''Thaumatodryinus tuukkaraski'' is a wasp species in the family Dryinidae. This tiny insect is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

where it is only known from the Taita Hills. In 2015, this newly discovered species was named in direct reference to former

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

(NHL)

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

, Tuukka Rask.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''tuukkaraski'' is in direct reference to the

(NHL)

, Tuukka Rask. The reasoning given by the authors was that " is species is named after the acrobatic goaltender for the Finnish National ice hockey team and the Boston Bruins, whose glove hand is as tenacious as the raptorial fore tarsus of this dryinid species”.

Distribution and ecology

The species was described based on a single specimen collected with a Malaise trap at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

in Vuria Forest, Taita Hills, just inside an indigenous forest. Its ecology, including the host species, is otherwise unknown.

Description

The

species description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

is based on a single female, the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, now stored in the collections of the

National Museums of Kenya The National Museums of Kenya (NMK) is a state corporation that manages museums, sites and monuments in Kenya. It carries out heritage research, and has expertise in subjects ranging from palaeontology, archeology, ethnography and biodiversit ...

. The first pair of legs have enlarged claws referred to in the naming of this species. However, the claw is still tiny, less than long, as ''Thaumatodryinus tuukkaraski'' is a small species measuring only in length. The occipital carina is incomplete. The antennae are clavate. The wings are fully developed; the forewings have a transverse band whereas the hindwings are hyaline. The body is mostly black, with some testaceous or brown parts. The legs are testaceous-whitish except for the clubs of femora that are brown.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20721122 Dryinidae Insects of Kenya Endemic fauna of Kenya Insects described in 2015