One new genus and two new species, Ilerdosphex wenzae RASNITSYN n.gen. and n.sp. and Pompilopterus montsecensis RASNITSYN n.sp., are described in the digger wasp subfamily Angarosphecinae (Sphecidae) from the Lower Cretaceous (possibly Barremian) lithographic limestones of the La Pedrera de Meià fossil site in the Montsec Range, NE Spain

Rasnitsyn, A. P.

RASNITSYN, A.P.

Revistes CientÃ­fiques de la Universitat de Barcelona

English

New genus and two new species of the Lower Cretaceous Digger Wasp from Spain (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Angarosphecinae)

Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

55
New genus and two new species
of the Lo wer Cretaceous Digger Wasps from Spain
(Hymenoptera: Sphecidae , Angarosphecinae)
A.P. RASNITSYN
Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 117647, Russia. E-mail: rasna@online.ru
ACTA GEOLOGICA HISPANICA,v. 35 (2000),nº 1-2,p. 55-58
A B S T R AC T
One new genus and two new species, I l e rdosphex we n z a e RASNITSYN n.gen. and n.sp. and Pompilopterus montsecensis R A S-
NITSYN n.sp., are described in the digger wasp subfa m i ly A n garosphecinae (Sphecidae) from the Lower Cretaceous (possibly Bar-
remian) lithographic limestones of the La Pedrera de Meià fossil site in the Montsec Range, NE Spain.
Key wo rd s : Insecta. Hymenoptera. Sphecidae. Cretaceous. n. gen., n. sp. Spain.
I N T RO D U C T I O N
Digger wasps of the subfa m i ly A n garosphecinae we r e
a bundant in the Early Cretaceous of various parts of Eura-
sia (Evans, 1969; Rasnitsyn, 1975, 1986, 1990; Hong,
1984; Zhang, 1985, 1992; Jarzembowski, 1991; A n s o rg e ,
1993; Ren, 1995; Rasnitsyn et al., 1998, 1999) and South
America (Darling and Sharkey, 1990). This is part i c u l a r-
ly true for the Spanish insect assemblage from Sierra del
Montsec in Lleida Province (Ansorge, 1993; Rasnitsyn
and A n s o rge, 2000; Rasnitsyn and Mart í n e z - D e l c l ò s ,
2000). Fo l l owing are descriptions of two interesting fos-
sils kept at the Laboratoire de Pa l é o n t o l ogie, Muséum
National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. This material wa s
collected by Dr. Sylvie Wenz of the above Lab in the
l i t h ographic limestones from La Pedrera de Meià fossil
site located in the Montsec Range, central Lleida
P r ovince, 5 km W of Santa Maria de Meià, possibly of
B a rremian age (Martín-Closas and López-Morón, 1995).
S Y S T E M ATIC PA L A E O N TO L O G Y
C l a s s : Insecta LINNAEUS, 1758
O rd e r : Vespida LAICHARTING, 1871
(= Hymenoptera LINNAEUS, 1758)
Fa m i ly : Sphecidae LATREILLE, 1802
S u b f a m i ly : A n garosphecinae RASNITSYN, 1975
GENUS I l e rd o s p h e xRASNITSYN n.gen.
Type species: I. we n z a e n.sp. Lower Cretaceous of
Spain. 
Name derivation: Ilerda, the Roman name of the city
and province in Spain, now known as Lleida or Lérida,
and S p h e x L. gender masculine.
D i ag n o s i s : N ew genus differs from other Cretaceous
Sphecidae in having cell 2rm petiolate; from the Ceno-
56
Figure 1. 1.- I l e rdosphex we n z a e n.gen., n.sp., holotype; 2.- Pompilopterus montsecensis n.sp., holotype. Photo D. Serrette (MNHN, Pa r i s ) .
57
zoic Sphecidae with petiolate 2rm in having cells 2rm and
1mcu not overlapping, 2m-cu present and received by cell
3 rm, and 3r-m present. 
D e s c r i p t i o n : (based on the male sex only). Dorsal tho-
racic contour distinctly incised at boundary between pro-
and mesonotum, smoothly arching further backwa r d, with
no angulation between propodeal dorsum and slope.
Pronotum about half as long as mesonotum, propodeum
with dorsal surface moderately or fa i r ly long, its transi-
tion to slope smoothly rounded, mesopleuron with scrobal
suture subhorizontal, percurrent. Fo r ewing with marg i n a l
cell rounded apically, leaving RS distant of wing fore
m a rgin, crossvein 2r-rs shorter than pterostigmal width,
2 r-m reaching RS before 2r-rs (cell 2rm petiolate), 3r- m
o blique, arching, 1m-cu received by cell 1+2r, 2m-cu - by
cell 3r-m, cu-a before fork M + Cu. Legs with short
trochantellus (unknown for hind leg). Metasoma not peti-
olate, gonostyles needle-like slender and sharp .
C o m p o s i t i o n : Type species.
Taxonomic position: N ew genus lacks specif i c
s y n a p o m o rphies of any sphecid subfa m i ly. This is the rea-
son to attribute the genus to the paraphyletic subfa m i ly
A n garosphecinae embracing majority of the Lower Cre-
taceous sphecid wa s p s .
I l e rdosphex we n z a e RASNITSYN n.sp.
Figure 1.1
Derivation of name: The collector, Dr Sylvie We n z ,
from Pa r i s .
D e s c r i p t i o n : Female unknown. Male (Fig. 1.1). Head,
thorax, and matasomal base moderately dark, flagellum
dark, legs and metasoma (except base) moderately pale,
metasomal tergum 2 with two sublateral pale spots. A n-
tenna longer than head and thorax combined, mounted
atop of boss, scape subcylindrical, with length 2.5 times
width, pedicel narr ower than scape, with length 1.5 times
width, flagellomeres still narr owe r, of subequal width bu t
becoming shorter toward apex, 1st flagellomere longer
