A New Lineage of Enigmatic Diaprioid Wasps in Cretaceous Amber (Hymenoptera: Diaprioidea)

Michael S Engel,Carmen Soriano,Xavier Delclòs,Jaime Ortega-Blanco,David A Grimaldi

doi:10.1206/3771.2

Abstract

ABSTRACT A new family of microhymenopteran wasps is described and figured from three new species discovered in Cretaceous amber of Spain (Albian) and New Jersey (Turonian). Spathiopterygidae Engel and Ortega-Blanco, new family, is allied to the Diapriidae and Maamingidae (Proctotrupomorpha: Diaprioidea), sharing with these families putatively derived features relative to Monomachidae. The family contains three genera and three species, all new: Spathiopteryx alavarommopsis Engel and Ortega-Blanco, new genus and species, and Myamaropsis turolensis Engel and Ortega-Blanco, new genus and species, both from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain, and Spathopria sayrevillensis Engel, Ortega-Blanco, and Grimaldi, new genus and species, from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) of New Jersey. Spathopria sayrevillensis is reconstructed using x-ray synchrotron microtomography In addition, a peculiar new genus and species, Iberopria perialla Engel, Ortega-Blanco, and Delclos, of stem-group Diapriidae is described from Sp...

Highlights

The superfamily Diaprioidea comprises three extant families of relatively peculiar parasitoid wasps—Monomachidae, Diapriidae, and Maamingidae
Nothing has yet been discovered of maamingid biology
To date no fossils are known of Maamingidae and Monomachidae, and diapriids are largely known from a few amber inclusions in Cretaceous deposits from France and Japan (Fujiyama, 1994; Perrichot and Nel, 2008; Lak and Nel, 2009) and from mid-Eocene Baltic amber (e.g., Maneval, 1938; Szabo and Oehlke, 1986; Buhl, 1999, 2002)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The superfamily Diaprioidea comprises three extant families of relatively peculiar parasitoid wasps—Monomachidae, Diapriidae, and Maamingidae. To date no fossils are known of Maamingidae and Monomachidae, and diapriids are largely known from a few amber inclusions in Cretaceous deposits from France and Japan (Fujiyama, 1994; Perrichot and Nel, 2008; Lak and Nel, 2009) and from mid-Eocene Baltic amber (e.g., Maneval, 1938; Szabo and Oehlke, 1986; Buhl, 1999, 2002). Perrichot and Nel (2008) have provided a checklist of the described amber species, along with those compression fossils currently assigned to the family.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

DISCUSSION