Paleolelaps draco Tselikh & Rasplus gen. et sp. nov., the first fossil record of Diparidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Eocene Baltic amber
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Paleolelaps draco Tselikh & Rasplus gen. et sp. nov. is described as the first fossil representative of Diparidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Late Eocene Baltic amber. This record constitutes the first fossil species and the oldest known representative of the family. The new genus is assigned to Diparidae based on the combination of a concealed labrum bearing a marginal row of setae, a distinct frenum, a recessed metanotum, transversely wrinkled metacoxae, and a conspicuous cercal brush anterior to each cercus. Within Diparidae, Paleolelaps occupies an intermediate morphological position between Dipara Walker, 1833 and Lelaps Walker, 1843 in having a clypeus bearing a single angular median tooth in combination with the first antennal funicular being relatively short, only 1.10–1.14× the length of the second funicular.
Source: Zootaxa
Institutions: Russian Academy of Sciences, Zoological Institute, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Université de Montpellier, Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Institute of Paleontology A A Borisyak
Language: English
Topic: Fossil Insects in Amber
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7221455118