New genus and subgenus of South American long-horned bees (Apidae, Eucerini)
Author
Freitas, Felipe V.
Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163, USA. & Laboratório de Biologia Comparada e Abelhas (LBCA), Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP 14040 - 901, Brazil.
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-10-21
5196
4
595
600
journal article
171428
10.11646/zootaxa.5196.4.8
2e4630f5-db0a-4094-a535-140aed859726
1175-5326
7235821
8B302F50-81D5-4F6A-914E-B97FBF5984CA
Gaesischia
(
Gaesischioides
) Freitas
New subgenus
Type
species:
Eucera hyptidis
Ducke 1910
[p. 93]
Diagnosis:
Gaesischia
(
Gaesischioides
)
hyptidis
has five segmented maxillary palpi as in
Gaesischia
s. str.
and
G.
(
Gaesischiana
), different from
G.
(
Gaesischiopsis
), which have four segmented maxillary palpi; the pilosity is predominantly pale in both sexes, in the remaining subgenera it is variable. Males: clypeus yellow; labrum black, generally with a small yellow/whitish area on its disc (
Fig. 1-f
); the sixth metasomal sternum with subapical carinae running parallel to posterior margin, broadly interrupted by the median line, and with a tuft of hairs on the disc (
Fig. 1-e
), these characters, in combination with those shared by both sexes, form a unique combination among the subgenera of
Gaesischia
. Females: clypeus black with a yellow triangular area on its apex (
Fig. 1-b
), which differentiates it from the remaining species of
Gaesischia
with five maxillary palpomerers and a yellow apical band on the clypeus.
Etymology:
The subgenus name is a free combination of the generic name (
Gaesischia
) and the Latin suffix -oides, which means resemblance or likeliness.
Included species:
Gaesischia
(
Gaesischioides
)
hyptidis
(
Ducke 1910
)
.
Distribution:
The species was described by
Ducke (1910)
and redescribed by Urban (1968) based on specimens from the state of
Ceará
,
Brazil
. There are also records from the states of
Sergipe
and
Rio Grande do Norte
, suggesting that this species is associated with the Caatinga in northeastern
Brazil
.
Comments:
Gaesischia hyptidis
,
as highlighted in previous treatments of
Gaesischia
taxonomy, is a distinct species (
Moure & Michener 1955
). It was firstly positioned in the subgenus
G.
(
Agaesischia
) together with
G. patellicornis
, but with a caveat that this was a tentative decision (
Moure & Michener 1955
). It was later transferred to
Gaesischia
s. str.
(
Laberge 1958
;
Urban 1968a
) but still retained under
G.
(
Agaesischia
) in Moure’s Catalog for Neotropical bee species (
Urban
et al.
2012
). According to the results of
Freitas
et al.
(in prep.), it is recovered as the sister lineage of the clade containing
Gaesischia
s. str.
+
G.
(
Gaesischiopsis
), or as sister to
G.
(
Gaesischiopsis
), highlighting its distinctiveness, as already noticed by
Moure & Michener (1955)
, when speculating on the possible proximity of
G. hyptidis
and
G.
(
Gaesischiopsis
). The easiness of identifying both males and females of
G. hyptidis
using the two identification keys available in the comprehensive reviews of
Gaesischia
conducted by Urban (1968, 1989c) reinforces the distinctiveness of this species.