The velvet ant genus Pseudophotopsis André, 1896 (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) in the Arabian Peninsula, with the description of two new species

The monotypic subfamily Pseudophotopsidinae Bischoff, 1920 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) from the Arabian Peninsula is revised. Six Pseudophotopsis species are reported from Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen. Two new species, P. dhofarensis sp. nov. (male) from Oman and P. subaurea sp. nov. (male) from Saudi Arabia, are described and illustrated. The hitherto unknown female of P. mascatiana Invrea, 1962 is described and P. aegyptiaca (Bischoff, 1920) (female) is associated and synonymized with P. maura Bischoff, 1920 (male). An illustrated key for the species and their distribution in the Arabian Peninsula are provided.


Introduction
The Arabian Peninsula encompasses a total area of 2.7 million km 2 making it the largest peninsula on Earth. It is a more or less rectangular plateau, bounded to the northeast by the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, to the south and southeast by the Arabian Sea, and to the west and southwest by the Red Sea (Engel et al. 2011). The Farasan and Socotra Archi-(including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan).  reported four Pseudophotopsis species in the Arabian Peninsula: P. aurea (Klug, 1829) (Saudi Arabia and Yemen), P. binghami Bischoff, 1920 (Oman), P. mascatiana Invrea, 1962 (Yemen), and P. maura Bischoff, 1920 (Yemen). P. aurea is known from both sexes, whereas the remaining species are known from males only (Lelej and van Harten 2006). El-Hawagry et al. (2016) incorrectly assigned the species P. continua (Fabricius, 1804) to the fauna of Saudi Arabia, via a misidentification of a single female specimen collected from Baljurashi (Al-Baha); however, after reexamination during the present study, it was found that this specimen undoubtedly belongs to P. aegyptiaca (Bischoff, 1920) which is associated and synonymized with P. maura Bischoff, 1920. In the present study, two new species: P. dhofarensis sp. nov. (male) from Oman, and P. subaurea sp. nov. (male) from Saudi Arabia, are described and illustrated. Two new sex associations are also recognized; the hitherto unknown female of P. mascatiana is described for the first time from Saudi Arabia and P. aegyptiaca (female) is associated and synonymized with P. maura (male).

Sampling (Table 1, Figs 1, 2)
The present study is based on Pseudophotopsis specimens collected from various locations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Sultanate of Oman (mainly during 2007-2019) using light and pitfall traps or by hand-picking at dusk. For the material examined of previously and newly recorded species, the label data concerned with sampling locations are summarized, giving abbreviations to most of them. The data of these locations is presented in detail in Table 1. The collection data of the species from Yemen and Oman in previous studies were combined with the recent data to create distribution maps for Pseudophotopsis species in the Arabian Peninsula (Figs 1, 2).

Examination and imaging
Specimens were examined using a MEIJI-EMZ-10 stereomicroscope (up to 180 × magnification) fitted with an ocular micrometer for measurements. The genitalia of some male specimens were extracted and left in cold 10% NaOH solution for 24 h, before being washed with distilled water and then with an ascending series of ethyl alcohol (70%-100%), and finally submerged in glycerol on a concave slide for photographing. The genitalia of other male specimens were partly extracted from the metasoma to confirm identification. Photographs were taken with a Canon EOS 70D camera attached to a LEICA MZ 125 stereomicroscope. Individual source images were then stacked using the extended depth-of-field software Helicon Focus (ver. 7.6). Fur-  . The distribution of the species in the Arabian Peninsula was plotted using DIVA-GIS (ver.7.5) software.

Morphological terminology
Morphological terms are based on Brothers (1975) and Brothers and Lelej (2017), and body sculpture terminology on Harris (1979).

Species identification
The keys and descriptions provided by Bischoff (1920), Lelej (1985) and Lelej and van Harten (2006) were used for comparison of species collected from Saudi Arabia and Oman to the relevant species in the Palaearctic and the Afrotropical regions. Identifications of some species were confirmed with the help of Denis J. Brothers (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) and Arkady S. Lelej (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia). The "type" specimen of P. kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, 1920 was examined and photographed by Roberto Poggi (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria", Genova, Italy) and Marcello Romano (Italy) to clarify the identity of the new species, P. subaurea, described here.
Key to species of the genus Pseudophotopsis André, 1896 in the Arabian Peninsula Females unknown for P. subaurea, P. dhofarensis, and P. binghami. Posterior metasomal segments (4 th to 7 th ) with integument more or less brownishyellow, distinctly contrasting with darkened anterior segments ( with oval-shaped pygidial area, finely rugose on disc and obliquely striate laterally (Fig. 9B)

