The Wharton Lab

Physotarsus claviger Zhaurova, 2009: 9-10, 16-17. Holotype male in AEIC.

This is Physotarsus species 4 in the analyses conducted by Zhaurova and Wharton (2009).

Lateral ocelli separated by about 0.7X their widest diameter from each other and 1.7X their widest diameter from eye margin. Antenna with 28 flagellomeres. Pronotum and mesoscutum glabrous, impunctate. T1 about 1.7X as long as broad. Head yellow and dark brown to black, face yellow with median longitudinal dark brown stripe and transverse band ventrally extending partly onto clypeus. Mesosoma with yellow and black markings. Metasomal tergites largely black with thin yellow apical trim, sternites yellow. Hind femur almost entirely dark brown to black, hind tibia largely yellow with dark patch or patches near apex, tarsomeres yellow, pretarsus black. Fore wing hyaline apex infumate.

This species is most similar to P. bonillai Gauld and P. castilloi Gauld in body sculpture and form of the clypeal margin, but is much darker in coloration. Physotarsus claviger is the only described species with extensive dark markings on the mesothorax and a virtually impunctate mesopleuron.

This species is known only from northwestern Argentina.

Hosts unknown.

Material Examined. Holotype male (AEIC, Type No. 3848): [ARGENTINA, Tucuman] first line of data label: “Villa Nogues” second line: “I-1-66 Argent.” third line: “H. &M. Townes”. Paratypes: 1 female, 1 male, same data as holotype (AEIC).

This page was assembled by Bob Wharton and Kira Zhaurova, and is part of a revision of the genus Physotarsus (Zhaurova and Wharton 2009). Material examined for this revision was borrowed from the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, the American Entomological Institute, Gainesville (AEIC), The Natural History Museum, London, the U. S. National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C., and INBio, Costa Rica. We are particularly grateful to David Wahl for the extended loan of the specimens listed above, as well as to Matt Yoder for the electronic interface and to Heather Cummins and Mika Cameron for assistance with literature and figures. We would also like to acknowledge the kind assistance of Ian Gauld, David Wahl, Andrew Bennett, and Gavin Broad for information exchange about ichneumonids during the course of this work. Our use of PURLs (http://purl.oclc.org) for the web interface follows the example of their use in publications by Norm Johnson. The work was conducted at Texas A&M University and supported by NSF/PEET grant no. DEB 0328922 and associated REU supplement # 0723663. Page last updated October 2010.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DEB 0328922 with REU supplement DEB 0723663.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.