| Protohabropoda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| P. pauli holotype | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Apidae |
| Genus: | † Protohabropoda Dehon & Engel, 2014 |
| Species: | †P. pauli |
| Binomial name | |
| †Protohabropoda pauli De Meulemeester & Michez, 2014 | |
Protohabropoda is an extinct genus of bees in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in Europe. The genus currently contains a single described species Protohabropoda pauli.
P. pauli was described from a solitary fossil, which is a compression-impression fossil pair preserved in layers of soft sedimentary rock. [1] Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the P. pauli specimen was collected from layers of Late Oligocene lacustrine rock belonging to the "calcaire de Campagne Calavon" sediments. The material is exposed along the northern slopes of the Luberon mountains near Céreste in Southern France. The sediments are reported as from a shallow paleolake that was formerly considered about 30 million years old and Rupelian in age. Recent restudy of formation suggests the older Late Oligocene age. The paleoflora preserved in the shales suggest the lake was surrounded by a mixed-mesophytic forest though the vertebrate fauna found in the formation is more typical of a semi-arid environment. Specimens from the Apoidea families are rather rare and not diverse, with Apis specimens being the most common. [1]
At the time of study, the holotype counterpart and part were part of the paleoentomology collections housed by the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle. It was first studied by an international team of researchers headed by Manuel Dehon of the University of Mons, Belgium, and the team's 2014 type description of the species was published in the natural sciences journal PLOS ONE . The genus name is a combination of the Greek word "protos" meaning first and the genus Habropoda of which Protohabropoda is most similar. The specific epithet pauli is a patronym coined in honor of Paul Léon Victor Vigot, a young bee systematics enthusiast. [1]
The size and shape of the pterostigma are similar to those of the Apinae tribes Anthophorini and Centridini though the rounded shape of the wing and the sizes of the cells formed by the wing veins make it closer to Anthophorini. In the tribe, P. pauli is identified from the living genera Anthophora and Amegilla by the positioning of veins and cells. and the genus Habropoda is distinguished by vein length. [1]
P. pauli is one of four bee species described by Dehon and team in the PLOS ONE article, the others being Andrena antoinei , Bombus cerdanyensis , and Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri . [1]
The P. pauli fossil is a female preserved with a dorsal view of the body, head twisted upward showing the face, the right forewing outstretched, and hindwings missing. The overall body length is not determinable due to positioning of the body and the twisting of the head although the mesosoma is 5.88 mm (0.231 in). The incompletely preserved antennae are not distinct enough to determine flagellomere numbers or lengths. The metasoma is 4.5 mm (0.18 in) long in side view, and the two sections that are distinctly preserved show a dense coating of hairs. [1] The legs are not well preserved, being partly covered by the body segments though the areas that are visible show a dense coating of setae. The 7.79 mm (0.307 in) long forewings have a one marginal cell and three cells below that called the submarginal cells. The marginal cell has very little tapering near the apical end, which is distinctly rounded. The second and third submarginal cells together are longer than the first submarginal cell, which is the longest of the three cells. The pterostigma is present, with parallel sides and, like the marginal cell, no narrowing of the width. [1]
The Anthophorini are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae. Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees, although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini. It contains over 750 species worldwide, all of which were previously classified in the obsolete family Anthophoridae along with members of several other tribes; the vast majority of species in the tribe Anthophorini are in the genera Amegilla and Anthophora.
Andrena, commonly called the mining bee, is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, and is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee genera. Species are often brown to black with whitish abdominal hair bands, though other colors are possible, most commonly reddish, but also including metallic blue or green.
Florissantoraphidia funerata is an extinct species of snakefly, originally assigned to the raphidiid genus Raphidia, but subsequently transferred to the genus Florissantoraphidia. The name F. funerata is derived from the Latin funeratus meaning to "bury" or "intern". The species is known from a single female specimen, the holotype, deposited in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum in London as specimen number "In. 26922". Though they did not study the specimen, Horst Aspöck, Ulrike Aspöck and Hubert Rausch in the 1991 work Die Raphidiopteren der Erde noted and figured the specimen as an "unidentified raphidiid". Dr. Michael S. Engel first studied and described the species after finding the specimen in the Department of Palaeontology collections. He published his type description in the journal Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science in 2003.
Archiinocellia is an extinct monotypic genus of Snakefly containing the single species Archiinocellia oligoneura.
Undulopsychopsis is an extinct genus of lacewing in the silky lacewing family Psychopsidae. The genus is solely known from a Cretaceous fossil found in China. Currently the genus is composed of a single species, Undulopsychopsis alexi.
Necroraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently the genus comprises a single species, Necroraphidia arcuata.
Amarantoraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently the genus comprises only a single species Amarantoraphidia ventolina.
Iberoraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from a Cretaceous, Lower Barremian, fossil found in Spain. Currently the genus is composed of a single species, Iberoraphidia dividua.
Deinodryinus? aptianus is an extinct species of Deinodryinus in the wasp family Dryinidae. The species is solely known from a Cretaceous fossil found in Mongolia.
Anthophorula (Anthophorula) persephone is an extinct species of bee in the subfamily Apinae known from a pair of possibly Miocene fossils found on Hispaniola. A. persephone is the first species of the bee tribe Exomalopsini to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is the only species of Anthophorula found in the West Indies.
Aphaenogaster longaeva is an extinct species of ant in formicid subfamily Myrmicinae known from a solitary Eocene or Oligocene fossil found in North America. A. longaeva was one of five insect species described by the paleoentomologist Samuel Hubbard Scudder in an 1877 paper.
Emplastus is an extinct morphogenus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae, known from fossils found in Asia and Europe. The genus contains twelve species described from sites in England, Eastern Europe and Far Eastern Russia.
Bombus cerdanyensis is an extinct species of bumble bee in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in Europe.
Elephantomyia (Elephantomyia) brevipalpa is an extinct species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The species is one of six described from Baltic amber.
Elephantomyia (Elephantomyia) longirostris is an extinct species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The species is one of six in its genus described from Baltic amber.
Elephantomyia (Elephantomyia) pulchella is an extinct species of crane fly in the family Limoniidae. The species is solely known from the Middle Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The species is one of six described from Baltic amber.
Euglossopteryx is an extinct genus of bee in the family Apidae known from a fossil found in North America. There is one described species in the genus, Euglossopteryx biesmeijeri.
Andrena antoinei is an extinct species of mining bee in the family Andrenidae described from a single fossil found in a Late Oligocene lake in present-day France that existed in semi-arid conditions.
Baikuris is an extinct genus of ant in the Formicidae subfamily Sphecomyrminae, and is currently placed in the tribe Sphecomyrmini. The genus contains four described species: the type species Baikuris mandibularis, along with Baikuris casei, Baikuris maximus, and Baikuris mirabilis.
Bombus trophonius is an extinct species of bumble bee known from a Miocene fossil found in Europe. It belongs to the Bombus subgenus Cullumanobombus and is considered most similar to the living species Bombus rufocinctus of North America.
Media related to Protohabropoda at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Protohabropoda at Wikispecies