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A New Fossil Bee from the Oligo-Miocene Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera:Halictidae) Ms Engel

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A New Fossil Bee from the Oligo-Miocene Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera:Halictidae) Ms Engel A new fossil bee from the Oligo-Miocene Dominican amber (Hymenoptera:Halictidae) Ms Engel To cite this version: Ms Engel. A new fossil bee from the Oligo-Miocene Dominican amber (Hymenoptera:Halictidae). Apidologie, Springer Verlag, 1997, 28 (2), pp.97-102. hal-00891408 HAL Id: hal-00891408 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00891408 Submitted on 1 Jan 1997 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Original article A new fossil bee from the Oligo-Miocene Dominican amber (Hymenoptera:Halictidae) MS Engel Department of Entomology, Comstock Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA (Received 19 February 1997; accepted 11 April 1997) Summary — A new species of fossil bee, Oligochlora grimaldii n.sp, is described and figured. The specimen is preserved in Oligo-Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic. The genus Oligochlora is not represented among the modern fauna and was originally based on two species, also from Dominican amber inclusions. O grimaldii generally agrees with the original generic definition except in the structure of the pronotal lateral angle which is slightly acute. A revised diagnosis for the genus is given in order to accommodate this specimen and a key is presented to its included species. Augochlorini / bee fossil / Halictinae / paleontology / systematics INTRODUCTION ural History. The specimen is a representa- tive of the genus Oligochlora Engel, an The bee fauna of the Dominican amber has extinct member of the tribe Augochlorini. recently received increased attention (Poinar, The genus was originally proposed on the 1994; Engel, 1995, 1996; Michener and basis of two species, Oligochlora eickworti Poinar, 1996; Rozen, 1996). There are cur- Engel and O micheneri Engel. The species rently seven bee species described from presented herein, while being representa- Dominican amber inclusions and of these, tive of this genus, has one feature slightly four are from the subfamily Halictinae. The incongruent with the generic diagnosis as halictines were unknown from amber inclu- it was originally formulated. In light of the sions until 3 aside years ago (Poinar, 1994), new information this species provides, the from one dubious Baltic amber specimen genus is newly diagnosed with this charac- listed by Bachofen-Echt (1949) as belonging ter, the pronotal lateral angle, revised. The to the Halictus. genus age of the Dominican amber deposits is dis- Herein I present the description of a fifth cussed by Grimaldi ( 1995) while the apoid halictine species recently discovered by fauna of these deposits is reviewed by Mich- Grimaldi, of the American Museum of Nat- ener and Poinar (1996). MATERIALS AND METHODS Key to the species of Oligochlora Measurements were made using an ocular 1. Pronotal lateral angle obtuse; propodeal micrometer on a WILD-M5a microscope and triangle glabrous and shining, without striae. should be considered since the approximate opti- eickworti Engel mal angle for measuring was not always achiev- able through the amber. The following abbrevi- — Pronotal lateral angle acute to orthogonal; ations are used in the descriptions for granular, not shining, morphological structures: F, flagellomere; S, propodeal triangle with or without weak basal striae. sternum; T, tergum. A brief generic diagnosis is given incorporating new information and rele- 2. Pronotal lateral angle acute, lateral ridge vant characters for the recognition of the genus carinate; propodeal triangle without basal from other amber halictine A more thor- genera. striae; Sc+R heavily sclerotized and black, ough description can be found in Engel (1996). Format for the specific description follows that of remainder of wing veins brown; postgena Engel (1995), while morphological terminology punctate. that of Michener and Eickwort follows (1944) grimaldii new species (1969). — Pronotal lateral angle orthogonal, lateral ridge rounded; propodeal triangle with basal SYSTEMATICS striae; Sc+R sclerotized and colored as other wing veins; postgena impunctate and gran- Genus Oligochlora Engel ular. micheneri Engel Oligochlora Engel, 1996, J Kans Entomol 69 336. Soc, suppl (1997), Oligochlora grimaldii Engel, new species Type species: Oligochlora eickworti Engel, (fig 1) 1996 (original designation). Description Brief Diagnosis Female (male unknown), total body length Female (male unknown), epistomal sulcus