The Wharton Lab

Gunomeria Schmiedeknecht, 1907: 625. Type species: Mesoleptus macrodactylus Holmgren, 1856. Subsequent designation by Viereck (1914: 64).

The following valid species, known only from Europe, were included by Yu et al. (2012):

Gunomeria macrodactylus (Holmgren, 1856)
Gunomeria sordida (Gravenhorst, 1829)

The two species were treated as synonyms by Yu and Horstmann (1997) and Townes (1970) stated that there was only a single species. Horstmann (2008) separated the two species largely on the basis of sculpture and color.

Biology is unknown.

The only known species are relatively slender (with slender T1) as in Hadrodactylus and Mesoleptidea. They have the apical margin of the clypeus impressed as in Mesoleptidea and similar in overall shape to those species of Mesoleptidea in which the apical margin of the clypeus is evenly convex. The hind wing Cu1 is distinctly shorter than 1cu-a, which differentiates Gunomeria from both Mesoleptidea and Hadrodactylus. As in nearly all Hadrodactylus and unlike most Mesoleptidea, the fore wing areolet is present in Gunomeria and the fifth tarsomere of the hind leg is long, curved, and bears long tarsal claws.

Additional characteristics given by Townes (1970) are shared by some species in both Mesoleptidea and Hadrodactylus: ventral tooth of mandible slightly larger and longer than dorsal tooth; dorsal end of epicnemial carina extending to anterior margin of mesopleuron, and propodeum generally smooth, with median longitudinal carinae varying in length among species.

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 David Wahl of the American Entomological Institute for the opportunity to examine material in the AEI collection relevant to this page as well as 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, Caitlin Nessner, and Karl Roeder graciously assisted us 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 nos DEB 0616851, 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 0616851, 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.