Praeaulacus tenellus, Li, Longfeng, Shih, Chungkun & Ren, Dong, 2014

Li, Longfeng, Shih, Chungkun & Ren, Dong, 2014, New fossil Praeaulacinae wasps (Insect: Hymenoptera: Evanioidea: Praeaulacidae) from the Middle Jurassic of China, Zootaxa 3814 (3), pp. 432-442 : 437-439

Praeaulacus tenellus sp. nov.

( Figs. 4 and 5 )

Etymology. The specific name is from Latin “ tenellus ” meaning fragile and delicate, referring to the slim body of this species.

Type material. Holotype: female. No. CNU-HYM-NN-2012035(P/C). Well preserved with almost complete body and wings. Color brown, particularly on legs and metasoma.

Occurrence. Daohugou Village, Shantou Township, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China, Jiulongshan Formation, late Middle Jurassic (Callovian–Bathonian boundary).

Diagnosis. Fore wing with 1r-rs absent; first abscissa of Rs shorter than that of M; 2r-m slightly basad of 2mcu; cu-a interstitial. Hind wing with r-m straight and short; first abscissa of M bent and meet M+Cu basad of Rs original; cu-a longer. First metasomal segment subcyclindrical, distinct longer than wide.

Description. Head medium-sized, transversely broad, nearly 1.9 times as wide as long. Antenna 9 antennomeres as preserved, with scape thin basally, gradually increasing in width apically and slightly longer than wide; pedicel small, slightly narrower than scape distally and about as long as wide; flagellum distinct longer than pedicel, but nearly as wide as pedicel. Mesosoma distinct slim and about 1.9 times as long as wide; pronotum comparatively short (but covered in part with mesonotum); mesonotum notauli sutures distinct, nearly U-shape; metanotum short, propodeum longer and broad. Hind leg with small trochanter, femur distinctly thicker and shorter than tibia, the length of tibia about 1.7 times as long as that of femur. Fore wing with first abscissa of Rs nearly 1.3 times as long as that of M and 2 times as long as its distance to pterostigma; 2r-rs arising from pterostigma at about its basal 1/2 length, slightly shorter than the maximal width of 2rm; 2r-m and 3r-m both slightly oblique, cell 2rm slightly longer and narrower than 3rm, and cell 3rm nearly rectangular, 1mcu nearly forming a parallelogram, about 2.3 times as long as wide; 2r-m meeting M slightly basad of 2m-cu, and 2mcu nearly as long as 2rm; cu-a interstitial and slightly longer than first abscissa of M. Hind wing with r-m straight and about 0.4 times length of first abscissa of Rs; first abscissa of M arched, 3.5 times as long as r-m and M ending in wing margin; cu-a curved, nearly as long as first abscissa of Rs, meeting Cu slightly beyond fork of M+Cu into M and Cu. Metasoma longovoid, first segment subcyclindrical, about 1.6 times as long as wide; remaining segments distinctly shorter than first, but gradually increasing in width. Ovipositor slightly shorter than fore wing.

Measurements in mm. Antenna length 2.1 (as preserved); head length 0.8, width 1.5; mesosomal length 3.0, width 1.6; fore wing length 5.2 (as preserved), width 2.7 mm; hind wing length 3.9, width 1.2; hind femur length 1.5, hind tibia length 2.6; first metasomal segment length 1.1, width 0.7; metasomal length 5.1; ovipositor length 3.7 (as preserved).

Figures

FIGURE 4 Praeaulacus tenellus sp. nov.; Photograph of holotype CNU-HYM-NN- 2012035 (P / C); (A) part, (B) counterpart; Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIGURE 5 Praeaulacus tenellus sp. nov.; Holotype CNU-HYM-NN- 2012035 (P / C); (A) Line drawing of holotype, body with wings; (B) Line drawing of wings; Scale bars: 1 mm.