Proxyelia pankowskii, Jouault & Aase & Nel, 2021

Jouault, Corentin, Aase, Arvid & Nel, AndrØ, 2021, Past ecosystems drive the evolution of the early diverged Symphyta (Hymenoptera: Xyelidae) since the earliest Eocene, Fossil Record 24 (2), pp. 379-393 : 384-386

Proxyelia pankowskii sp. nov.

( Figs. 4–5 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:E7E6CD5E-3AEB-4427-

8260-32EC0C49803D

Holotype

Specimen identifier FOBU14313 , housed in the collection of Fossil Butte National Monument , Wyoming, USA.

Etymology

Named after Michael Pankowski, who, after recognizing the importance of the fossil offered for sale on the internet, purchased and donated the specimen to Fossil Butte National Monument. The specific epithet is to be treated as a noun in a genitive case.

Locality and age

Clear Creek Valley, 10 mi (16.09 km) west of Kemmerer, Wyoming, USA; Ypresian, lowermost Eocene (ca. 51.98 Ma).

Diagnosis

As for the genus (vide supra).

C. Jouault et al.: Past ecosystems drive the evolution of the early diverged Symphyta 385

Description

Head rounded, 1.15 mm long (mandibles included) and 1.31 mm wide; eyes wide, occupying a large part of head lateral surface; mandibles projected anteriorly, partly covered by labrum; ocelli not preserved; 12 conspicuous antennomeres (apical part poorly visible and exact number not countable); scape ca. 0.32 mm long; first flagellomere ca. 1.05 mm long, slightly wider near mid-length, remaining part of flagellum ca. 1.14 mm long; posterior margin of head concave.

Thorax slightly wider than head ca. 1.38 mm wide.

Forewing ca. 5.46 mm long and 1.90 mm wide. Pterostigma sclerotized, wide, and longer than cell 2r; costal area obviously dilated proximad near Sc1 and Sc2 fork; Sc with two branches, Sc1 meeting with C slightly distad of Rs, longer than Sc2; Sc2 almost vertical, meeting R before at the originating point of 1-Rs; Sc2 slightly shorter than 1-Rs, the latter distinctly shorter than 1-M; R strongly curved before origin of Rs and slightly thickened before pterostigma; crossvein 1r-rs straight; 2r-rs slightly bend near Rs and ca. 0.8 times as long as 1r-rs; distance between base of 2r-rs and 1r-rs nearly twice as long as distance between apex of pterostigma and base of 2r-rs; Rs+M about 4.2 times as long as 1-Rs; section of Rs between 1r-rs and 2r-rs slightly arched toward posterior margin of forewing; cell 1rs short, slightly trapezoidal; M+Cu slightly curved medially; 1m-cu about half as long as 2-Cu and about 0.34 as long as 3-Cu; 2m-cu straight and 0.49 times as long as 4-Cu.

Hind wing with 1r-m long, meeting Rs slightly distad its base; 1-M not fully preserved, ca. 2.7 times longer than 1rm; m-cu not reaching 3r-m, separated from 3r-m base (along M) by a distance nearly equal to 3r-m length; cu-a not fully preserved; M and Cu with free ends apparently not reaching wing margin; 1A with not fully preserved, slightly curved; 2A not fully preserved.

Legs partly preserved. Foreleg thin and short, not clearly discernible, with tibia ca. 0.84, mm long. Mid femur at least 0.91 mm long; tibia 0.92 mm; tarsi ca. 1.22 mm long, with four preserved tarsomeres, first tarsomere the longest; length of tarsomeres from base to apex (in millimeters): 0.52, 0.23, 0.22, 0.22. Hind femur ca. 1.20 mm long, slightly wider medially; tibia ca. 1.67 mm long and ca. 0.19 mm at maximal width; tarsi ca. 1.34 mm long, with four preserved tarsomeres, basitarsomere the longest (ca. 0.59 mm long); length of other tarsomeres from base to apex (in millimeters): TII 0.26, TIII 0.19, TIV 0.23.

Abdomen with at least nine visible segments, widest near mid-length.

Figures

Figure 4. Photograph of Proxyelia pankowskii gen. et sp. nov. Holotype FOBU14313. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 5. Proxyelia pankowskii gen. et sp. nov. Holotype FOBU14313. (A) Detailed photograph of head. (B) Interpretative line drawing of antenna. (C) Detailed photograph of pterostigma. (D) Interpretative line drawing of venation with cell (in bold) and vein names labeled. (E) Detailed view of apical part of abdomen. Scale bars: 1mm.