Sarops audax Godfray sp. nov.
Figs 1, 2
Type material.
Holotype: • ♀, woodland along river margin with reedbed, 105 m, Hestehavn, river Nitelva, Lillestrøm, Skedsmo municipality, Akershus county, Norway (59.9537 ° N, 11.0285 ° E); 5 June 2017; collected by Karsten Sund; University of Oslo, Natural History Museum (Sample ID: NHMO -ENT-298332; BOLD process ID: NOPRA 1521-18).
Paratype: • ♀, same data as holotype (Sample ID: NHMO -ENT-298338; BOLD process ID: NOPRA 1527-18).
The holotype and paratype were mentioned as belonging to an undescribed species of Sarops in a recent synopsis of the Norwegian Dacnusini (Godfray 2025).
Paratype: ♂, Nurmijärvi, Uusimaa (Nylandia) province, Finland (60.461 ° N, 24.864 ° E); 26 June 1985; collected by Martti Koponen, Finnish Museum of Natural History LUOMUS, University of Helsinki (Specimen ID: MZH _GQ.1210; BOLD process ID: LEFIJ 35318-23).
The new species was first noticed because of its divergent DNA barcode in the BOLD database, and this is reflected in its name: audax means bold in Latin.
Description.
Female holotype. Holotype, ♀, length of body 3.4 mm, of fore wing 2.8 mm (Fig. 1).
Head. Antennae with 35 segments, 1.1 times length of body, densely clothed with anteriorly directed setae projecting at an angle of ~ 25 °, nine sets of longitudinal sensilla on each segment; length of third segment 1.4 times fourth segment, lengths of third, fourth and penultimate segments respectively 2.5, 1.8 and 1.8 times their widths; maxillary and labial palps with 6 and 4 segments, respectively, length of maxillary palp ~ 2.0 times height of eye; ocelli elliptical with major axes twice length of minor axes, each major axis perpendicular to a line from its midpoint to centre of ocellar triangle, ocellar-ocular line (OOL) 3.5 times greater than post-ocellar line (POL), POL 1.2 times length of posterior ocelli major axes; in dorsal view head is 2.0 times wider (measured at posterior edge of eye) than its length (measured at inner edge of eye), margin of temple behind eye rounded posteriorly; vertex shiny, bare centrally, but laterally and near margin of eye with scattered setae, these directed antero-laterally at rear and laterally near eye; a weak furrow runs from between posterior ocelli to near occiput; frons shiny and glabrous except for an area of longitudinal striation from between antennal sockets to half way to anterior ocellus; occiput well-defined but without carina; in lateral view, eye 1.2 times higher than broad, without setae; along a line from middle of face to middle of pronotal insertion, ratios of face in profile to eye to gena 0.3: 1: 0.9; gena with sparse anteriorly-directed setae; face 1.5 times wider than high medially (measured from distinct epistomal suture to base of antennal sockets), 0.54 times as wide as head; face punctate, a slight vertical groove dorso-medially, laterally-directed setae at sides and vertically-directed setae on either side of midline, sparser setae elsewhere; clypeus punctate with setae directed antero-ventrally, especially on the ventral margin, 3.0 times as wide as broad; labrum densely setose on ventral margin; malar space very narrow; mandibles approximately twice as long as wide, somewhat twisted, some longitudinal striation at base, tooth two longest (about a third length of mandible), tooth three with ventral edge extended as a ridge that curves towards centre of mandible, dorsal tooth (tooth one) at same level as tooth three, edge between it and tooth two slightly bowed out and forming a weak fourth tooth; head 1.3 times as wide as mesoscutum.
