Ophion, Fabricius

FERNÁNDEZ-TRIANA, JOSÉ L., 2005, The taxonomy and biogeography of Cuban Ophioninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), Zootaxa 1007 (1), pp. 1-60 : 12

OPHION Fabricius

Ophion Fabricius, 1798: 210 , 235. Type­species: Ichneumon luteus L., by subsequent designation, Curtis, 1836: 600.

Paniscus Schrank, 1802: 316 . Type­species: Ichneumon luteus L., by monotypy.

[Psylonychia Szépligeti, 1905: 21. Nomen nudum.]

Stenophthalmus Szépligeti, 1905: 23 . Type­species: Stenophthalmus algiricus Szépligeti , by subsequent designation, Viereck, 1914: 137.

Pachyprotoma Kohl, 1906: 223. Type­species: Ophion (Pachyprotoma) capitatus Kohl , by monotypy.

Australophion Morley, 1912: 4 , 30. Type­species: Ophion peregrinus Smith, by monotypy.

Neophion Morley, 1912: 4 , 30. Type­species: Neophion crassus Morley , by subsequent designation, Viereck, 1914: 100.

Apatophion Shestakov, 1926: 262 . Type­species: Apatophion mirsa Shestakov , by original designation.

Platophion Hellén, 1926: 13 . Type­species: Ophion areolaris Brauns , by subsequent designation, Cushman, 1947: 475.

Potophion Cushman, 1947: 476 . Type­species: Potophion caudatus Cushman , by original designation.

[Psylonychia Cushman, 1947: 476. Unavailable name, proposed in synonymy.]

Apomesus Townes, 1971: 54 . Type­species: Apomesus longiceps Townes , by original designation.

Mecetron Townes, 1971: 60 . Type­species: Stenophthalmus choaspese Uchida , by original designation.

A large and cosmopolitan genus that is more species–rich in the Holarctic realm than it is in tropical latitudes ( Gauld, 1988). Townes & Townes (1966) listed 11 species for the Neotropical region, and Gauld (1988) described 11 new species from moderately high altitudes in Costa Rica and Panama. A single species, O. flavidus , had been recorded from Cuba ( Alayo, 1972 & 1973). This is the only widely distributed Central American species ( Gauld, 1988), and it is associated with disturbed habitats where it has been found to be a parasitoid of various noctuid pests ( Costa Lima, 1962; Carlson, 1979; Gauld, 1988). Study of Cuban collections has revealed the existence of a new species, restricted to the highest mountain of the country.