The Wharton Lab

Ischyrocnemis Holmgren, 1858: 306. Type species: Ischyrocnemis goeesi Holmgren, 1858. Monobasic.

Terozoa Foerster, 1869: 200. Type species: Terozoa quadridens Perkins, 1962. Subsequent designation by Perkins (1962: 399). Monobasic. Synonymized by Townes (1971: 113).

Teratozoa Schulz, 1906: 99. Unjustified emendation.

Terozoa and Ischyrocnemis were included in Ctenopelmatinae by Perkins (1962: 399), who differentiated them on the basis of mandibular characteristics noted by Foerster. Townes (1971: 89-113) placed them in Metopiinae, synonymized the two, but noted that their placement was problematic. Aubert (2000: 85) included Ischyrocnemis in Ctenopelmatinae: Pionini, near Rhorus, a relationship also suggested by Perkins (1962: 399). Broad and Shaw (2005) cited the placements by both Perkins (1962) and Townes (1971) but not that of Aubert (2000) and elected to retain Ischyrocnemis in Metopiinae despite it’s unusual (for Metopiinae) features.

The date of Holmgren’s work is often listed as 1856, but the 1858 date is used by Yu et al. (2012).

The species name of the type species was originally given as goësi. This most likely translates to goeesi based on Article 32.5.2.1 (ICZN, Fourth edition) though Dalla Torre (1901) and Yu et al. (2012) list the name as goesi and Townes (1971) as goësi. There are two valid species: Ischyrocnemis goeesi Holmgren, 1858 and I. quadridens (Perkins, 1962).

This genus is readily recognized by the combination of the median carina on the frons, the sharply pointed median tooth on the ventral margin of the clypeus, the absence of an epistomal sulcus, and absence or near absence of a glymma. If the ovipositor has a dorsal, subapical notch, it might be better placed in Euryproctini than Pionini, though its placement in Ctenopelmatinae is also questionable.

Clypeus (Fig. 2) large; ventral margin with small, sharply pointed median tooth, margin otherwise weakly convex, clypeus in profile not protruding; epistomal sulcus absent. Malar space long, about 0.7 times basal width of mandible. Mandible with ventral tooth slightly longer than dorsal tooth; teeth bidentate in type species (Fig. 2), quadridentate in quadridens. Face dorsally not extending as an elevated triangle between antennae (Figs 2, 3) unlike most Metopiinae; frons with elevated carina medially. Ocelli small (Fig. 3), lateral ocellus distinctly shorter than distance between ocellus and eye. Maxillary palp shorter than head height. Flagellomeres broader medially, narrower basally and apically. Occipital carina complete dorsally, joining hypostomal carina near base of mandible in type species, apparently incomplete ventrally in quadridens. Epomia well-developed (Fig. 4). Dorsal end of epicnemial carina weak dorsally (Fig. 6), not extending to anterior margin of mesopleuron. Pleural carina complete, well-developed (Fig. 5); propodeum (Fig. 6) with complete posterior transverse carina; anterior transverse carina completely absent; median longitudinal carinae absent posteriorad posterior transverse carina, otherwise distinct and parallel-sided; lateral longitudinal carina present, well-developed; petiolar area well-defined and separated from combined, rectangular areola + basal median area. Legs with tarsal claws not pectinate. Fore wing (Fig. 1) with areolet. Hind wing with first abscissa of CU1 about as long as or slightly longer than 1cu-a. T1 (Figs 7, 8) narrow, nearly parallel-sided basally, distinctly broadening posteriorly into a distinct postpetiole; dorsal carinae low, barely visible; dorsal-lateral carina sharp for most of its length (Fig. 7); glymma absent or nearly so; spiracle distinctly posteriorad midlength. S1 extending to or nearly to spiracle, about 0.6 times length of T1. T2 thyridium present. Laterotergites of T2 and T3 completely separated by creases. Ovipositor (broken in Fig. 9) and sheath very short.

This description is based on material borrowed from the American Entomological Institute and is somewhat modified from that given by Townes (1971: 114) and Perkins (1962: 399-400).

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. We are also grateful to David Wahl of the American Entomological Institute for extended loans of the material used for this study and 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. Heather Cummins, Andrea Walker, Patricia Mullins, Caitlin Nessner, Mika Cameron, Karl Roeder, Danielle Restuccia, and Cheryl Hyde 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, 0923134, and 1026618.

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, 0923134, and 1026618. 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.