Balticampsis Belokobylskij, 2025

Belokobylskij, Sergey A., Achterberg, Cornelis Van & Manukyan, Andranik R., 2025, New fossil genus and species from the subfamily Sigalphinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Eocene Baltic amber with remarks on the genus Acampsohelcon Tobias, 1987, Zootaxa 5722 (1), pp. 124-134 : 128-130

Genus Balticampsis Belokobylskij , gen. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ 250C4DA0-2E34-4273-91AA-7F56F884F6C4

Type species. Balticampsis inopinatus Belokobylskij , gen. nov. & sp. nov.

Etymology. From a combination of “Baltic” and part of the generic name Acampsis Wesmael, 1835 , because they are morphologically rather similar taxa and it is known from Baltic amber. Gender: masculine.

Generic diagnosis ( Figs 1–3 ). Body medium-sized. Head not depressed, transverse. Vertex distinctly convex, smooth. Frons concave, with distinct lateral keels and with rather high medial keel. Occipital carina completely absent. Ocelli medium-sized, arranged in triangle with base 1.3 × its sides. Eyes large, oval, glabrous. Temple (dorsal view) short, strongly and curvedly narrowed posteriorly, transverse diameter of eye distinctly larger than temple in dorsal view and submedial length of temple in lateral view. Face weakly convex; clypeus rather distinctly convex. Malar suture present, but shallow. Maxillary palpus long, 6-segmented, its third segment distinctly widened. Labial palpus short and perhaps 4-segmented, its second segment widened.

Antenna long, rather thickened, weakly setiform. Scapus relatively short and wide, without transformations. Pedicel weakly enlarged and widened, about half as long as scapus. First flagellomere straight, longer than second flagellomere. Penultimate flagellomere relatively short, shorter than apical flagellomere; the latter weakly acuminate and without apical spine.

Mesosoma not depressed, high and relatively short. Pronotal neck short; postero-dorsal lobe of propleuron present. Mesoscutum relatively highly and nearly perpendicularly elevated above pronotum, mostly smooth. Notauli present, distinct and complete, fused posteriorly, crenulate at least anteriorly.Prescutellar depression (scutellar sulcus) relatively short, with medial carina, perhaps rugulose. Mesopleuron widely smooth. Prepectal carina present and complete, Precoxal sulcus present, sinuate, long, about as long as lower part of mesopleuron, crenulate. Propodeum convex (lateral view), without distinct areas delineated by carinae; lateral tubercles invisible.

Wings. Fore wing faintly infuscate; pterostigma short and wide. Radial (marginal) cell wide, weakly shortened. Metacarp (1-R1) longer than pterostigma. Radial vein (r) arising almost from middle of pterostigma. Third abscissa of radial vein (SR1) distinctly sinuate. First medial abscissa (1-SR+M) weakly curved. Discoidal (discal) cell elongate, petiolate anteriorly, its petiole (1-SR) medium length. Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell long and tetragonal. Recurrent vein (m-cu) medium length, oblique, weakly antefurcal to first radiomedial vein (m-cu), not divergent posteriorly with basal vein (1-M). First mediocubital vein (M+CU1) rather well sclerotised, but partly discoloured basally, weakly curved. Nervulus (cu-a) postfurcal. Brachial vein (CU1b) present and closed the wide brachial (first subdiscal) cell distally. Parallel vein (CU1a) not interstitial to second mediocubital vein (2-CU1), arising from posterior quarter of vein (3-CU1) closing brachial (subdiscal) cell posteriorly. Transverse anal veins (2A and a) invisible (posterior part of fore wing bad preserved). In hind wing, radial vein (SR) rather well sclerotised and faintly pigmented. Radial (marginal) cell curvedly widened in basal 0.4, subparallel-sided in apical 0.6, divided by distinct and complete transverse vein (r) in narrowest basal 0.4. Nervellus (cu-a) present, curved, closed the long submedial (subbasal) cell. First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) distinctly longer than second abscissa (1-M). Second cubital vein (2-CU) and transverse anal vein (2A) invisible (this part of hind wing bad preserved).

