A new species of the family Praeaulacidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

Abstract

A new praeaulacid species, Habraulacus splendidus sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a male specimen from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This newly discovered taxon is, inter alia, characterised by its relatively low number of antennomeres (about 28) and its complex forewing venation (i.e., with both 2rs-m and 3rs-m present). Together with the recent discoveries of praeaulacid wasps from Kachin amber, this new species lets us assume that the family Praeaulacidae was well-diversified in Cretaceous forests. The subsequent decline of this family likely occurred either in the Late Cretaceous or, in a more optimistic scenario, during the Cenozoic era.