Mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar reveals a rich diversity of extinct scolebythid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea)

In the present contribution we revise the fauna of the wasp family Scolebythidae found in mid Cretaceous amber from Myanmar, with the following new taxa being proposed: tAcanthabythus exilispineus gen. et sp. nov., tArcapenesia compacta gen. et sp. nov., tBurmapenesia gen. nov., containing tB. iridescens sp. nov. and tB. longicephala sp. nov., tCephalobythus gen. nov., containing tC. clypeatus sp. nov., tC. deformis sp. nov., tC. gladiator sp. nov., and tC. simplex sp. nov., tCretopsenella spinifera gen. nov. et sp. nov., tGnathapenesia burmensis gen. nov. et sp. nov., and tRhynchopsenella gen. nov., containing tR. argentea sp. nov., tR. bicarinata sp. nov., and tR. diaphana sp. nov. We also remove tNadezhdabythus burmensis Zhang et al. 2020 from the family and provide a genus-level key for Burmese amber Scolebythidae. The deposit now includes seven genera of Scolebythidae, all new to science, including thirteen new species, and represent the first legitimate records of the family in Burmese amber. The presence of the family in Burmese amber supports the prevalence of tropical forests in the West Burma block by that time, where the family was relatively diverse in comparison to the present-day fauna. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, the fauna of the wasp family Scolebythidae found in mid Cretaceous amber from Myanmar was revised. Multiple new taxa were proposed, and a genus-level key for Burmese amber Scolebythidae was provided. This represents the first legitimate records of the family in Burmese amber, supporting the prevalence of tropical forests in the West Burma block during that time.