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.     

New Pelecinid Wasps (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupoidea: Pelecinidae) from the Yixian Formation of Western Liaoning, China

Three well-preserved fossil Pelecinids from the Late Mesozoic Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China are described and assigned to two new species, Eopelecinus huangi sp. nov. and Eopelecinus tumidus sp. nov. in Eopelecinus Zhang, Rasnitsyn and Zhang, 2002. As of now, 17 species have been included in this genus, which is the most diverse in the Pelecinidae family. With new information and characters obtained from these new specimens, the diagnosis of Eopelecinus Zhang, Rasnitsyn and Zhang, 2002 is emended.