New genera and species of Maimetshidae (Hymenoptera: Stephanoidea s. l.) from the Turonian of Botswana, with comments on the status of the family
Author
Rasnitsyn, Alexandr P.
Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 123 Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997 Russia, and Natural History Museum, London SW 7 5 BD, UK
rasna_us2002@yahoo.com
Author
Brothers, Denis J.
School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, P. Bag X 01, Scottsville, 3209 South Africa
Brothers@ukzn.ac.za
text
African Invertebrates
2009
2009-06-30
50
1
191
204
journal article
54399
10.5733/afin.050.0108
82be9b01-a826-4907-8f04-a792b3cb6774
2305-2562
7668179
926383C8-1B4E-4F5D-9FF2-33C9FFC84DD2
Afromaimetsha
gen. n.
Etymology: The generic name is derived from Africa and the genus
Maimetsha
. Gender feminine.
Type
species:
Afromaimetsha robusta
sp. n.
, by present designation.
Diagnosis: Similar to
Afrapia
except for notauli distinctly diverging cephalad, first visible metasomal tergum longer (as long as cell 3r), ovipositor slightly longer, and, possibly (not precisely known for
Afrapia
), propleura longer (may form a short but distinct neck in life). No reliable venational differences are known. The characters relevant to the higher taxonomic levels of
Stephanoidea
are the head with postgenae widely separated (most probably by the lower tentorial bridge), mesopleuron with complete lateral horizontal furrow and with posterior submedial lamella, and postepisternal lobes apparently forming medial midcoxal articulation. The last character may be taken as an indirect indication of a distal position of the articulatory condyle on the midcoxa, the putative synapomorphy of the stephanoid and evanioid clades (Rasnitsyn 1988).
Species included:
Type
species only.
Comparison: Similar to
Afrapia
, except notauli diverging and propleura apparently much longer. Differs from
Maimetsha
and
Guyotemaimetsha
in having cells 2rm and 3rm both delimited, from
Maimetsha
also in having RS starting well before the pterostigma.
Remarks: The horizontal midpleural furrow which is similar to that (although incomplete) in
Maimetsha
, and which is rare in other
Stephanoidea
, may support attribution of the present genus, and
Afrapia
by inference, to
Maimetshidae
. The broad lower tentorial bridge is unusual for
Stephanoidea
, generally being replaced by the postgenal bridge there.