Citation: Perrichot V, Antoine P-O, Salas-Gismondi R, Flynn JJ, Engel MS (2014) The genus Macroteleia Westwood in Middle Miocene amber from Peru (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae s.l., Scelioninae). ZooKeys 426: 119–127. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.426.7822
A new species of the scelionine genus Macroteleia Westwood (Platygastridae s.l., Scelioninae) is described and figured from a female beautifully preserved in Middle Miocene amber from Peru. Macroteleia yaguarum Perrichot & Engel, sp. n., shows a unique combination of characters otherwise seen independently within its congeners. It is most similar to the modern M. surfacei Brues, but differs from it by the non-foveolate notauli, the contiguous punctures of the vertex, and the continuous propodeum. The new species is the first New World fossil of the genus, suggesting a Cretaceous origin for the group and a relatively old age of the South American, tropical African, and Australian faunas, and a younger age of the modern Holarctic faunas.
Insecta, Platygastroidea, Macroteleia, Tertiary, Neogene, Peru, Amazonian amber, taxonomy
The platygastroid wasps represent one of the underexplored territories of microhymenopteran diversity. With over 4000 described species and many more awaiting description, these frequently minute parasitoids may be found in virtually all habitats throughout the world and although many fine revisions have been forthcoming, the total number of species will still climb significantly in the coming years. In tandem with this systematic work, biological studies are needed, particularly as platygastroids are important egg and larva parasitoids for a wide diversity of insect and spider hosts, and may serve important roles in natural and agricultural ecosystems, acting as effective biological control agents in the latter. The lineage was particularly abundant during the Mesozoic, as they often represent the most numerous of hymenopteran inclusions in many of the world’s Cretaceous amber deposits (e.g.,
Formal New World Tertiary records of platygastroid wasps have been confined to the Early Miocene amber-bearing strata of Mexico (
The study is based upon a single specimen preserved in amber from the Pebas Formation (Mollusc Zone MZ7, late Middle Miocene, ~12 Ma;
The wasp specimen studied herein was originally preserved in a rather large (ca. 45 × 30 × 20 mm) piece of translucent yellow amber with seven syninclusions (two mites, one spider, one gall midge, two nymphal barklice, and the head of an ant). The piece was cut in eight smaller fragments each of which were polished to optimize the view of the different inclusions, and the scelionine wasp is now preserved in a small piece (12 × 5 × 3 mm) with one barklouse (Fig. 1A). Morphological terminology and the format for the description generally follow
Macroteleia yaguarum Perrichot & Engel, sp. n., holotype MUSM-A-2006-4a, female A Right lateral habitus B Dorsal habitus. Scale bars: 1 mm.
http://zoobank.org/8D3E135D-8273-4A15-A97D-BD4FDB0C76ED
Holotype MUSM-A-2006-4a, female, in amber fragment from the Pebas Formation (Mollusc Zone MZ7, late Middle Miocene, ~12 Ma;
The new species can be characterized by the following combination of features: Antenna discolorous; flagellum with F1 elongate, nearly as long as F2+F3; clavus comprising six flagellomeres (F5–F10); face and vertex contiguously punctured; mesoscutum without median longitudinal carina, integument contiguously punctate; notauli not areolate or foveate; metapleuron and dorsal and ventral surfaces of metasoma largely rugulose punctate; metasoma elongate, integument largely rugulose punctate; tergum 4 (T4) laterally compressed and dorsally humped; integument largely dark brown to black, without areas of obviously yellowish or reddish maculation.
Female. Body length 5.23 mm; forewing length 2.70 mm, maximum width 0.73 mm; integument generally dark brown to black, wings subhyaline, veins dark brown; body elongate, cylindrical (Fig. 1A, B).
