Thyreodon, Brulle

FERNÁNDEZ-TRIANA, JOSÉ L., 2005, The taxonomy and biogeography of Cuban Ophioninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Zootaxa 1007 (1), pp. 1-60 : 16-17

THYREODON Brullé

Thyreodon Brullé, 1846: 150 . Type­species: Thyreodon cyaneus Brullé , by subsequent designation, Hooker, 1912: 107.

Athyreodon Ashmead, 1900 a: 87 . Type­species: Athyreodon thoracicus Ashmead (= Ophion atriventris Cresson ), by original designation.

With more than 40 described species Thyreodon is primarily a Neotropical genus, although a very few species occur on the southern periphery of the Nearctic and one, T. atricolor , is widely distributed as far north as Canada ( Carlson, 1979; Porter, 1984, 1986 & 1989; Gauld, 1988; Gauld & Janzen, in press).

Alayo (1973) recognised 6 species as occurring in Cuba, including an undescribed species; and Porter (1984) described another. Alayo's undescribed species is now thought to be T. fulvescens (see below), but two additional new species have been recognized. Although this is the second most species­rich genus in the country, it is rarely collected. It is represented in Cuban collections with just about 60 specimens from its 8 known species. Furthermore, in the last 20 years only 9 specimens have been collected, and most of the available material was collected prior to 1970.

Cushman (1947) and Porter (1984 & 1989) placed the nocturnal species of Thyreodon in a separate genus, Athyreodon , a position followed by Yu & Horstman (1997) in their World Catalogue. However, Gauld (1985) found them as a monophyletic lineage of different species­groups within Thyreodon , in agree with Townes (1971) and subsequent workers ( Gauld, 1988; Gauld & Janzen, in press). Present paper follows the last statement.

The status of the species­group within the genus is not clear ( Townes & Townes, 1966; Porter 1980, 1984 & 1989; Gauld, 1988; Gauld & Janzen, in press). Gauld & Janzen (in press) have performed a cladistic analysis of Costa Rican species, but there are no data at regional level (Mesoamerica) for the genus. It prevents me to put Cuban species in species­groups, even though some grouping based on colour pattern is used here for identification purposes only. Under this approach, three colour patterns can be inferred in Cuban Thyreodon species : rather blackish body, with iridescent wings and orange­brown antennae ( alayoi , gabrieli , grandis and ultor ); orange/brown body ( affinis , atriventris and fulvescens ); and orange body with profuse yellow markings ( elegans ).