Pelecinid wasps (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Proctotrupoidea) from the Cretaceous of Russia and Mongolia

Thirteen new species referable to four genera, of which one is new, from the Cretaceous of Russia and Mongolia are established herein and assigned to the family Pelecinidae. Among the four genera, Protopelecinus gen. nov., including four new species, is referred to the subfamily Pelecininae, while Iscopinus Kozlov, including three new species, Eopelecinus Zhang, Rasnitsyn and Zhang, including five new species, and Scorpiopelecinus laetus sp. nov. are assigned to the subfamily Iscopininae. Of these new taxa, eight, namely Protopelecinus regularis, P. furtivus, Iscopinus simplex, ?I. suspectus, Eopelecinus exquisitus, E. scorpioideus, E. rudis and Scorpiopelecinus laetus, are from the Lower Cretaceous Zaza Formation of Baissa, Transbaikalia, Russia; two, E. minutus and E. fragilis, are from the basal Lower Cretaceous Tsagan-Tsab Formation of Khutel-Khara, Mongolia; two, P. dubius and P. deformis, are from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian?) of Bon Tsagan, Mongolia; and one, I. separatus, is from the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Ola Formation of Obeshchayushchiy, Russia. A key to fossil pelecinid wasps is provided and a morphological analysis shows that the Pelecinidae might be paraphyletic with respect to the Proctotrupidae. The Chinese insect fauna from both the Yixian and Laiyang formations is dominated by Eopelecinus and Sinopelecinus whereas the Siberian + Mongolian fauna from the Zaza and Tsagan-Tsab formations is dominated by Eopelecinus and Iscopinus. Hence, Eopelecinus is common to both. The differences between the two faunas are likely to be the result of geographical variation in populations.     

Minute members of Baissinae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae) from the upper Mesozoic of China and limits of the genus Manlaya Rasnitsyn, 1980

A brief review and discussion of baissine wasps of Gasteruptiidae, Hymenoptera is given. Eight fossil specimens of wasps from the Laiyang Formation in Laiyang, Shandong, China are described. One new genus, Mesepipolaea, and four new species, M. nanligezhuangica, Humiryssus specialis, H. cancellatus and H. vulgatus are established, and two new combinations are proposed: Humiryssus laiyangensis (Hong and Wang, 1990) (originally Aulocopsis laiyangensis Hong and Wang , 1990), H. oculatissimus (Rasnitsyn and Jarzembowski, 1998) (originally Manlaya oculatissima Rasnitsyn and Jarzembowski, 1998). Sinowestratia communicata Zhang and Zhang, 2000 is a junior synonym of Manlaya flexuosa (Ren et al.,1995) (originally Manlaya flexuosus Ren et al.,1995). Stratigraphic inferences from these finds are briefly discussed.     

New Cretaceous Scoliidae (Vespida=Hymenoptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain and Brazil

A new genus, Cretaproscolia, and three new species of scoliid wasps, Archaeoscolia hispanica, Cretoscolia montsecana and Cretaproscolia josai, are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Spain and Brazil. The species representing the new genus is attributed to the plesiomorphic extant subfamily Proscoliinae, while the two other new species are assigned to two previously described genera in the extinct, archaic subfamily Archaeoscoliinae. The Brazilian species is the first Mesozoic scoliidid to have been described from the New World.     

Bridging High School and Introductory Undergraduate Courses in Geographic Information Science and Technology

This article presents the findings of a study to determine the degree of consistency in what is taught and learned in high school and college-level introductory courses in geographic information science and technology (GIS&T). A content analysis identified sixteen topics that are generally representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities developed in introductory undergraduate courses. The findings were used to propose a standard college-level survey course in GIS&T that could inform future efforts to introduce more academically rigorous GIS&T coursework in high schools, such as through the Advanced Placement Program.     

Hymenoptera (wasps,bees and ants) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber: A review of the fauna

The Burmese amber assemblage of Hymenoptera with its 47 constituent families is now the richest in Cretaceous. A collection of Burmite (Burmese amber) from the Hukawng Valley, Myanmar at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences was examined, revealing that Burmite inclusions contain a very highly diverse hymenopteran fauna with as many as ten families found new for the Burmese fossil assemblage. The mid-Cretaceous hymenopteran fauna of Burmese amber is revised at the family level. A high level of the first family occurrences and endemism is demonstrated suggestive of an insular syndrome affected the mid-Cretaceous Burmese biome, as well as somewhat contradictory features in composition of the hymenopteran families there.     

俄罗斯阿尔泰-Sayan地区Aksug斑岩Cu-Mo体系的地质与地球化学特征

The Aksug deposit, located in Altay-Sayan region of Russia, is one of the largest porphyry Cu-Mo deposits in Southern Siberia. The ore-bearing porphyries of the Aksug porphyry Cu-Mo system were formed in post-collisional environment. Geochemically they belong to calk-alkaline and high K-calk-alkaline series. Rocks are characterized by enrichment of LILE and depletion of HSFE and HREE, showing the importance of subduction-related components in magma generation. Large plutonic intrusions that host porphyry systems have been formed during collision. The origin of porphyritic rocks is dominantly the mantle with lower crustal contribution. The mainly economically important Cu-Mo mineralization is closely related to a porphyry series in time and space, being emplaced towards the end of magmatic activity. Though the emplacement of plutonic and ore-bearing porphyry complexes took place in different geodynamic environments, both complexes are characterized by certain similarity in geochemical composition, alkalinity, trace element content, Sr isotopic composition. This fact evidently indicates a common deep-seated magmatic source (at the lower crust-upper mantle level). Low initial ⁸⁷ Sr/⁸⁶ Sr, sulfur isotopic characteristics and presence of PGE-Co-Ni mineralization in associated pyrite-chalcopyrite ores suggest that mantle source of chalcophile elements was of high importance in porphyry Cu-Mo mineralization of the Aksug deposit.