Head 0.55 mm long, 0.58 mm high, 0.74 mm wide, densely punctate, punctures large, appearing almost areolate, those of vertex contiguous, slightly smaller on face and gena (Fig. 2A–D); compound eyes oval, large, maximal diameter 0.43 mm, anteriorly bordered by a foveate groove; lateral ocelli well distant from each other, very close to inner margin of eyes; preoccipital ridge carinate, bordered anteriorly by foveate groove; antenna with 12 articles, discolorous, with scape, pedicel, and F1–F4 dark brown, remaining flagellomeres black; scape elongate, about 2.5× length of pedicel; pedicel longer than wide; F1 slightly longer than pedicel, three times as long as wide, finely microsetose; clavus comprising apical six flagellomeres (F5–F10), with basiconic sensilla on ventral surface distributed 2-2-2-2-2-1; mandibles small, each with three small teeth along apical margin.
Macroteleia yaguarum Perrichot & Engel, sp. n., holotype MUSM-A-2006-4a, female A Head and mesosoma in lateral view B Head and mesosoma in ventral view C Head and mesosoma in dorsal view D Head in full face view E Forewing F Hind wing G Metasomal segments 4–6 in lateral view. Scale bars: A–D: 0.25 mm; E–G: 0.5 mm.
Mesosoma 1.17 mm long, 0.65 mm wide. Pronotal dorsal surfaces lateral to mesoscutum with large areolate punctures arranged in two longitudinal rows, those closest to mesoscutum largest, anterior and lateral edges strongly carinate (Fig. 2C); pronotal lateral surface below carina impunctate, smooth. Mesoscutum with punctures similar to those of vertex, contiguous, without median longitudinal carina; notauli deeply impressed, not areolate, slightly wider posteriorly than anteriorly, converging posteriorly but not meeting, terminating at transscutal sulcus and well separated from each other; mesoscutellum sculptured as on mesoscutal disc, except posterior margin with single transverse row of large foveae. Netrion with anterior border composed of single dorsoventral row of posteriorly-opened areolae; mesopleuron with large, central, longitudinal depression, integument otherwise rugulose punctate, punctures nearly contiguous. Metanotum with single transverse row of large areolae, distinctly larger than those of posterior border of mesoscutellum; metapleuron with coarse, nearly contiguous rugulose punctures. Propodeum without armature, continuous medially. Legs imbricate and apparently impunctate; tibial spur formula 1-1-1; protibial calcar apically bifid; pretarsus with large arolium. Forewing membrane subhyaline (Fig. 2E); submarginal vein elongate, bearing a row of elongate setae; marginal vein elongate, as long as stigmal vein; postmarginal vein much longer than stigmal vein, total length greater than combined lengths of marginal and stigmal veins. Hind wing with complete vein bearing three distal hamuli apically, with well-defined posterior fringe of setae (Fig. 2F).
Metasoma elongate, 3.90 mm long, maximal width 0.50 mm, with narrow laterotergites; T2 about as long as T3; terga and sterna rugulose punctate, punctures arranged in loose rows, punctures separated by one puncture width, or more often less on S1–S3, punctures contiguous by S4 and onward; sterna without median longitudinal carina; T6 elongate, laterally compressed, dorsally humped, longitudinally striate (Fig. 2G).
Male. Unknown.
The specific epithet is a patronym for the native ethnic group Yagua, long-settled in the Tamshiyacu area, Maynas, Loreto.
In
Although not the earliest fossil for this genus, the significance of the present individual rests in its demonstration of the occurrence of Macroteleia in the South American fauna during the Middle Miocene, i.e., well before a sustainable terrestrial contact with North America, and as the sole New World fossil of the clade. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately speculate on its possible relation to the diversity of living species given the absence of both a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus, as well as the desperate need of a thorough modern revision of the South American fauna – a group of species which is certainly much more diverse than that documented by
We thank Patrice Baby (GET, Toulouse), Mouloud Benammi (IPHEP, Poitiers), Ysabel Calderón (PeruPetro, Lima), and Nicolas Espurt (CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence) for their participation in field work; André Nel (MNHN, Paris) for facilitating access to the material by VP; and Ryan McKellar and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful input. Support for the field study was provided by the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, program ECLIPSE) and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement. This is a contribution of the Division of Entomology, University of Kansas Natural History Museum.