Redescription and phylogenetic placement of the Cretaceous wasp Parviformosus wohlrabeae (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupomorpha)
Abstrakt
The Early Cretaceous fossil Parviformosus wohlrabeae Barling et al., 2013, has been described as the oldest known member of the chalcidoid family Pteromalidae. However, its phylogenetic placement has raised doubts, highlighting the necessity for a proper revision.
A redescription as well as a re-interpretation of morphological characters is presented here and differences to the original description of Barling et al. (2013) are discussed. Phylogenetic placement of P. wohlrabeae is critically examined.
We did not find any synapomorphies shared with Chalcidoidea nor any other superfamily and therefore place the fossil as Proctotrupomorpha incertae sedis. Despite its unclear phylogenetic position, P. wohlrabeae remains a significant fossil as it provides a very rare example of a member of Proctotrupomorpha from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil.