Serphitidae Explained

Serphitidae is a family of microscopic parasitic wasps known from the Cretaceous period.

Taxonomy

This family was described in 1937 by the American entomologist Charles Thomas Brues to classify a fossil insect caught in an amber piece from Canada. The species was named Serphites paradoxus. After that, more genera were described and included in this family, like Archaeromma and Distylopus by the Japanese entomologist Hiroshi Yoshimoto in 1975, from fossils also found in Canadian amber, and Aposerphites, Microserphites and new species of Serphites in 1979 by the Russian entomologist Mikhail Vasilievich Kozlov and Alexandr Rasnitsyn, from Siberian amber.^[1] Serphitidae is placed with another extinct family, Archaeoserphitidae as members of the superfamily Serphitoidea, Serphitoidea in turn is the sister group of the superfamily Mymarommatoidea, the only living family of which is Mymarommatidae. The clade containing both superfamilies is named Bipetiolarida, which is placed within the Proctotrupomorpha.

• Microserphitinae ^[2]
  • Microserphites ^[3]
    • †Microserphites parvulus - Cenomanian, Taimyr Amber, Russia
    • †Microserphites soplaensis - Early Albian, Spanish amber (El Soplao Amber), Las Penosas Formation, Spain^[4]
    • Microserphites libanensis Rasnitsyn et al. 2022 Barremian, Lebanese amber
• Leptoserphites Rasnitsyn et al. 2022 Barremian, Lebanese amber
  • Leptoserphites pabloi Rasnitsyn et al. 2022 Barremian, Lebanese amber
  • Leptoserphites irae Rasnitsyn et al. 2022 Barremian, Lebanese amber
• Serphitinae ^[5]
  • Aposerphites
    • †Aposerphites angustus - Upper Albian, Álava amber, Escucha Formation, Spain
    • †Aposerphites solox - Cenomanian, Taimyr Amber, Russia
  • Burserphites ^[6]
    • †Burserphites applanatus - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Burserphites myanmarensis - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
  • Jubaserphites ^[7]
    • †Jubaserphites ethani - Upper Campanian, Canadian amber, Grassy Lake locality, Canada
  • Mesoserphites
    • †Mesoserphites annulus - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Mesoserphites engeli - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Mesoserphites giganteus - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Mesoserphites scutatus - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Mesoserphites viraneacapitis - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
  • Serphites
    • †Serphites bruesi - Campanian, Canadian amber, Canada
    • †Serphites dux - Cenomanian, Taimyr amber, Russia
    • †Serphites fannyae - Turonian, Vendée amber, France^[8]
    • †Serphites gigas - Cenomanian, Taimyr amber, Russia
    • †Serphites hynemani - Campanian, Canadian amber, Canada
    • †Serphites kuzminae - Campanian, Canadian amber, Canada
    • †Serphites lamiak - Upper Albian, Álava amber, Escucha Formation, Spain
    • †Serphites naveskinae - Turonian, New Jersey amber, United States
    • †Serphites paradoxus - Campanian, Canadian amber, Canada
    • †Serphites pygmaeus - Campanian, Canadian amber, Canada
    • †Serphites raritanensis - Turonian, New Jersey Amber, United States
    • †Serphites silban - Upper Albian, San Just amber, Escucha Formation, Spain
  • Buserphites Herbert & McKellar, 2022 Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar,
    • B. applanatus Herbert & McKellar, 2022
    • B. myanmarensis Herbert & McKellar, 2022
  • Mesoserphites Herbert & McKellar, 2022 Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar,
    • M. annulus Herbert & McKellar, 2022
    • M. giganteus Herbert & McKellar, 2022
    • M. engeli Herbert & McKellar, 2022
    • M. scutatus Herbert & McKellar, 2022
    • M. viraneacapiti Herbert & McKellar, 2022
• Supraserphitinae ^[9]
  • Supraserphites
    • †Supraserphites draculi - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Supraserphites sidorchukae - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Supraserphites margritae Rasnitsyn & Öhm-Kühnle, 2020 - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar
    • †Supraserphites vorontsovi Rasnitsyn & Öhm-Kühnle, 2020 - Cenomanian, Burmese amber, Myanmar

Notes and References

1. Book: George O. Poinar. Life in amber. Stanford University Press. 1992. 350. 0804720010. 13 August 2010.
2. Engel. Michael S.. 2015-12-30. A new family of primitive serphitoid wasps in Lebanese amber (Hymenoptera: Serphitoidea). Novitates Paleoentomologicae. 13. 1. 10.17161/np.v0i13.5064. 2329-5880. free. 1808/20608. free.
3. M. A. Kozlov and A. P. Rasnitsyn. 1979. Ob ob'yeme semeystva Serphitidae (Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea). Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 57:402-416
4. Ortega-Blanco. Jaime. Delclòs. Xavier. Peñalver. Enrique. Engel. Michael S.. April 2011. Serphitid wasps in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain (Hymenoptera: Serphitidae). Cretaceous Research. en. 32. 2. 143–154. 10.1016/j.cretres.2010.11.004.
5. C. T. Brues. 1937. Superfamilies Ichneumonoidea, Serphoidea, and Chalcidoidea, in Insects and arachnids from Canadian amber. University of Toronto Studies in Geology 40:27-44
6. Herbert. Mélanie C.M.. McKellar. Ryan C.. 30 October 2021. New genera Buserphites and Mesoserphites (Hymenoptera: Serphitidae) from mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar.. Cretaceous Research. 130 . 105025 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105025 . 240331883 . 0195-6671 .
7. McKellar . R.. Engel . M. . 2010-12-01. The serphitid wasps (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupo-morpha: Serphitoidea) of Canadian Cretaceous amber. Systematic Entomology. 36. 1. 192–208. 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00559.x. 84385750. 0307-6970.
8. 2014-12-01. The extinct wasp family Serphitidae in Late Cretaceous Vendean amber (Hymenoptera). Paleontological Contributions. 10.17161/pc.1808.15990. 1946-0279. free.
9. Rasnitsyn. Alexandr P.. Öhm-Kühnle. Christoph. July 2019. New serphitoid wasp Supraserphites draculi gen. et sp. nov. in Burmese amber (Hymenoptera, Serphitidae: Supraserphitinae). Cretaceous Research. 99. 46–50. 10.1016/j.cretres.2018.12.006. 135340208 . 0195-6671.