approximately 7.2 mm; approximate fore forming obtuse angle. Preoccipital ridge wing length 4.3 mm. Head length 1.7 mm; 1.4 maximum rounded. Compound eyes bare. Mouthparts length of compound eye mm; width of 0.5 distance not greatly elongated or narrowed. Hypos- compound eye mm; tomal ridge carinate, anterior angle rounded, from compound eye to lateral ocellus 0.26 carina slightly protruding beyond posterior mm; maximum width of gena 0.45 mm. border of head. Pronotal lateral angle vari- Scape length 0.82 mm, reaching back able (obtuse to acute), not strongly produced beyond lateral ocellus; pedicel about as long anteriorly; dorsal ridge carinate; lateral ridge as wide, as long as F1; F1 as long as wide variable (carinate to rounded). Mesoscutum and slightly longer than F2; following flag- broadly rounded anteriorly. Marginal cell ellomeres each about as wide as long, each apex truncated and feebly appendiculate. slightly longer than preceding flagellom- Anterior basitarsal brush present. Inner hind eres; F 10 longer than wide. Maxillary palpi tibial spur pectinate. Basitibial plate small, extending posteriorly to just over half of sub-triangular, anterior border not well premental length. Median and parapsidal defined. Penicillus present and set forth on lines of mesoscutum strongly impressed. a short distal process extending just beyond Scutellum longer than individual lengths of juncture between basitarsus and following metanotum and propodeal triangle; tarsomere. propodeal triangle longer than metanotum. Basal vein distad of cu-a crossvein by two tures, integument shining. Postgena with times vein width; Sc+R heavily sclerotized strong punctures separated by a puncture and black, remainder of wing veins brown; width or less, integument otherwise smooth second submarginal cell not narrowed ante- and weakly shining. Mesosoma metallic- riorly; wings hyaline. Strigular concavity green and shining, except at pronotal lobe of antenna cleaner as as shallow; malus long where it is light brown with a patch of metal- with a series of on velum, minute teeth inner lic green highlights. Pronotum weakly gran- surface. Inner hind tibial spur with at least ular. Mesoscutum strongly granular with three visible not the teeth, including apex shallow punctures on borders, becoming as a tooth. weaker and disappearing by central disc. Mandible brown. Head metallic green. Tegula brown and smooth. Scutellum with Clypeal and supraclypeal surfaces not minute punctures separated by a puncture clearly visible, apparently imbricate with width or less; integument otherwise imbri- scattered weak punctures; clypeal apex cate and shining. Metanotum granular, apparently black and not metallic, basal half integument shining. Pre-episternum granu- and supraclypeal area colored as rest of lar with scattered shallow punctures. head. Face strongly granular and shining; Hypoepimeron with minute punctures sep- vertex weakly granular. Gena imbricate with arated by less than a puncture width, integu- a few widely scattered, minute, weak punc- ment between granular. Mesepisternum anteriorly with shallow punctures and gran- ble. Sterna with scattered long simple hairs ular as on pre-episternum; posteriorly turn- (visible on S1-3). ing into minute punctures as on hypoepimeron; ventrally both giving way Material to granular integument without punctures. Type Metepisternum dorsally with a few weak transverse striae, medially and ventrally Holotype: female, Oligo-Miocene Domini- granular. Legs brown with scattered, strong can amber, specimen number DR-14-839 metallic green highlights on outer surfaces, (fig 1), deposited in the Department of Ento- except for tarsi which lack any such high- mology, American Museum of Natural His- lights. Propodeal triangle strongly granular, tory, New York, NY, USA. without striae, integument not shining; dor- sal and lateral ridges rounded; propodeal lateral surface strongly granular; posterior Preservation surface apparently the same only weaker (not easily visible). Terga and sterna imbri- The bee is in fairly good condition. The cate and brown; terga with strong metallic body is linearly extended with the head green highlights at least on lateral surfaces thrust forward, exposing its undersurface, (dorsally not visible). and the metasoma only slightly angling Face with scattered simple hairs, hairs downward. The right anterior end of the bee longer on clypeus and lower half of face is not visible from the side as the combina- than those above. Similar hairs on vertex tion of a fracture plane and Schimmel (a and gena. Postgena with sparse long sim- whitish mold) obscures this view. Likewise, ple hairs, those on posterior border of head
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