Taxonomic study of wasp species in the Polybia (Myrapetra) occidentalis group morphologically related to P. scrobalis and P. flavifrons, with description of a new species (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae) Author Amorim, Danielle C. De A. Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi-MPEG, Coordenação de Zoologia, Laboratório de Entomologia, Avenida Perimetral, 1901, Terra Firme, CEP: 66077 - 830, Belém, Pará, Brasil. Author Dos Santos Junior, José N. A. Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará-Folha 31, Quadra 07, Lote Especial, s / n. º-Nova Marabá, Marabá-PA, 68507 - 590, São Félix do Xingú, Pará, Brasil. Author Carvalho- Filho, Fernando Da S. 0000-0002-2480-3874 Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi-MPEG, Coordenação de Zoologia, Laboratório de Entomologia, Avenida Perimetral, 1901, Terra Firme, CEP: 66077 - 830, Belém, Pará, Brasil. fernandofilho@museu-goeldi.br Author Silveira, Orlando T. 0000-0002-5899-199X Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi-MPEG, Coordenação de Zoologia, Laboratório de Entomologia, Avenida Perimetral, 1901, Terra Firme, CEP: 66077 - 830, Belém, Pará, Brasil. orlando@museu-goeldi.br Author Carpenter, James M. American Museum of Natural History- 200 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024, USA. text Zootaxa 2024 2024-07-11 5477 5 537 562 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5477.5.2 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5477.5.2 1175-5326 12733301 5F7FB3F5-BC72-40C3-BB2A-63C4C6F119CA Polybia brevitarsus Richards, 1978 , stat. nov. ( Figs 43, 44, 45 ) Polybia belemensis brevitarsus Richards, 1978: 40 , 96. Holotype ♀ , Panama : El Valle , xi.1946 , N. H. L. Krauss (USNM, type no. 71492); examined by photographs. Paratype from same locality as holotype examined by OTS in the NHM. Diagnosis. FEMALE. Small size; narrow gena; rounded head in frontal view; posterior margin of pronotum with comparatively wide yellow band at sides, at least as wide as antennal scape at apex; anterior wing length 6.0–6.5 mm; pronotal carina weak, but perceptible; first metasomal segment relatively short, its length ca. 0.87 X height of mesopleuron; reduced outstanding bristles. MALE. According to Richards (1978) the male differs in few aspects; clypeus narrower with silvery pubescence; gena narrower; last metassomal segment flattened. Examined material. Holotype , PANAMA : El Valle , 1♀ , xi.1946 ( N. H. L. Krauss ) ( USNM ) ; Paratype , Panama , 1♀ , ii.1932 ( MNHN ) (photographs) . Distribution . Costa Rica ; Panama . Remarks . This species has pronotal carina indicated and a more rounded head in frontal view ( Fig. 43 ), while P. belemensis has pronotal carina absent and a triangular-shaped head ( Fig. 1 ). Furthermore, P. brevitarsus is slightly smaller than P. belemensis , with more compact body and legs appearing less elongated, which relates to the diagnostic character used by Richards (1978) (basitarsus “shorter”), on which the taxa name was based. These characters are sufficient to confidently separate P. brevitarsus from P. belemensis . We were not able to analyze the male paratype from Costa Rica . There are no published records of this species other than those of the type series from Panama and Costa Rica .