The first fossil Parascleroderma (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae): a new species in mid-Miocene Zhangpu amber

The recently discovered amber biota from Zhangpu, China, offers a unique window into the tropical ecosystem of an Asian rainforest during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). Here, the first flat wasp (Bethylidae) from this deposit is documented: Parascleroderma palaeosinica n. sp. is described...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPalaeoworld Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 709 - 715
Main Authors Brazidec, Manuel, Perrichot, Vincent
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 01.12.2023
Elsevier
Subjects
Bethylidae
Cenozoic
China
Chrysidoidea
Earth Sciences
Miocene
Paleontology
Pristocerinae
Sciences of the Universe
Miocene
Cenozoic
Bethylidae
Pristocerinae
China
Chrysidoidea
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Summary:The recently discovered amber biota from Zhangpu, China, offers a unique window into the tropical ecosystem of an Asian rainforest during the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO). Here, the first flat wasp (Bethylidae) from this deposit is documented: Parascleroderma palaeosinica n. sp. is described and figured from a single male, and is the first fossil Parascleroderma known to date. The new extinct species is characterized by its minute size, the pedicel longer than the flagellomeres, the posterior ocelli inserted much posteriad on head, the notauli not impressed on anterior third of anteromesoscutum, and the hypopygium simple, with posterior margin slightly incurved medially. Parascleroderma is a cosmopolitan genus within the Pristocerinae and it is therefore not surprising to find its record in the Zhangpu biota, simultaneously with the northern expansion of the southeastern Asian tropical forest during the MMCO.
ISSN:1871-174X
1875-5887
DOI:10.1016/j.palwor.2022.01.009