length and width subequal except F11 almost twice as long as wide (28:15). Mesoscutum length and intertegular widths subequal (40:42), median line more than half length of mesoscutum, distinct, ending in small deep oval depression; parapsidal line ≈¾ as long as tegula (15:19); scutellum:metanotum:metapostnotum (29:18:25); legs unmodified, meso- and metatibial spurs weakly curved, ciliate; inner and outer rami of tarsal claws subequal in length; lengths of posterior margins of submarginal cells subequal (28:26); both recurrent veins entering second submarginal cell, first much further from first submarginal cross vein than second is from second submarginal crossvein (9:5); stigma ≈2.5× longer than maximum width (26:10); marginal cell ≈3.5× longer than maximum width (48:14), apex truncate. T 1 shorter than apical width (33:44); apical impressed areas distinct, on T 2 as long as MOD; T 2 lateral fovea weak, obscure; T 2– T 4 strongly transversely depressed anteriorly; T 7 apex weakly concave; S1–S5 unmodified, S6 apically narrowly and weakly concave medially; S7 apical lobes subparallel to each other, irregularly and weakly narrowing posteriorly, apex briefly deflected ventrally; S8 apical lobe parallel-sided, apex broadly rounded; gonocoxa swollen at base of gonostylus medially; gonostylus fused to gonocoxa, in profile narrowing from base to acute apex, dorsal surface weakly concave, ventral surface convex; penis valves dorsoventrally flatened, gradually narrowed to acute apex. ♀: Unknown. HOLOTYPE: ♂, ARGENTINA, Tucumán, Tafi de[l] Valle, sweep, 19.i.1996, M.J. Sharkey. The specimen is housed at the Packer Collection at York University (PCYU). ETYMOLOGY: The species name refers to unique hairs on S4 some of which are quadridigitate, like the hands of cartoon characters such as in the television series, “The Simpsons”. “Cheiro” being Ancient Greek for hand. COMMENTS: The town named as the type locality is slightly over 2000 m in altitude. This is lower than the altitudinal range for most species of the genus, although the two species of the guarnensis species group are known from similar, or even lower, elevations (Gonzalez et al., 2013). The setation of S4 seems unique among all bees, although those of the following new species are similar. Some Eucerini bear unusually thickly branched hairs, but these are on the legs, such as on the ventral surface of the mesotibia of Svastrides melanura (Spinola) (see Discussion, below).

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