New evanioid wasps (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae; Praeaulacidae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

Abstract

Two evanioid wasps are described from specimens entrapped in Kachin amber. The first species, Sinuevania pouilloni sp. nov., allows a revision of the diagnosis of the genus Sinuevania. The complex forewing venation (plesiomorphy) of this new species confirms that the genus Sinuevania belongs to the stem group of the family Evaniidae. Together with the new praeaulacine wasp Praegastrinus edithae gen. et sp. nov., Sinuevania pouilloni sp. nov. shows that the diversity of the superfamily Evanioidea in the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber remains underestimated. New fossils of evaniid wasps from the Albo-Cenomanian amber of Charente-Maritime (France) are expected to extend the diversity and distribution of several genera. Based on the recent discovery, but not yet published, of new praeaulacid specimens from the mid-Cretaceous, we propose reclassifying Mesevania within the Praeaulacidae (Praeaulacinae).