Paleoferreolina xiedensis Xu & Waichert 2025
Creators: name: Xu, Xiao-Ting
name: Waichert, Cecília
name: Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong
name: Su, Tao
name: Béthoux, Olivier
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Pompilidae
Paleoferreolina
Paleoferreolina xiedensis

description: Paleoferreolina xiedensis X.-T. Xu & C. Waichert, n. gen, n. sp.
(Fig. 4)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 13C9D73F-98E9-48A9-8E7D-0F46B66C9B73
TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype (by monotypy). China • 1♀; West China, Xizang Autonomous Region, Naqu City, Shuanghu County, Xiede Village, Xiede locality; 31°58’23”N, 88°25’42”E; Xiede section, Niubao Formation, Nima Basin; Bartonian (Eocene); 4662 m a.m.s.l.; VI.2019; XTBG exped.; XTBG.; XDA1-1911 (one side preserved).
ETYMOLOGY. — Referring to type locality of the species.
TYPE LOCALITY AND STRATIGRAPHY. — Specimen was collected at the Xiede locality (northern Kanggale Hill, central Tibetan Plateau, China); Xiede section, Niubao Formation, Nima Basin (see Zhang et al. 2022 for detailed information); Bartonian (Eocene; Fang et al. 2020; Xiong et al. 2022).
DIAGNOSIS. —In female, the third antennal segment is about 2.5× as long as wide; the head is flat and prolonged; the pronotum is prolonged with lateral margins rounded; the forewing has three submarginal cells (1R1, 1Rs and 2Rs), and the vein Cu is distinctly deflected downward at base.
DESCRIPTION
Mesurements (in mm)
Body length as preserved (from head to apex of metatrochanter) about 6.3.
Head. Compound eyes about 1.7× as long as wide (1.4 long and 0.8 wide in maximum); MID = 1.4; TFD = 2.0; FD = 1.7; third antennal segment 3.1-3.6× as long as wide (0.62- 0.65 long and 0.18-0.20 wide).
Mesosoma. About 3.9 long.
Wings. Forewing 3.2-4.1× as long as wide (7.0-7.5 long and 1.8-2.2 wide in maximum).
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Individual preserved in lateral to dorso-ventral orientation; head and mesosoma preserved; legs with mainly coxa preserved; only one of the hindwings preserved; metasoma not preserved.
Head (Fig. 4C)
Compound eyes large, with inner margin emarginate, 1.7× as long as wide; ocelli farther to each other than to compound eyes; vertex almost straight; antenna elongate, thin; third antennal segment 3.1-3.6× as long as wide.
Mesosoma
Pronotum prolonged with lateral margins rounded, division of pronotum and scutum almost inconspicuous (Fig. 4A); legs with coxae wide; propodeum separate laterally from metapleuron by carina, posterior margin rounded.
Forewing (Fig. 4D)
With 2 R 1 longer than its distance from wing tip; 2Rs cell almost as long as 1Rs; 2m-cu vein slightly bowed toward wing apex, meeting 2Rs cell 0.5-0.6× distance from base to apex of cell [i.e., length of the section from the basal posterior edge of 2Rs cell to the insertion of 2m-cu cross-vein (orange arrow on Fig. 4B) about 0.5-0.6× that of the entire posterior edge of 2Rs cell]; 2m-cu vein arising on the Cu longer than half the distance from the base of the 2M cell to the outer wing margin [i.e., section of Cu located between its insertion of 2cu-a and 2m-cu cross-veins (blue arrow onFig. 4B), longer than the section of Cu located between its insertion of 2m-cu cross-vein to its projected termination on the wing margin (blue fame arrow on Fig. 4B)]; vein Cu distinctly deflected downward at base.
Hindwing
With jugal lobe slightly shorter than half the length of Cu cell (pink arrow on Fig. 4B, E).
Coloration integument dark on head and mesosoma. Punctuation inconspicuous. Forewings hyaline, darkened in about 1/4 of the apical portion, and a dark spot at 2/3 of wing length, partially covering cell 2 R 1, 1 R 1 and 1Rs (Fig. 4B, D).
REMARKS
The specimen XDA 1-1911 is assigned to the Pompilinae based on the forewing having cell 2M deflected downward at the base, forming a posterior ‘pocket’ (‘de’ on Fig. 4D). Even though the colour pattern of its forewing is similar to that of G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp., it can be distinguished from this species by many character states, as follows: 1) the pronotum is prolonged (rather short in G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp.); 2) the third antennal segment is longer, about 3.1-3.6× as long as wide (2.8-2.9× as long as wide in G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp.); 3) the forewing is shorter, about 7.0- 7.5 mm long (8.2-9.4 mm long in G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp.); 4) the forewing has the cell 2 R 1 longer than its distance from wing tip (almost equal in G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp.); 5) the 2Rs cell is almost as long as 1Rs (it is longer than the 1Rs cell in G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp.); and 6) the hindwing has the jugal lobe slightly shorter than half the length of Cu cell (it is about 0.70-0.75× the length of Cu cell in G. orientalis n. gen, n. sp.). The specimen XDA 1- 1911 therefore indicates the occurrence of a second species of Pompilinae at Xiede locality.
The specimen resembles extant species of Ferreola Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1845 (tribe Aporini, subtribe Eoferrolina), which has a long head, somehow compressed dorsal-ventrally, a robust body with long pronotum, and three cubital cells in the forewing (Loktionov & Lelej 2017). However, other lineages of Pompilidae, such as Paraferreola Šustera, 1912 (tribe Psammoderini), Lepidocnemis Haupt, 1930 and Abernessia Arlé, 1947 (Pepsinae), and Ctenocerinae genera are known to morphologically, and probably ecologically, converge to species of Aporini (Waichert et al. 2015). For the reason mentioned above, and the fact that the specimen lacks most of the legs and metasoma, a placement of the specimen to the tribe Aporini could be considered, but is poorly substantiated. Nonetheless, the specimen differs from all these genera for lacking vertical ridges or conical processes in the posterolateral portion of propodeum. Based on the unique combination of character states mentioned above, the erection of a new genus and species is supported.
description: Published as part of Xu, Xiao-Ting, Waichert, Cecília, Deng, Wei-Yu-Dong, Su, Tao & Béthoux, Olivier, 2025, Spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) from Xiede (Eocene, central Tibetan Plateau): systematics and paleoecological implications, pp. 313-325 in Geodiversitas 47 (6) on pages 321-322, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2025v47a6, http://zenodo.org/record/15077329