Legs relatively robust. Hind coxa short, suboval, ~ 0.6 × as long as propodeum. Hind femur relatively long and narrow. Hind tibia weakly thickened posteriorly. Tibial spur relatively short, straight, entirely setose, about 0.4 × as long as basitarsus. Basitarsus of hind leg ~ 0.8 × as long as other segments combined. Tarsal segments behind basitarsus relatively short; tarsal claw with wide and acuminate basal lobe.

Metasoma. All tergites well sclerotised; tergite started from second one without separate laterotergites, its spiracles situated nearly middle of lateral part of tergites. First metasomal tergite sessile, relatively long, weakly convex medially, perhaps mainly smooth, with distinct sublateral carinae along margin of tergite, laterope present. Second and following tergites smooth. Second suture distinct. Second tergite longer than third one. Ovipositor long, weakly curved, without dorsal and ventral armament in its apical part, evenly acuminate distally. Ovipositor sheath relatively thick, widened posteriorly and rounded apically, rather densely and shortly setose.

Comparative diagnosis. This new fossil genus is most likely belonging to the sigalphine subtribe Acampsina (Sigalphini) because of the second radiomedial vein (r-m) of fore wing subvertical to second abscissa of radial vein (3-SR), the third radial abscissa (SR1) only 1.1–1.2 × longer than second radial abscissa (3-SR), the third metasomal tergite open posteriorly and not or only weakly longer than second tergite, and ovipositor relatively long, it sheath distinctly protruding behind apex of metasoma. The differences of the new genus from the type genus of the subtribe, Acampsis Wesmael, 1835 , are shown in the key below.

1. Occipital carina completely absent ( Figs 1C , 3C ). Second and third metasomal tergites not forming carapace and not covering following segments, tergites behind third one distinctly protruding posteriorly. Second and third tergites smooth ( Figs 3A, D, E )............................................................................... Balticampsis gen. nov.

– Occipital carina present laterally, obliterate dorsally. Second and third metasomal tergites forming carapace and covering following segments, tergites behind third one not protruding posteriorly. Second and third tergites distinctly striate-reticulate.................................................................................... Acampsis Wesmael

The taxonomic position of the tribe Pselophanini was disputed for some period. Van Achterberg (1985) described this tribe in the subfamily Agathidinae , but then its status was raised to a separate subfamily Pselophaninae ( Quicke & van Achterberg 1990) . However, molecular phylogenetic analysis of Quicke et al. (2008) nested this tribe in the subfamily Sigalphinae .

Balticampsis gen. nov. is superficially similar to the extant Neotropical genus Pselaphanus Szépligeti, 1902 from the tribe Pselophanini ( van Achterberg 1985; van Achterberg & Riedel 2009), but it differs distinctly from the latter apart from the tribal characters in also having the occipital carina completely absent (strong laterally but interrupted medio-dorsally with its apices directed to lateral ocelli in Pselaphanus ), precoxal sulcus long and sinuate (very short and straight in Pselaphanus ), third segment of maxillary palpus distinctly widened (not or only weakly widened in Pselaphanus ), prepectal carina present (absent in Pselaphanus ), propodeum without areola delineated by carinae (with distinct long and rhomboid areola delineated by coarse carinae in Pselaphanus ), second and third metasomal tergites smooth (distinctly and widely striate in Pselaphanus ), and the ovipositor sheath long, about half as long as metasoma (short, weakly protruding behind metasomal apex in Pselaphanus ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Balticampsis inopinatus Belokobylskij, gen. nov. & sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, KAM # 4425). (A) Habitus, lateral view, left side. (B) Habitus, lateral view, right side. (C) Head and anterior part of mesosoma, lateral view. (D) Head, front view. (E) Apical flagellomeres. (F) Ovipositor and sheaths. (G) Claw of middle leg. (H) Head and mesosoma, lateral view.

FIGURE 2. Balticampsis inopinatus Belokobylskij, gen. nov. & sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, KAM # 4425). (A, C) Fore wing. (B, D) Hind wing.

FIGURE 3. Balticampsis inopinatus Belokobylskij, gen. nov. & sp. nov. (holotype, female, Baltic amber, KAM # 4425). (A) Habitus, lateral view, left side. (B) Head and antenna. (C) Head and mesosoma, subdorsal view. (D) Metasoma, lateral view. (E) Metasoma, middle and hind legs, lateral view.