The Wharton Lab

Austropion Gauld, 1984: 225-228. Type species: Austropion mandibularis Gauld, 1984. Monobasic and original designation.

There is but one species, the type species, known from the single female specimen figured on this page. Biology is unknown. The holotype (American Entomological Institute) was collected in Queensland, Australia.

Face distinctly punctate in type species. Inner margins of eyes very weakly diverging (Fig. 2); not emarginate. Clypeus flat to weakly convex in profile with apical margin not or only very weakly protruding; in frontal view apical margin very weakly convex, nearly truncate (Fig. 2). Epistomal sulcus not apparent, clypeus not distinctly separated from face. Mandible not excavated basally; strongly curved (Fig. 2); dorsal tooth distinctly longer than ventral tooth. Labial and maxillary palps shorter than head height. First flagellomere lacking tyloid. Diameter of lateral ocellus less than distance from ocellus to eye (Fig. 3). Occipital carinae complete dorsally (Fig. 4), weak to absent ventrally. Epomia present but not well differentiated from surrounding sculpture (Fig. 4). Notaulus distinctly impressed at least to level of tegula (Fig. 4). Dorsal end of epicnemial carinae extending to anterior edge of mesopleuron (Fig. 4); sternaulus completely absent. Pleural carina at least partly developed anteriorad spiracle. Propodeum areolate, with complete complement of carinae (Figs. 5, 6); all carinae distinctly elevated; petiolar area short. Hind tibial spurs short, as in Fig. 1. Tarsal claws not pectinate. Fore wing (Fig. 1) stigma broad, with Rs+2r arising near middle of stigma; areolet present, petiolate in holotype. Hind wing with Cu1 distinctly longer than 1 cu-a. First metasomal tergite (T1: Figs 7, 8) gradually enlarged from base to apex, rugulose, dorsal profile weakly arched; glymma broad, distinct, basal; dorsal median carinae more or less parallel-sided, extending as strongly elevated ridges at least 0.8 times length of petiole; dorsal lateral carinae sharp, extending from base to apex; S1 short, extending nearly to level of T1 spiracle (Fig. 8). Ovipositor (Fig. 9) straight, not up-curved, dorsal valve with distinct node creating impression of broad, subapical notch; ovipositor sheath slender, not strongly protruding beyond apex of metasoma.

This description is based largely on Gauld (1984), supplemented by data taken from Figs. 1-9.

This page was assembled by Bob Wharton as part of a larger collaborative effort on the genera of Ctenopelmatinae. Page last updated April, 2015.

This work would not have been possible without the groundwork provided by Ian Gauld’s study of the Australian and Costa Rican faunas, and we are particularly grateful for his assistance in many aspects of this study. We also thank the following curators for extended loans of the material used for this study: David Wahl of the American Entomological Institute and Andy Bennett of the Canadian National Collection. We also thank David Wahl for useful feedback throughout our study. Matt Yoder provided considerable assistance with databasing issues, and our use of PURLs (http://purl.oclc.org) in this regard follows the example of their use in publications by Norm Johnson. Caitlin Nessner and in particular Jacques Dubois graciously assisted us with image processing, formatting, and literature retrieval. This study was supported by the National Science Foundation’s PEET program under Grant No. DEB 0328922 and associated REU supplement nos DEB 0723663 and 0923134.

This material is based upon work at Texas A&M University supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number DEB 0328922 with REU supplements DEB 0723663 and 0923134. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.