Mesosoma. Length of mesosoma 1.7 times its height; pronope indistinct; side of pronotum with irregular coarse sculpturing, strongest anteriorly and ventrally, largely bare but with some setae ventrally and antero-medially; mesopleuron coarsely sculptured anteriorly and ventrally, postero-dorsal surface with only shallow sculpturing, posterior margin crenulate, areas of setosity anteriorly, ventrally and at posterior end of precoxal suture; precoxal suture broad, heavily sculptured, and extending length of mesopleuron; metapleuron throughout with heavy largely granular sculpturing, with extensive but not dense setae oriented to rear at base with a tendency to radiate outwards posteriorly; mesosternum with shallow punctation, a punctate sulcus that widens slightly anteriorly, and backward directed setae especially medially; in dorsal view mesoscutum 1.1 times longer than wide, notauli well developed anteriorly as a punctate groove merging with a general area of rugosity posteriorly, a medio-posterior punctate groove runs from 3 / 5 to posterior margin, whole surface rugulose, strongest antero-medially and around medio-posterior groove and least developed on lateral lobes where it appears weakly coriaceous, mid lobe and anterior of lateral lobes with extensive but not dense setae, much sparser on posterior of lateral lobes; scutellar sulcus 3.6 times as wide as long, with irregular longitudinal carinae; scutellar disc punctate with posteriorly directed setae; metanotum rugose with an indistinct medial carina, protruding only slightly in lateral view; propodeum completely sculptured, granular anteriorly and coarser posteriorly with indistinct areolation, largely bare with sparse posteriorly-directed setae laterally.
Wings. Fore wing: closed marginal, two submarginal and discal cells; subdiscal cell also closed though 2 cu-a relatively unsclerotised; pterostigma 6.2 times longer than width at insertion of r, insertion at 0.48 times length of pterostigma, posterior margins of pterostigma both before and after insertion of r more or less straight; r 1.25 times the width of the pterostigma, directed outwards at an angle of about 30 ° to the wing margin; ratio of pterostigma to R 1 a 1: 0.77, R 1 a slightly sinuate, ending before wing tip, R 1 b present but short; ratio of (RS + M) a to 2 RS 1: 0.80; ratio of 1 M to 1 RS 1: 0.27; short (RS + M) b present (antefurcal condition); angle subtended by 2 - RS and 3 - RS 125 °, both veins slightly curved at their posterior ends; ratio of M + CU to 1 CU 1: 0.45; 1 cu-a anteriorly inserted just beyond 1 M; 2 cu-a 0.25 length of 2 Cua; hind wing with closed basal cell, cu-a a stub, and other veins unsclerotised.
Legs. Hind coxa dorsally with shallow sculpturing; hind femur ~ 4 times longer than maximal width, densely covered with adpressed setae except on ventral surface where they project posteriorly at 45 °; hind tibia ~ 9.5 times its width, 1.1 times length of tarsus, densely clothed in setae projecting at angles of 10–20 °; tarsus with similar setae to tibia, tarsal segment length ratios 1 (basitarsus): 0.50: 0.41: 0.29: 0.47; claws about one third length of fifth tarsal segment; fore and mid legs similar but shorter, ratio of hind: mid: fore femora 1: 0.84: 0.77.
Metasoma. Length 1.57 times that of mesosoma, in lateral view 3.2 times longer than its maximum depth, strongly laterally compressed to rear; length of first tergite 1.1 times its apical width, anterior width of tergite two-thirds posterior width but soon widening with margins more or less parallel from about 1 / 3, in lateral view first tergite is rounded, highest at 1 / 3 where its depth is 0.36 times its length, throughout with granular and longitudinal sculpturing, an indistinct antero-medial carina present, surface covered with sparse, backward-directed setae; second tergite 0.94 times as long as anteriorly wide, hind margin 0.85 times as wide as anterior width, completely covered by chiefly longitudinal sculpturing that reaches edge of tergite, a few setae laterally; third tergite 0.8 times as long as anteriorly wide, tergite narrowing strongly to rear with hind margin only 0.40 times as wide as anterior width, a triangular well-defined antero-medial area of sculpturing present, similar to but slightly less coarse than that on tergite two, covering 0.65 of anterior width of tergite, narrowing to posterior and ending at 0.6 length of tergite, outside this area some very shallow sculpturing and scattered setae; tergite four narrowing strongly to rear where there is an area of setosity, in dorsal view more posterior tergites narrow and bladelike; in lateral view ovipositor only very slightly protruding.
