Gonatocerus rasnitsyni Huber

Huber, John T. & Greenwalt, Dale, 2011, Compression fossil Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) from Kishenehn oil shales, with description of two new genera and review of Tertiary amber genera, ZooKeys 130, pp. 473-494 : 476-477

Gonatocerus rasnitsyni Huber sp. n. Figs 1213

Type material.

Holotype female (NMNH) labelled " Gonatocerus rasnitsyni Huber Holotype female #543762".

Description.

Female. Colour dark brown except middle leg (others less clearly visible) with coxa, trochanter, apex of femur and base of tibia, and basal 4 tarsal segments yellowish. Holotype (Fig. 12) measurements as follows (measured in NMNH only).Body length 1046. Antenna (Fig. 13) with total funicle length 414: scape length and width 144/46, pedicel -, fl1 44, fl2 43, fl3 55, fl4 51, fl5 65, fl6 56, fl7 58, fl8 50, clava 113. At least on one antenna it appears that fl3 is wider than fl2 and fl4. Mesosoma length (excluding pronotum) 375. Fore wing length 789 (775 from margin of mesosoma), width 243, length/width 3.25.

Comments.

Gonatocerus rasnitsyni differs from Gonatocerus kootenai by the relatively smaller size, shorter and wider fore wing, and colour of the antennal pedicel and legs. I tentatively place it in Gonatocerus (Cosmocomoidea) because of the relatively wider fl3 (on one antenna at least, suggesting it bears multiporous plate sensilla) compared to the slightly n arrower fl2 and fl4. This resembles several extant members of this subgenus that also have alternately wider and narrower basal funicle segments.

Derivation of species name.

Named in honour of A. P. Rasnitsyn, the world’s foremost Hymenoptera palaeontologist, on the occasion of his 75th birthday.