Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884

Liu, Yongxiu, Song, Zhiyan, Li, Qiang & Ma, Li, 2024, Two new species of the spider wasp genus Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884 (Hymenoptera, Pompilidae) in China, with a key to Chinese species, Zootaxa 5512 (1), pp. 80-92 : 81

Genus Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884

Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884: 306 . Type species: Paracyphononyx melanicrus Gribodo , monobasic.

Paracyphonyx Ashmead, 1902: 81 . Type species: Paracyphononyx metemmensis Magretti , monobasic. Junior subjective synonym of Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884 according to Evans 1951: 304.

Allocyphonyx Ashmead, 1902: 136 . Type species: pompilus maurus Cresson (= funereus Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau), monobasic. Junior subjective synonym of Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884 according to Evans 1951: 304.

Pompiloides Šustera, 1912: 180 , 203. Type species: Pompilus ruficrus Klug , monobasic. Junior subjective synonym of Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884 according to Evans 1951: 304.

Dicyrtomus Haupt, 1927: 150 , 256. Type species: Pompilus ruficrus Klug , original designation. Junior subjective synonym of Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884 according to Gussakovskij 1935: 135.

Anacyphononyx Haupt, 1950: 59 . Type species: Pompilus semiplumbeus Taschenberg , original designation. Junior subjective synonym of Paracyphononyx Gribodo, 1884 according to Evans 1966: 424.

Diagnosis. Body length 6–20 mm. Black, occasionally with red, white, brown, or yellow spots or stripes on head, mesosoma and legs; metanotum and propodeal declivity with dense, erect pubescence or appressed setae. Gena very narrow; labrum completely exposed, semicircular, truncate apically; mandibles with a tooth on inner margin close to apex; malar space well developed in males, about as long as or longer than antennal pedicel, often well developed in females; eye wide, at least as wide as half of face, their inner margins more or less parallel but slightly emarginate at middle; flagellomeres strongly crenulate in lateral view in males. Scutellum steeply declined laterally; metapostnotum narrow, slightly expanded on each side of midline, slightly concave at middle. Legs with strong spines, fore tarsus without tarsal comb in female, tarsomere 5 with or without spines beneath; all tarsal claws bifid in female; male fore tarsal claws not modified and bifid as in female or modified, i.e., inner claw more strongly curved than outer claw, rest of tarsal claws bifid. Forewing with small pterostigma and three submarginal cells; SMC3 strongly narrowed above, often triangular or petiolate; metasoma of female with lateral margin slightly convex; apical sternum somewhat compressed laterally and ridged medially, metasomal sternum 6 and tergum 6 with long, sparse setae ( Arnold 1936, Evans 1966).

Biology. Species of Paracyphononyx are idiobiont ectoparasitoids of lycocid spiders. They build nests in pre-existing holes in the soil or in burrows they dig themselves ( Martins 1991). Some species are koinobiont ectoparasitoids, which paralyze their host and lay eggs on the spider’s abdomen, but allow the host to resume its activities ( Conley 1985, El-Hennawy 1996). Typically, species of this genus are solitary, with adults feeding on nectar or honeydew ( da Silva Souza et al. 2015).

Distribution. Oriental Region: China (Taiwan), the Philippines; Palearctic Region: Egypt, Italy, Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, China, Japan; Ethiopian Region: Angola, Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe; Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru; Nearctic Region: the United States; Australian Region: Australia ( Arnold 1951, 1960, 1962, Banks 1934, 1940, Brethes 1913, Gussakovskij 1952, Holmberg 1882, Kohl 1894, Priesner 1955).