Five new genera and species of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera: ichneumonidae) from the lower oligocene renova formation of Montana

Fossils provide a unique glimpse into the evolutionary history and ancient diversity of life on Earth. The study of fossil insects—paleoentomology—has only scratched the surface of exploring and documenting the rich hexapod fossil record. Vast numbers of taxa, even entire faunas, still await formal description. Therefore, documenting and describing the diversity of ancient insects through taxonomic treatments is essential to elucidate the evolutionary history of this highly speciose group of arthropods. The Renova Formation (Lower Bozeman Group) is a thick suite of Cenozoic rocks that outcrops across much of western Montana. The deposits comprising the formation range in age from Lower Eocene (36 MYA) to Lower Miocene (10 MYA) and rest unconformably atop Proterozoic basement rocks in numerous post-Laramide extensional basins throughout the region. The highly fossiliferous lacustrine shales of the Lower Oligocene Climbing Arrow Member outcrop extensively in the Upper Ruby Basin and have yielded thousands of well-preserved fossil insects and plants. Among insects, Hymenoptera are particularly abundant and diverse. Here, I describe five new genera and species of Darwin wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): Magna labrynthia gen. et sp. nov., Aperta emiliae gen. et sp. nov., Archaeomortus setifera gen. et sp. nov., Oligoextenterus excavata gen. et sp. nov., and Triorthocentrus renovensis gen. et sp. nov. The new taxa are compared to other fossil and extant Ichneumonidae and their paleoenvironmental, paleoecological, and paleoclimatological implications discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Entomology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Tamarri, Jacob

Contributors dc:contributor

• Heads, Sam W
• Berenbaum, May
• Suarez, Andrew

• Paleoentomology
• Fossils
• Darwin Wasps

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Jacob Tamarri

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127146

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F127146