A new fossil family of aculeate wasp sheds light on early evolution of Apoidea (Hymenoptera)

Author(s)

Rosa, Brunno B. B. ; Melo, Gabriel A. R.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Systematic Entomology; v. 48, n. 3, p. 20-pg., 2023-05-12.

Abstract

In the present work, we describe a new fossil family of Apoidea supported by phylogenetic analyses involving both fossil and extant groups. dagger Burmasphecidae fam.n. is based on dagger Burmasphex Melo & Rosa, a genus described from Burmese amber. We include in this family the monotypic genus dagger Decasphex Zheng, Zhang & Rasnitsyn also from Burmese amber. Additionally, we describe two new genera and four new species in dagger Burmasphecidae fam. n.: dagger Burmasphex mirabilis sp.n.; dagger Simplisphex gen.n., containing S. scutellatus sp.n. and dagger S. burmensis sp.n.; and dagger Callisphex robustus gen. et sp.n. In our phylogenetic study, we extended a pre-existing matrix of morphological data and analysed it under parsimony and Bayesian inference. In the Bayesian inference analyses, the morphological dataset was partitioned under a homoplasy criterion. We postulate the first phylogenetic hypotheses for the placement of dagger Angarosphecidae based on the type species, dagger Angarosphex myrmicopterus Rasnitsyn, plus a new Burmese amber taxon, dagger A. alethes sp.n. We demonstrate that dagger Burmasphecidae fam.n. clearly belongs to Apoidea and has a sister relationship with the other representatives of the superfamily. Our results indicate that dagger Burmasphecidae fam.n. and dagger Angarosphecidae are distinct lineages, with the second clearly more derived than the first. We discuss the phylogenetic relationships of these fossil lineages with extant groups of both Apoidea and other Aculeata, and present morphological evidence for the first time supporting the Formicidae dagger Apoidea clade. Finally, we indicate some considerations about the paleoenvironment and the nature of the Burmese amber biota, suggesting an alternative hypothesis to the island endemism described in previous works. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 20/13943-4 - Paleobiogeography of Psenidae (Hymenoptera, Apoidea): investigating the relationship between Gondwana and the Eurasian amber of the Cretaceous
• Grantee: Brunno Bueno da Rosa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral