''Leptofoenus'' is a genus of

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

in the family Pelecinellidae found in South America, Central America, and southern North America. The genus contains five

living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * Hu ...

species and one

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

species known from early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...

stage

Dominican amber Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic derived from resin of the extinct tree ''Hymenaea protera''. Dominican amber differentiates itself from Baltic amber by being nearly always transparent, and it has a higher number of fossil incl ...

deposits on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. With body sizes ranging from ''Leptofoenus'' species are larger than nearly all other species in Chalcidoidea. The genus bears a notable resemblance to the wasp families

Pelecinidae Pelecinidae is a family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea. It contains only one living genus, '' Pelecinus'', with three species known from the Americas. The earliest fossil species are known from the Jurassic, and the group ...

Gasteruptiidae The Gasteruptiidae are one of the more distinctive families among the apocritan wasps, with surprisingly little variation in appearance for a group that contains around 500 species in two subfamilies ( Gasteruptiinae and Hyptiogastrinae) and wi ...

, and

Stephanidae The Stephanidae, sometimes called crown wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps. They are the only living members of the superfamily Stephanoidea. Stephanidae has at least 345 living species in 11 genera. The family is considered cosmopolitan in ...

Species

All six known species are restricted to the western Hemisphere, most being found in South America and only one reaching North America. *'' Leptofoenus howardi'' (Ashmead) Paraguay, Brazil, Surinam *'' Leptofoenus peleciniformis'' Smith Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Costa Rica * †'' Leptofoenus pittfieldae'' Engel Dominican Republic (Early Miocene) *'' Leptofoenus rufus'' LaSalle & Stage Mexico, southwestern USA *'' Leptofoenus stephanoides'' (Roman) Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, French Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, southern Mexico *'' Leptofoenus westwoodi'' (Ashmead) Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Trinidad, Panama

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6528107 Chalcidoidea Hymenoptera genera