﻿Rediscovery of the endemic Afrotropical genus Spathioplites (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Doryctinae) with major range extension records for Spathioplites phreneticus

Simon Van Noort,Sergey A Belokobylskij,Agnièle Touret-Alby

doi:10.3897/afrinvertebr.62.74103

Abstract

The endemic, monotypic Afrotropical genus Spathioplites Fischer, 1962 is rediscovered based on new specimens collected in South Africa and Senegal. Spathioplites phreneticus Fischer, 1962 was previously known from the holotype (male) and 12 paratypes (11 males and a female) collected in Chad in 1959. As part of an ongoing long-term insect inventory survey program in Africa new specimens were recently collected in Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve in South Africa, extending the distribution range southwards by 4900 km. An additional historical specimen from Senegal was discovered in the collections of the Natural History Museum in Paris, extending the range westwards by 4000 km. Possible reasons for the disjunct distribution exhibited by current locality records for this species are discussed. The holotype male and a paratype female, as well as one of the two newly collected South African females were imaged. These photographs, as well as genus and species re-descriptions, are provided. An identification key to the Old World genera in the doryctine tribe Spathiini s. str. is also presented. All images and interactive identification keys are available on www.waspweb.org.

Highlights

The generic structure of the tribe Spathiini has undergone extensive changes in composition over the last 20 years
We provide an illustrated re-description of the Afrotropical genus and species Spathioplites phreneticus Fischer, 1962 and novel information about the species distribution, which exhibits a disruptive distributional pattern across the arid areas of the African continent
Given the additional far western record in Senegal (4000 km west of the type locality), the distribution of the species in northern Africa is likely to be associated with the arid Sahel transverse belt south of the Sahara (Fig. 6 B)

Summary

Introduction

The generic structure of the tribe Spathiini has undergone extensive changes in composition over the last 20 years. More recent molecular phylogenetic studies of the doryctine genera changed the generic composition concept for this tribe (Zaldívar-Riverón et al 2008; Jasso-Martínez et al 2019). The Old World Spathiini includes the following eight genera: Afrospathius Belokobylskij and Quicke, 2000; Ceylonspathius Belokobylskij, 2002; Parana Nixon, 1943; Paraspathius Nixon, 1943; Spathioplites Fischer, 1962; Spathius Nees, 1819; Termitospathius Belokobylskij, 2002 and Toka Nixon, 1943 (Yu et al 2016). Molecular sequence data have not yet been extracted for most of the Old World spathiines, namely Afrospathius, Ceylonspathius, Parana, Paraspathius, Spathioplites, Termitospathius and Toka, and as a result new molecular data may correct their supergeneric placement. An illustrated identification key to the Old World genera in the doryctine tribe Spathiini s. All images and interactive identification keys are available on WaspWeb (van Noort 2021)

Methods and materials

Results

Discussion