Name:
Protostephanus
(first Stephanus).
Phonetic: Pro-to-stef-ah-nus.
Named By: T. D. A. Cockerell - 1906.
Classification: Arthropoda, Insecta,
Hymenoptera, Stephanidae.
Species: P. ashmeadi (type).
Diet: Insectivore.
Size: 9.5 millimetres long.
Known locations: USA, Colorado - Florissant
Formation.
Time period: Priabonian of the Eocene.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of a female.
Protostephanus is a species of crown wasp that lived in North America during the late Eocene. The genus is based upon a partially preserved individual preserved in volcanic ash. This individual is speculated to be female to the presence of what seems to be a partially preserved ovipositor (egg laying organ).
Further reading
- Fossil Hymenoptera from Florissant, Colorado. - Bulletin of
the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College
50(2):33-58. - T. D. A. Cockerell - 1906.
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