Palaeorionis longicaudis, Belokobylskij & Hovorka, 2022

Belokobylskij, Sergey A. & Hovorka, Tomas, 2022, A new fossil euphorine genus and species (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) with the longest known ovipositor from Dominican amber, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 93, pp. 71-80 : 71

Palaeorionis longicaudis sp. nov.

Figs 1 , 2

Type material.

Holotype: Female, preserved in Lower Miocene Dominican amber (20-15 Ma), deposited in SMNS under collection number Do-2886-D. Well preserved, complete parasitoid inside amber piece (50 × 40 × 20 mm).

Description.

Female. Body length 7.7 mm; fore wing length 4.6 mm.

Head: Head not depressed, relatively high. Occiput at least weakly concave. Temple rather short. Transverse diameter of eye 3.7 times longer than temple (lateral view). Eye large, about 1.5 times as high as broad (lateral view). Malar suture perhaps absent. Malar space short. Clypeus without lower flange. Mandible rather short. Fourth segment of labial palpi the longest, 4.5 times longer than its maximum width, 1.7 times longer than second segment.

Antenna: First flagellar segment subcylindrical, 6.2 times longer than its apical width, as long as second segment; second segment 5.5 times longer than its apical with. Submedial segments about 2.5 times longer than their width. Penultimate segments short, 1.2-1.3 times longer than its width, 0.4 times as long as apical segment.

Mesosoma: Mesosoma relatively long, not depressed, its length about 2.0 times height. Neck of prothorax short. Mesoscutum highly and convex-roundly elevated above pronotum, its median lobe convex, weakly protruding forward, perhaps without anterolateral corners. Prescutellar depression (scutellar sulcus) invisible. Subalar depression shallow and sculptured. Mesopleuron widely smooth; metapleuron rugose.

Wings: Fore wing narrow, 3.9 times longer than its maximum width. Pterostigma about 5.0 times longer than width. Radial vein (r) arising behind middle of pterostigma, from basal 0.6. First (r) and second (3RSa) radial abscissae forming very obtuse angle. Second radial abscissa (3RSa) almost equal to first abscissa (r), 0.1 times as long as the straight third abscissa (3RSb), 0.2 times as long as the almost straight first radiomedial vein (2RS). Second radiomedial (submarginal) cell relatively narrow and short, 1.6 times longer than its maximum width, 0.6 times as long as the wide brachial (first subdiscal) cell. Brachial (first subdiscal) cell almost straight anteriorly. First medial abscissa ((RS+M) a) slightly curved. Recurrent vein (1m-cu) almost 0.5 times as long as first radiomedial vein (2RS), 0.3 times as long as basal vein (1M). Discoidal (first discal) cell rather long, 3.2 times longer than its maximum width. Nervulus (1cu-a) postfurcal, almost 2.0 times longer than distance from basal (1M) vein and nervulus (1cu-a). Parallel vein (2CUb) arising from posterior 0.2 of apical margin of brachial (second subdiscal) cell. Brachial (second subdiscal) cell long and wide. Hind wing relatively narrow. Radial (marginal) cell weakly widened basally and narrowed apically, without additional transverse vein (r). Nervellus (cu-a) present, oblique. Submedial (subbasal) cell short. First abscissa of mediocubital vein (M+CU) 0.6 times as long as second abscissa (M).

Legs: Fore trochanter almost twice longer than trochantellus. Fore tarsus almost as long as fore tibia. Hind coxa 2.0 times longer than maximum width, 0.7 times as long as petiole. Hind femur 6.5 times longer than width. Hind tarsus slender, 0.8 times as long as hind tibia. Second segment of hind tarsus 0.5 times as long as basitarsus, almost 2.0 times longer than fifth segment (without pretarsus).

Metasoma: Metasoma 1.2 times longer than head and mesosoma combined. First metasomal tergite 9.6 times longer than medial high (at spiracles level), tergite ventrally fused in basal 0.8. Lateral suture between second and third tergites present, but dorsal suture absent. Second and third tergites combined 0.7 times as long as following tergites. Hypopygium short, obtuse distally, strongly retracted below under metasoma, almost glabrous.

Sculpture: Vertex and temple mainly smooth. Hind coxa and femur smooth. Metasoma entirely smooth. Hind tibia with rather dense and short semi-erect setae, its length 0.2-0.3 times maximum width of tibia.

Colour: Body almost entirely black or dark brown. Antenna mainly light brown. Labial palpi light brown; maxillary palpi dark reddish brown, but at least apical segment brownish yellow. Legs mainly dark brown, all tibiae basally yellow at short distance. Ovipositor sheaths light brown, infuscate apically. Fore wing almost entirely distinctly infuscate, paler basally and apically, with distinct hyaline transverse stripe under base of pterostigma. Pterostigma mainly dark brown, pale brown in basal fifth.

Male. Unknown.

Etymology.

Named from Latin “longus” (= long) and “caudus” (= tail, ovipositor) because this taxon has the longest known ovipositor of all fossil Euphorinae taxa.

Figures

Figure 1. Palaeorionis longicaudis gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, female) A habitus, lateral view B head, latero-posterior view C head, antenna and mesosoma, lateral view D mesosoma without propodeum, lateral view E propodeum, lateral view F hind coxa G wings.

Figure 2. Palaeorionis longicaudis gen. et sp. nov. (holotype, female) A petiole, lateral view B anterior half of metasoma without petiole (gaster), lateral view C posterior half of metasoma, lateral view.