Superfamily PROCTOTRUPOIDEA

Proctotrupidae

© Copyright Commonwealth of Australia

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Introduction

The limits to the Proctotrupoidea have changed substantially over recent years in that the Platygastroidea (Scelionidae and Platygastridae) and Ceraphronoidea (Megaspilidae and Ceraphronidae) have been removed from this group and are now treated as separate superfamilies (Masner 1993). What remains is a heterogeneous assemblage of morphologically distinct families, many with restricted distributions. Arguably, the Proctotrupoidea are currently recognised as polyphyletic, but as the relationships among families are not resolved, an alternative, stable classification is lacking.

Several families are extralimital to the Australian Region. These include the Vanhorniidae (Holarctic), Roproniidae (Holarctic and Oriental), Pelecinidae (Nearctic and Neotropical) and Maamingidae (New Zealand). Of the families that occur in Australia, Austroniidae and Peradeniidae are endemic to the region, Monomachidae is Gondwanan in distribution (Australia, New Guinea, South America), while the Diapriidae and Proctotrupidae are cosmopolitan and are the only speciose families (Naumann 1991).

Acknowledgements

The compilation of this checklist was part of an ongoing project to complete the databasing of the Australian Hymenoptera. It was a co-operative project involving J.T. Jennings, N.B. Stevens, M. Iqbal & A.D. Austin of the Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity and the Department of Applied and Molecular Ecology, Waite Campus, Adelaide University, and the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS). Funding, editorial and Platypus technical support were provided by ABRS.

Database Notes

Taxa at each hierarchical level are listed in alphabetical order.

Limital Area

Distribution data in the Directory is by political and geographic region descriptors and serves as a guide to the distribution of a taxon. For details on a taxon's distribution, the reader should consult the cited references (if any) at genus and species levels.

Australia is defined as including Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., Cocos (Keeling) Ils, Christmas Is., Ashmore and Cartier Ils, Macquarie Is., Australian Antarctic Territory, Heard and McDonald Ils, and the waters associated with these land areas of Australian political responsibility. Political areas include the adjacent waters.

Terrestrial geographical terms are based on the drainage systems of continental Australia, while marine terms are self explanatory except as follows: the boundary between the coastal and oceanic zones is the 200 m contour; the Arafura Sea extends from Cape York to 124 DEG E; and the boundary between the Tasman and Coral Seas is considered to be the latitude of Fraser Island, also regarded as the southern terminus of the Great Barrier Reef.

Distribution records, if any, outside of these areas are listed as extralimital. The distribution descriptors for each species are collated to genus level. Users are advised that extralimital distribution for some taxa may not be complete.

General References

Masner, L. 1993. Superfamily Proctotrupoidea. pp. 537-557 in Goulet, H. & Huber, J.T. (eds). Hymenoptera of the World: An Identification Guide to Families. Ottawa : Research Branch, Agriculture Canada 668 pp.

Naumann, I.D. 1991. Hymenoptera (Wasps, bees, ants, sawflies). pp. 916-1000 in CSIRO (ed). The Insects of Australia. A textbook for students and research workers. Carlton : Melbourne University Press.

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