than scape and pedicel combined, penultimate flagellom-
ere slightly shorter than scape, with length ca. 5 times
width. Head not inflated, with eye ovoid. Length of some
s egments of (labial?) palp 1.5 to 2 times width. Pronotum
s h o rter centrally than eye wide, its dorsal contour concave
before middle and bulging in its rear 0.3. Fo r ewing with
pterostigma widest beyond midlength, near twice as long
as R between basal vein and pterostigma. Cell 2rm with
petiole length almost 0.3 cell height, 3r-m arching in rear
0.5, distant from cell 3r apex for 0.8 its length, distant
from 2m-cu for full its length, cu-a distant from M + Cu
fork for almost half its length. Fore femur as long as eye
high, 1.6 times as long as trochanter and trochantellus
c o m b i n e d, tapering toward apex. Fore tibia as long as fe-
m u r, with maximum hight subequal to femoral subapical
height. Tarsus ca. 1.5 times as long as tibia, with basitar-
sus shorter than three following tarsomeres combined,
penultimate tarsomere ca. 2.5 times as long as high. Mid
f e m u r, tibia and, possibly, trochanter as long as their fore
c o u n t e rp a rts. Metasoma widest at tergum 2, roundly nar-
r owed toward base and ve ry gr a d u a l ly toward apex. Gen-
ital claspers needle-like elongate, apparently as long as
scape and pedicel combined. Body length ca. 16 mm, fore
wing length (measured from wing base to apex of cell 3r)
ca. 8 mm.
Material examined: Holotype male MNHN-LP-S.
11456 a, b; the La Pedrera de Meià fossil site, Montsec
Range, central Lleida Province, Spain; Lower Cretaceous
( p o s s i bly Barremian). 
GENUS Po m p i l o p t e r u sRASNITSYN 1975
Pompilopterus montsecensisRASNITSYN n.sp.
Figure 1.2
Derivation of name: montsecensis, the Latin adjective
for the Montsec Range in NE Spain.
D i ag n o s i s : In the published key (Rasnitsyn et al,
1998) the new species runs toward P. ciliatus R A S N I T-
SYN but differs from that in having pterostigma narr ow
b a s a l ly and RS with apical abscissa short e r. Differs from
all other Po m p i l o p t e r u s in longer forewing. 
D e s c r i p t i o n : Male unknown. Female (Fig. 1.2).
Ground color dark, legs moderately dark. Scape almost
twice as long as thick, 1.5 times as thick as flagellum
b a s a l ly, pedicel shorter than wide. Flagellum tapering to-
ward apex, flagellomeres almost to full 3 times as long as
wide, gr a d u a l ly becoming smaller toward apex, so as fla-
gellomere 8 about 0.7 times as long as flagellomere 1.
Fo r ewing with pterostigma widest slightly beyond mid-
length, wider than 2r-rs long, about as long as R betwe e n
basal vein and pterostigma; basal vein straight, RS almost
straight between RS+M and 2r-rs and between 2r-m and
3 r-m. Cell 2rm shorter than 1+2r and 3rm, receiving 1m-
cu before its midlength, 2r-m and 3r-m both oblique and
arching, 3r-m length two times its distance to cell 3r apex .
Cell 3rm receiving 2m-cu in its basal third; cu-a slightly
b eyond M + Cu fork. Hind wing with Cu between M + Cu
fork and cu-a shorter than r-m, cu-a almost as long as RS
before r-m, subparallel to M+Cu. Legs with trochantelli
t r i a n g u l a r, mid trochanter shorter than long, hind (?) tibia
with short, slender spur and several strong spines apical-
ly, no distinct spines apparent on tibial side surface. Meta-
somal base rounded, segment 1 longest, segments 2-5, as
p r e s e rve d, of subequal height. Te rgum 6 seemingly with
strong dorsal or lateral tooth, unless being formed by bro-
ken tergum margin. Sting more or less straight, sheath
straight, narr ow, tapering toward apex, seemingly entire.
Body length ca. 16 mm, fore wing length 9.5 mm (9.0
mm from wing base to apex of cell 3r).
Material examined: Holotype female MNHN-LP-B.
848826 a, b; the La Pedrera de Meià fossil site, Montsec
Range, central Lleida Province, Spain; Lower Cretaceous
( p o s s i bly Barr e m i a n ) .
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S
D r. André Nel of Laboratoire d’Entomologie, Muséum Na-
tional d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France, made the material
ava i l a ble for study and provides the information on its origin.
D r. Xavier Martínez-Delclòs, Departament d’Estratigr a fia i Pa-
l e o n t o l ogia, Faculty of Geolog y, Univ. Barcelona, Spain, for
p r oviding the information concerning the fossil locality and
source deposits. Dr. Wojciech J. Pulawski of the Department of
E n t o m o l og y, California A c a d e my of Sciences, San Fr a n c i s c o ,
USA made important suggestion on the format and content of
the manuscript.
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58


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New genus and two new species of the Lower Cretaceous Digger Wasp from Spain (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Angarosphecinae)

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New genus and two new species of the Lower Cretaceous Digger Wasp from Spain (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae: Angarosphecinae)

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