Leipula Townes, 1970
Taxonomic History / Nomenclature
Leipula Townes, 1970: 112. Type species: Leipula lata Townes, 1970. Original designation.
Remarks
There are only two described species: Leipula angusta Townes, 1970 and the type species Leipula lata Townes, 1970. The former was described from Japan, the latter from Korea.
Diagnosis and Relationships
Leipula is defined on the basis of the lack of a thyridium on the second metasomal tergite. Townes, 1970: 112 states that the thyridium is present in the other genera of Mesoleiini. Townes, 1970: 112 also mentioned a “weak basolateral angle above the glymma” as an unusual feature found in Leipula, but did not describe this feature further.
I have not examined members of this genus and the information here is therefore taken directly from Townes (1970: 105-108, 112-113, 251). In addition to the absence of a thyridium, the fore wing areolet is present, hind wing CU1 is distinctly longer tha 1cu-a, and the ventral tooth of the mandible is slightly longer than the dorsal tooth in figure 104 of Townes (1970) but given as teeth equal in the description. The clypeus is broad to very broad (varying between the two described species), with the ventral margin broadly truncate medially (with lateral margins angled dorsally), or more evenly convex. It is difficult to tell from the figure whether the apical margin is blunt or sharp. The notaulus is weak, the epicnemial carina is incomplete dorsally, not reaching the anterior margin of the mesopleuron, and the mesopleuron is polished and distinctly punctate. Propodeal carinae are typical for mesoleiines, with a broad, well-delimited, hemispherical petiolar area, irregular median longitudinal carinae, and fairly distinct lateral longitudinal carinae. Hind tibial spurs are about half the length of the hind basitarsus and T! is very short and broad in the type species but longer and narrower in Leipula angusta Townes, 1970; dorsal carinae on T1 are distinct and extending at least to level of spiracle.
Distribution
No referenced distribution records have been added to the database for this OTU.
Map
There are no specimens currently determined for this OTU, or those specimens determined for this OTU are not yet mappable.
Acknowledgements
This page was assembled by Bob Wharton as part of a larger collaborative effort on the genera of Ctenopelmatinae. Page last updated May, 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. 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. Heather Cummins, Andrea and Caitlin Nessner graciously assisted with 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 #s 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.
