Middle Jurassic Praeaulacidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) of Inner Mongolia and Kazakhstan

Writer:Journal of Systematic Palaeontology

2009-01-01

Sixteen new and one undetermined species within six genera, of which two are recognised as new, referable to Praeaulacidae are described from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou deposits of Ningcheng.

Inner Mongolia, China. They are Praeaulacus orientalis sp.nov., Praeaulacus daohugouensis sp. nov., Praeaulacus exquisitus sp. nov., Praeaulacus scabratus sp. nov., Praeaulacus sculptus sp. nov., Praeaulacus robustus sp. nov., Praeaulacus afflatus sp. nov., Praeaulacon ningchengensis sp. nov., Praeaulacon elegantulus sp. nov., Aulacogastrinus insculptus sp. nov., Aulacogastrinus longaciculatus sp. nov., Aulacogastrinus hebeiensis sp. nov., Aulacogastrinus sp., Sinaulacogastrinus eucallus gen. et sp. nov., Eosaulacus giganteus gen. et sp. nov. and Eosaulacus granulatus gen. et sp. nov. within Praeaulacinae, and Anomopterella huangi sp. nov. within Anomopterellinae.

In addition, a new species, Nevania karatau sp. nov., assigned to Nevaniinae is reported from the Late Jurassic Karabastau Formation of Karatau, southern Kazakhstan. A key to known taxa within Praeaulacinae and Anomopterellinae, respectively, is presented. The presence of five common genera between the Daohugou and Karatau faunas indicates a close relationship between the two regions.

Both a high attachment of metasoma on propodeum and a quite high diversity in the Praeaulacidae in the Middle Jurassic indicate that the Evanioidea probably emerged as early as in the Early Jurassic. The Anomopterellinae were parasitic on xylophages like Praeaulacinae.