Morphological analysis and taxonomic review of the Scotaena Klug, 1810 (Hymenoptera, Tiphiidae, Thynninae) from the Natural History Museum

• Grant number: 16/07970-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: July 30, 2016
• End date: September 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Barbosa Noll
• Grantee: Fernando Henrique Carnimeo
• Supervisor: Gavin Roy Broad
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências, Letras e Ciências Exatas (IBILCE). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José do Rio Preto. São José do Rio Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Natural History Museum, London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/06280-0 - A cladistic analysis and distribution of the Scotaena Klug species (Hymenoptera, Vespoidea, Tiphiidae, Thynninae), BP.MS

Abstract

Thynninae is the most diverse subfamily of Tiphiidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) and is present in the Neotropical and Australasian regions. It is divided in four tribes, of which Scotaenini comprehend seven exclusively neotropical genera, but a recent cladistic analysis did not recover the monophyly of the group, as well as Scotaena Klug, the type-genus of Scotaenini. The species of Scotaena have passed through several taxonomic changes since were described, without any cladistic analysis to support it, and the absence of identification keys for species level makes it even more difficult. The genus currently comprises 15 recognized species, of which eight are deposited in the Hymenoptera collection of the Natural History Museum, making it the more suitable collection to be consulted. Through the characterization of morphological structures of dry fixed specimens, a cladistic analysis will be carried out to understand which species really belong to Scotaena, and then a species level identification key can be produced to the genus. The main observations will be performed with male individuals, but available female will be also analyzed and identified if possible, due to the rarity of this material. The results will contribute to a better understanding of Scotaena and will make further studies more feasible for the whole South-American Thynninae.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CARNIMEO, FERNANDO HENRIQUE; NOLL, FERNANDO BARBOSA. On the dumping ground genus Scotaena Klug, 1810 (Hymenoptera: Tiphiidae: Thynninae): Phylogeny, taxonomy and geographic distribution. Zootaxa, v. 4399, n. 4, p. 451-490, MAR 23 2018. (16/07970-3, 15/06280-0)