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Issue: Vol. 8 No. 1: February 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-02-28
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.8.1.10
Page range: 89-95
Abstract views: 146
PDF downloaded: 3

Discovery of a new anaxyelid wasp (Hymenoptera: Anaxyelidae) in mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber

Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie, Paris (CR2P), MNHN – CNRS – Sorbonne Université, Paris, France; The Kyushu University Museum, 6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan
Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK
Entomological Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Albian-Cenomanian Diversity Fossil insect Syntexinae Symphyta Hymenoptera Anaxyelidae

Abstract

The family Anaxyelidae, known primarily from the fossil record, consists of two subfamilies—Syntexinae, and Anaxyelinae—spanning from the Middle Jurassic to the present. Among the latter, Syntexinae are mostly represented by fossil taxa from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, with Syntexis being the only extant genus, and no known Cenozoic occurrences. In this study, we describe a new genus and species of Syntexinae, Deresyntexis bethouxi gen. et sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. Although this discovery does not resolve existing diversity gaps, the well-preserved specimen provides valuable insights into the evolutionary traits and adaptations of Syntexinae during the Cretaceous. The unique morphology of the specimen, distinct from previously described genera, contributes to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary history and morphological diversity of the family.

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