Phylogenetic revision and the origin of Polyphrix Townes (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with description of a new species

Abstract

Polyphrix stellata sp. nov., from the Brazilian Amazon Forest, is described and illustrated. The validity of the genus is cladistically tested using implied weighting, in a matrix with 26 species and 75 morphological characters. Concavity constants (K) from 1 to 6 were tested. All analyses recovered all known Polyphrix species as a monophyletic group. The preferred results, with K2–6, suggest (Prosthoporus nigrifemur Gupta + Lagarosoma assitum Gupta) + Messatoporus sp. as the sister group of the genus; with K1, this group also included two species of Gabuniina. The results with K1–5 suggest an Amazonian origin of the genus, with species from northern Brazil appearing basally in the clade, while both Atlantic Forest species appear as sister groups. A redescription of Polyphrix is presented, combining the original definition with recently published additions and original information. An updated key to species is presented, and new morphometric data is provided for P. varians and P. cristata. Prosthoporus mexicanus comb. nov. is proposed as a new combination for Polyphrix mexicanus Kasparyan & Ruíz, representing the first record of Prosthoporus from North America. Seven new distribution records are provided for Polyphrix, expanding its known range to 29º51' of latitude, from Guyana to Paraná (southern Brazil).

Phylogeny and reclassification of Cryptini (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with implications for ichneumonid higher‐level classification

“…The five genera in this exclusively Neotropical clade are characterized by having a medium‐sized, quadrangular and often elongate areolet; propodeum covered with transverse striae; and notaulus nearly always weakly impressed or indistinct. Morphological evidence pointed to different affinities for Polyphrix Townes (Santos et al ., ) and Eknomia Santos and Aguiar (Santos & Aguiar, ), which are not confirmed by the present analyses.…”

“…Equal‐weights parsimony analyses recovered six most parsimonious trees (MPTs) of 5706 steps each, consistency index (CI) 0.031, retention index (RI) 0.569 (Table ). The extremely low CI is typical for Cryptini matrices (see Santos et al ., ; Santos & Aguiar, ; Tedesco & Aguiar, ) and for Ichneumonidae as a whole. The strict consensus was relatively well resolved (Appendix S5) but support was low under all optimization criteria (Tables ).…”

“…This derives both from their overwhelming diversity and because most taxa display a confusing array of similarities and subtle differences, resulting in high levels of homoplasy in morphological datasets (e.g. Aguiar, ; Santos et al ., ; Santos & Aguiar, ; Tedesco & Aguiar, ).…”

“…His analyses recovered Gabuniina as a monophyletic group, but did not explore the results for other cryptine taxa. Similarly, subsequent morphological analyses (Santos & Aguiar, , , ; Santos et al ., ; Tedesco & Aguiar, , , ) focused on the monophyly and placement of particular genera and did not provide any insight on the validity of Townes' subtribes.…”

Review ofLoxopusTownes (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae), with descriptions of six new species

“…Therefore, the monophyly and relationships of Goryphina, and of most of its taxa, are uncertain. Loxopus australis was coded in the matrices of Santos et al (2009), Aguiar (2012, 2013) and Tedesco and Aguiar (2013), but those works were focused in particular genera and did not discuss the results for the Goryphina.…”