Colour. Head black except scape, pedicel and mandibles (except margin) brown and labrum and palps yellow; mesosoma black; legs yellow brown with tarsi (especially fore and mid fifth tarsal segments and all of hind tarsus) brown; wing venation and pterostigma brown, wing membrane largely hyaline with some brown suffusion near veins; metasoma with sculptured areas of tergites one to three black and elsewhere dark brown.
Female paratype. Paratype, ♀, length of body 3.4 mm, of fore wing 2.8 mm. The female paratype has 33 antennal segments but otherwise closely matches the holotype.
Male paratype. Paratype, ♂, length of body 3.3 mm, of fore wing 2.6 mm (Fig. 2).
This specimen appears somewhat damaged with setae abraded. Similar to the female but differing in the following features.
Head and mesosoma. 32 antennal segments; the head and mesosoma are less setose than the female with setae often very short but this likely reflects damage to the specimen; the mesoscutum is less rugose than in the female, and the medio-posterior punctate groove is longer, running from 1 / 5 to the posterior margin.
Metasoma. Not strongly laterally compressed, 1.41 times the length of the mesosoma; first tergite in dorsal view 1.71 times as long as anterior width, in lateral view 3.16 longer than its maximum depth; second tergite 1.23 times as long as anterior width; third tergite 0.75 times as long as anterior width, the triangular area of sculpturing slightly more extensive than in the females; more posterior tergites narrower but in dorsal view not bladelike.
Colour. Areas coloured black in the holotype appear slightly lighter though this is likely due to the greater age of the specimen.
Differential diagnosis.
Sarops rea Nixon (Figs 3, 4). Morphologically, S. rea is the nearest species to S. audax with the most significant differences in the sculpturing of the metasomal tergites. In both species, tergite 2 is covered in chiefly longitudinal sculpturing but in S. rea this tends to fade postero-laterally while in S. audax it continues to the tergite’s margin. The well-defined triangular area of granular sculpturing on tergite 3 in S. audax is absent in S. rea though there can be some indistinct shallow sculpturing, particularly in males. The first tergite in S. rea is also slightly longer (in females, the length is 1.2 as opposed to 1.1 times as long as anteriorly wide).
There is variation in the density of setae in female S. rea specimens, but all have fewer than the S. audax females, particularly noticeably on the face and mesoscutum. Comparison of males is harder because of the condition of the single S. audax male. The sculpturing on the mesoscutum is stronger in S. audax compared with S. rea. The two female S. audax have 33 and 35 antennal segments while the range for S. rea is 28, 29, 30 (2), 31 (2) and 32. The male S. rea I have examined have 34 and> 33 antennal segments (other specimens are damaged) while curiously the only male S. audax has 32 segments. The antennae of S. rea are slightly thinner than S. audax with the length of the third segment 1.2 times the fourth segment [v. 1.4 in S. audax] and the lengths of third, fourth and penultimate segments respectively 3.1, 2.5 and 1.6 times their widths [v. 2.5, 1.8 and 1.8]. The head in S. rea is more quadrate than in S. audax (1.6 as opposed to 2.0 times wider than long) while in lateral view the ratios of the lengths of the face (in profile) to the eye to the gena are 0.2: 1: 1.2 (as opposed to 0.3: 1: 0.9 in S. audax).
Sarops popovi Tobias (Figs 5, 6). S. popovi can be distinguished from both S. rea and S. audax by the length of the metasoma (1.8-2.0 times the length of the mesosoma compared to 1.5-1.6 in the other species), and by the dimensions of the first metasomal tergite (~ 1.5 times as long as apically wide as opposed to 1.0-1.1). In most specimens the metasoma is more reddish brown than the alternatives. The mandible is narrower with the longest tooth two nearly half the length of the mandible; the dorsal tooth 1 is more strongly developed and more acute, and not in the same plane as tooth 2. The radial cell is slightly shorter with the ratio of the pterostigma to R 1 a 1: 0.53 as opposed to 1: 0.77 for the S. audax holotype. Tobias (1998) gives the range of antennal segment numbers as 30-40 while in the undamaged material I have seen the numbers are 37 (2), 38 (2) for females and 33 for a male. There is no sculpturing on metasomal tergite three.
Publication Date: 2026-06-19