Revision of Bethylinae fossils (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) from Baltic,
Rovno and Oise amber, with comments on the Tertiary fauna of the
subfamily
Magno S. Ramos, Evgeny E. Perkovsky, Alexander P. Rasnitsyn, and Celso O. Azevedo
With 53 igures and 1 table
Abstract: The known distribution and taxonomic variation of the previously described species
Lytopsenella kerneggeri Ohl are broadened. Eight new fossil species of Bethylinae are described and
illustrated: Eupsenella aulax RamOs & azevedO sp. nov., E. klesoviana RamOs & azevedO sp. nov.,
E. rossica RamOs & azevedO sp. nov., E. yantarnica RamOs & azevedO sp. nov., Goniozus deinitus
RamOs & azevedO sp. nov., Lytopsenella baltica RamOs & azevedO sp. nov., L. maritima RamOs &
azevedo sp. nov., and Sierola rovniana RamOs & azevedO sp. nov. Protobethylus De PlOëg & Nel,
2004 is considered a junior synonym of Eupsenella WestWOOd, 1874, and Protobethylus eocenicus
De PlOëg & Nel, 2004 is transferred from Protobethylus to Eupsenella as E. eocenica comb. nov. A
key to the fossil species of Bethylinae is provided. This paper brings the total known fossil species
of Bethylinae to 17.
Key words: Insecta, Chrysidoidea, Late Eocene, new combination, Rovno amber, Baltic amber.
1. Introduction
The analysis of fossils is important in understanding
the events that shaped the evolutionary history of the
planet. Previously, 49 fossil species have been reported
for the family Bethylidae ( azevedO & azaR 2012).
However, that report omitted Cretobethylellus lucidus
RasNitsyN, 1990 from the Cretaceous of Transbaikalia
(RasNitsyN 1990). Most of these species were
described by BRues (1923, 1933, 1939) based on Baltic
amber from the Early Oligocene. The geographic
distribution of bethylid fossils is limited to a few sites
worldwide. Hitherto, nine species have been reported
for the subfamily Bethylinae: Goniozus contractus
(BRues, 1933) (Oligocene, Baltic amber); Goniozus
respectus sORg, 1988 (Miocene, Dominican amber);
Lytopsenella crastina (BRues, 1923) (Oligocene,
Baltic amber); Lytopsenella kerneggeri Ohl, 1995
(Late Eocene, Baltic amber); Lytopsenella setigera
(BRues, 1923) (Oligocene, Baltic amber); Lytopsenella
simplex (BRues, 1923) (Oligocene, Baltic amber);
Prosierola submersa BRues, 1933 (Early Oligocene,
Baltic amber); Protobethylus eocenicus de PlOëg
& Nel, 2004 (earliest Eocene, Oise French amber);
and Sierola hastata sORg, 1988 (Late Eocene, Baltic
amber). Most of these species’ types have been lost,
except L. kerneggeri (deposited at the Geologisch-
Paläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universität
Hamburg) and P. eocenicus (deposited at the Muséum
national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris).
Here, eight new species are added to the subfamily,
and a new combination is proposed. Protobethylus
eocenicus de PlOëg & Nel, 2004, hitherto listed in
Protobethylus, is transferred to Eupsenella as a new
combination. Thus, the total known fossil species of
Bethylinae are increased to 17.
The main aim of the present paper is to describe
and illustrate three new species from the Upper
©2014 E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany www.schweizerbart.de
DOI: 10.1127/0077-7749/2014/0385 0077-7749/2014/0385 $ 6.50
N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh. 271/2 (2014), 203–228 Article
Stuttgart, February 2014
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