''Eriocampa tulameenensis'' is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sawfly Sawflies are the insects of the suborder Symphyta within the order Hymenoptera, alongside ants, bees, and wasps. The common name comes from the saw-like appearance of the ovipositor, which the females use to cut into the plants where they lay ...

in the family

Tenthredinidae Tenthredinidae is the largest family of sawflies, with well over 7,500 species worldwide, divided into 430 genera. Larvae are herbivores and typically feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs, with occasional exceptions that are leaf miners, stem ...

that is known from early to early middle

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

lake deposits near the small community of

Princeton, British Columbia Princeton (originally Vermilion Forks) is a town in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia, Canada."The rich history of Princeton or how Vermilion Forks made it on the map...", Princeton 2008 Visitors Guide, p. 4. It lies just east o ...

in the Similkameen region.

History and classification

''Eriocampa tulameenensis'' is known only from one fossil, the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, number "GSC No. 22688". It is a single, mostly complete adult of undetermined sex, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. The

specimen is from deposits along the Canadian Pacific rail line in the Similkameen Country of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The type specimen is currently preserved in the Geological Survey of Canada paleoentomological collections in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Canada. ''E. tulameenensis'' was first studied by Harington M. A. Rice of the Geological Survey of Canada, with his 1968

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

being published in the Geological Survey of Canada professional paper number 67-59. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''tulameenensis'' was coined in reference to the

Tulameen River The Tulameen River is a tributary of the Similkameen River in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Tulameen River is part of the Columbia River drainage basin, being a tributary of the Similkameen River, which flows into the Okanagan Riv ...

near where the fossil was collected in 1957, while the river is from the

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

language meaning "red earth". ''Eriocampa tulameenensis'' is the largest species of '' Eriocampa'' to be described in the type paper, though the dismembered condition of the body made measurement unpractical. Due to the preservation condition Harington M. A. Rice noted the assignment of the species to ''Eriocampa'' as tentative and based on the similarities of the fore wing to other members of the genus. The single known specimen possesses a head, part of the thorax and posterior areas of the abdomen which are dark brown to black. Where they are visible the antennae are filiform and brown to dark brown. The central segments of the abdomen appear to have been pale colored. The well preserved wings are hyaline with dark brown to dark amber veins. Unfortunately the specimen is missing portions of its legs and antennae. ''E. tulameenensis'' is distinguished from members of the related genus '' Pseudosiobla'' in general and '' P. campbelli'' found in the related " Horsefly shale" deposits near

Horsefly, British Columbia Horsefly is an unincorporated community on the northwest shore of the Horsefly River, in the Cariboo region of central British Columbia. The location, via BC Highway 97, Likely Rd, and Horsefly Rd, is about northeast of Williams Lake, and by roa ...

by several features, ''E. tulameenensis'' is notably smaller than members of ''Pseudosiobla'' and the fore wing vein patterning is distinct. There are six other described species of ''Eriocampa'' from the fossil record, '' E. bruesi'', '' E. celata'', '' E. pristina'', '' E. scudderi'', '' E. synthetica'', and '' E. wheeleri''. All are described and known only from specimens found in the younger

Florissant Formation The Florissant Formation is a sedimentary geologic formation outcropping around Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. The formation is noted for the abundant and exceptionally preserved insect and plant fossils that are found in the mudstones and ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

which, at 39 million years old, is younger in age then the Princeton locality, dated to approximately 49 million years old. ''E. tulameenensis'' can be distinguished from all the younger species in that ''E. tulameenensis'' is the largest species of the seven.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5389294 † Eocene insects of North America Fossil taxa described in 1968 Fossils of British Columbia Prehistoric insects of North America Allenby Formation