Abstract
The monotypic genus Mymarilla Westwood is known only from St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The peculiar species M. wollastoni Westwood (Mymaridae) is redescribed and illustrated from non-type material. Mymarilla is compared with Cremnomymar Ogloblinspp. from the Juan Fernández Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Stephanodes Enock is shown to be the most likely sister genus to Mymarilla. Nesopolynema Ogloblin, syn. n., Oncomymar Ogloblin, syn. n., Scolopsopteron Ogloblin, syn. n., are placed in synonymy under Cremnomymar and their species transferred as Cremnomymar caudatum (Ogloblin 1952), comb. n., C. dipteron (Ogloblin 1957), comb. n., and C. kuscheli (Ogloblin 1952), comb. n. Wing shape and wing reductions in Mymaridae are discussed in relation to biogeography, particularly with respect island faunas and to four genera, Cremnomymar, Mymarilla, Parapolynema Fidalgo, and Richteria Girault, some or all of whose species have more or less convex fore wings.
Highlights
The small, remote South Atlantic island of St
The species was described briefly from both sexes (Westwood 1879), it is instantly recognizable from the original illustrations that show the peculiar, strongly convex fore wings
Mymarilla is redescribed from material other than the original type series and is compared with new material of Cremnomymar Ogloblin and its synonyms from the Juan Fernández Islands, about 600 km W. of Chile in the South Pacific Ocean
Summary
The small, remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena contains a high proportion of endemic species but among the Hymenoptera only the Formicidae have been systematically studied (Wetterer et al 2007). Heqvist (1960) was the first to treat M. wollastoni as the genotype of Mymarilla, even as he incorrectly placed Mymar species under it, as did previous authors. The combination of smooth, shiny black body, extremely short mesocutum compared to much longer pronotum, and extraordinary convex and densely setose fore wing distinguish the genus and species from any other Mymaridae.
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