New genera Buserphites and Mesoserphites (Hymenoptera: Serphitidae) from mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar

Abstract

Two new genera, Burserphites and Mesoserphites, belonging to the subfamily Serphitinae (Serphitidae, Hymenoptera) are described from Burmese mid-Cretaceous amber. Two new species are erected within Buserphites n. gen.: B. applanatus, and B. myanmarensis; and five new species are established within Mesoserphites n. gen.: M. annulus, M. giganteus, M. engeli, M. scutatus, and M. viraneacapitis. These taxa show that the family Serphitidae was highly diverse in Burmese amber, adding substantially to recent discoveries within the endemic subfamily Supraserphitinae Rasnitsyn and Öhm-Kühnle. The presence of multiple serphitid genera in Burmese amber that are unknown from other amber deposits adds support to the idea that the Western Burma Block supported a fauna with multiple endemic groups as it approached contact with mainland Asia in the latest Albian or earliest Cenomanian. Despite the growing number of species recognized from Burmese amber, most of the newly described taxa are represented by very few specimens, suggesting that we are still within the early stages of documenting the fauna, or that the collections from this region represent a broader range of time and habitats than originally thought.