Remarks.
Examination of Pseudophotopsis kassalina f. semiaurata Bischoff, 1920 ( Fig. 10A-D), through a series of photos taken of the "type" specimen kept in MSNG, confirm synonymizing of this form with P. aurea (Klug) as proposed by Lo Cascio et al. (2012), and contributes to reinforcing the identity of the new P. subaurea described here. On the other hand, the same authors (2012) considered this form as unavailable infrasubspecific name according to the article 45.6.4 of ICZN, where Bischoff (1920) specified it as a form, but specified other taxa in the genus (e.g. maura) as subspecies, showing that he considered semiaurata to be infrasubspecific. Distribution in the Arabian Peninsula. Sana'a, Socotra and Ta'izz provinces (Yemen) (Lelej and van Harten 2006;Lo Cascio et al. 2012;Madl 2018); Al-Baha, Asir, Jazan, and Makkah regions (southwestern Saudi Arabia) (Fig. 1).
Head (Figs 11C, D; 12A-C). Densely setiferous punctate; head height (from free clypeal margin to vertex) 0.94 × maximal width; POD 2 × OOD; distance between posterior ocellus and posterior head margin 2 × as long as longitudinal posterior ocellus diameter; vertex broadly emarginate posteriorly; clypeus with well developed, lamellate, longitudinal median carina; distance between apex of mandibular lower tooth and upper mandibular ridge about 0.73 × as long as mandibular height at the base, subapically with two teeth, preapical tooth extremely small; pedicel as long as wide, 0.52 × as long as F1; F1 1.8 × as long as wide, as long as F2 and F3.

