Phylogeny of the ophrynopine clade revisited: review of the parasitoid sawfly genera Ophrella Middlekauff, Ophrynopus Konow and Stirocorsia Konow (Hymenoptera : Orussidae)

Abstract

The rare family Orussidae comprises the only parasitoid sawflies and are sister to the Apocrita, the latter comprising most of Hymenoptera. Because of this, their morphology and relationships have been particularly important for interpreting the morphology of and biological transitions within the order as a whole. Within the Orussidae the ophrynopines are a comparatively diverse clade with a predominantly southern hemisphere distribution. Here, a revised and expanded morphological dataset incorporating several new taxa is used to test ophrynopine relationships and provide further insights into their evolutionary history. The analyses largely corroborate previous results. The distribution pattern and the fossil record indicate that the ophrynopines radiated in the early Cenozoic in the Australasian-Oceanian and the Neotropic regions and later dispersed into the Nearctic, Eastern Palaearctic and Indomalayan regions. The South American genus Ophrella Middlekauff, 1985 is well supported as a monophyletic genus, whereas Ophrynopus Konow, 1897 is paraphyletic with respect to Stirocorsia Konow, 1897. Three new species, Ophrella eldorado Vilhelmsen, sp. nov., Ophrynopus guarani Blank, D.R. Smith & Vilhelmsen, sp. nov., and Ophrynopus rupestris Vilhelmsen, Costa & Alvarenga, sp. nov. are described. Ophrella lingulata Middlekauff, 1985 is treated as a junior synonym of Ophrella amazonica (Westwood, 1874). Stirocorsia is treated as a junior synonym of Ophrynopus. The species Ophrynopus apicalis (Togashi, 2000), Ophrynopus kohli (Konow, 1897), Ophrynopus maculipennis (F. Smith, 1859) and Ophrynopus tosensis (Tosawa & Sugihara, 1934), formerly in Stirocorsia, are transferred to Ophrynopus. Revised keys to the species of Ophrella, Ophrynopus and the genera in the ophrynopine clade are provided. In addition, Orussidae are recorded from Bolivia and French Guiana for the first time.

A new species of Ophrella Middlekauff, 1985 (Hymenoptera, Orussidae) from French Guiana

“…4C), and the position of the fore wing vein cu-a on Cu1 some distance from vein M ( Figs 4A, 6C); all these characters are unique within the ophrynopine clade. Previously diagnostic features suggested for Ophrella, e.g., the presence of flattened, leaf-shaped setae (Middlekauff 1985) and the presence of only one hind tibial apical spur (Vilhelmsen et al 2013) are not observed in O. seagi and cannot be upheld as potential autapomorphies for Ophrella. Nevertheless, the monophyly of the genus, including O. seagi, is well supported, and it is still possible to identify O. seagi correctly to Ophrella in the genus key in Vilhelmsen et al (2013).…”

“…Vilhelmsen (2003) in his cladistic treatment of the Orussidae confirmed this and added the presence of a longitudinal furrow on top of the head separating the posteriormost coronal teeth as further support for the monophyly of Ophrella. Vilhelmsen et al (2013) cited the presence of only a single short hind tibial apical spur as additional corroboration for the monophyly of Ophrella.…”

“…Vilhelmsen et al (2013) synonymized Stirocorsia Know, 1897 with Ophrynopus, but the latter remains poorly supported and difficult to circumscribe. Some subgroups within Ophrynopus are well defined and at some point it might be useful to subdivide the genus, but based on the findings of this study this is premature.…”

“…This has led to substantial changes in the taxonomy of the genus. Vilhelmsen et al (2013) described Ophrella eldorado Vilhelmsen as new and placed O. lingulata in synonymy with O. amazonica. Here, I describe a new species of Ophrella.…”

“…More than half the species occur in the Neotropical Region, but ophrynopines are also represented in the Nearctic, Australasian (Australia, New Guinea), Oceanic (Fiji, New Zealand), Oriental (Southeast Asia) and eastern Palaearctic (Japan, South Korea) regions. The ophrynopine clade probably radiated in the Tertiary (Vilhelmsen et al 2013), but the biographic history of the clade is highly complex and likely involves multiple dispersal events (Vilhelmsen 2004).…”