Genitalia
Female. Unknown. Recognition. The new species, P. dhofarensis, resembles the Asian species, P. caucasica (Radoszkowski, 1885), in having the fore wing with yellow veins, S2 without a median basal tubercle, and T2 with the lateral felt line shorter than the distance between the felt line and the posterior tergal margin. However, it differs from P. caucasica in the following aspects: the distance between the posterior ocellus and posterior head margin 2 × as long as the longitudinal posterior ocellus diameter (Fig. 11D) (this distance slightly larger than the longitudinal posterior ocellus diameter in P. caucasica); cuspis of volsella narrow, digitate, not reaching apex of paramere (Fig. 33C, D) (somewhat broad, reaching apex of paramere in P. caucasica (see fig. 32(3) in Lelej 1985); genital ventral lobe extremely bent inward, with a strongly convex outer edge and an apex directed anteriorly (Fig. 33C) (this lobe only slightly bent inward, with the outer edge nearly straight, and an apex directed posteriorly in P. caucasica (see fig.  32(3) in Lelej 1985).
Etymology. The new species, P. dhofarensis, is named after Dhofar province (Oman) where the holotype male specimen was collected.
Head (Figs 18B;20A). In dorsal view, subquadrangular, scarcely narrower than pronotum, convergent behind eyes, with broadly rounded temple; head height slightly greater than width; only a pair of poorly developed posterior ocelli present, anterior ocellus absent; frons, vertex, and gena densely setiferous foveate, interspaces between foveae thick (ridged) without tubercles; eye rather oval-shaped, widely separated from mandibular articulation (malar space about 0.85 × mandibular basal height); scrobal carina well developed, polished and thick; clypeal longitudinal median carina ridged, free margin with a pair of small tubercles; mandible with strong subbasal lower tooth, distance between apex of tooth and upper mandibular ridge about 0.86 × as long as mandibular height at base, subapically with distinctly small inner tooth. F1 1.7 × as long as maximal width, 1.2 × as long as F2, hardly longer than F3 (1.1 ×).
Mesosoma (Figs 20B,C;21A,B). Dorsum regularly setiferous punctate, with interspaces between punctures ridged and polished, not tuberculate; pronotal dorsal face slightly wider than propodeum (1.15 ×), rather gently declivitous anteromedially, with slightly convex anterior border and broadly rounded humeral angles; pronotal lateral face foveate-reticulate; promesonotal suture gently arched; mesonotum suddenly contracted behind pronotum (about 0.75 × as wide as pronotum), with posterior suture nearly straight; propodeal dorsal face about 0.77 × as long as maximal width, subparallel at sides, gently declivitous (rounded) posteriorly; propodeal posterior face foveate-reticulate (interspaces between foveae not tuberculate); meso-and metapleura shiny, mostly smooth (with scattered fine punctures), mesepisternum with vertical row of close foveae on ventral half of strong mesopleural ridge; mid and hind tibiae  with a double row of 5-7 strong spines on outer faces, both tibiae without prolongation at their apices; hind tibia with longitudinal narrow and shallow groove extending along inner face.  (Figs 21C, D; 22A, B). Sessile; T1 without distinct dorsal face (sharply sloping forward), wider than long (1.3 ×), densely finely punctate apically (punctures 1-2 diameters apart), sparsely punctate at the base; T2 densely punctate throughout (punctures larger than those on T1, 1-2 diameters apart); exposed parts of T3-T5 finely punctate; T6 nearly entirely covered with long golden setae arising from apical fringe of T5 and laterally on T6 (removal of setae shows finely wrinkled, bell-shaped    Remarks. Prior to the present study, P. mascatiana was known only from males and restricted in its distribution to the Afrotropical region in Somalia and Yemen (Lelej and van Harten 2006). Here this species is recorded from Saudi Arabia with discovery of the opposite sex (female) for the first time. The sex association is based on the overlapping distribution areas of males and females (frequently both sexes were collected from the same locality at the same time or within a short period) (Fig. 2), and the general color pattern in both sexes. On the other hand, there is another species, P. aurea, common to southwestern Saudi Arabia and known from both sexes; the females of these two species are similar in having T1-T5 and S2-S5 with apical fringes of compact golden setae; however, P. mascatiana differs from P. aurea in the following aspects: the head and mesosoma are dark red (Fig. 18A, B) (they are dark brown with slight reddish tint in P. aurea (Fig. 6A, B)); the frons and vertex with smooth (not tuberculate) ridges between the foveae (Fig. 19A, B) (with coarsely tuberculate ridges between the foveae in P. aurea (Fig. 7A, B); the anterior ocellus is absent, only a pair of poorly developed posterior ocelli being present (Fig. 19A, B) (three well developed ocelli are present in P. aurea (Fig. 7A, B)); the mesosomal dorsum is clothed with golden setae, regularly punctate, with smooth (not tuberculate) ridges between the punctures (Fig. 20B, C) (in P. aurea the mesosomal dorsum clothed with pale (yellowish-white) setae, coarsely foveate, with ridges between foveae tuberculate (Figs 7D; 8A)); the pronotal dorsal face gently declivitous antero-medially, with a convex anterior border (Fig. 20B) (sharply declivitous antero-medially, with a straight anterior border in P. aurea (Fig. 7D)); the propodeal dorsal face is subparallel at its sides, gently declivitous (rounded) posteriorly, and 0.70-0.77 × as long as its maximal width (Fig. 20B, C) (in P. aurea the propodeal dorsal face is strongly expanded at the sides, sharply declivitous (truncate) posteriorly, and 0.50-0.55 × as long as its maximal width (Figs 7D; 8A)); meso-and metapleura are mostly smooth (Fig. 20C) (sparsely punctate in P. aurea (Fig. 8A)); the mid and hind tibiae lack prolongation at their apices, hind tibia with a groove extending along inner face (Fig. 21A, B) (the mid and hind tibiae with strong prolongation at their apices, hind tibia without such groove on inner face in P. aurea (Fig. 8B, C)); T6 with a bell-shaped, finely wrinkled pygidial area (Fig. 22B) (T6 with an oval-shaped pygidial area that is minutely rugose on the disc and obliquely striate laterally (Fig. 9A, B)).
Head (Figs 29C,D;30A,B,D). Setiferous punctate-subreticulate to reticulate; head height 0.92 × maximal width; POD 2.0 × OOD; distance between posterior ocellus and posterior head margin 2.3 × longitudinal posterior ocellus diameter; vertex posteriorly broadly emarginate; clypeus with well developed longitudinal median lamellate carina, free margin with a pair of acute small tubercles; mandibles deeply excised beneath, with large tooth subbasally, distance between apex of tooth and upper mandibular ridge about 1.15 × as long as mandibular height at base, with two teeth    subapically, preapical one extremely small; pedicel 1.3 × as long as wide, 0.65 × as long as F1; F1 1.8× as long as wide, 0.87× as long as F2 and F3.
Etymology. The name subaurea refers to the similarity between this species and P. aurea (Klug).