''Neocorynura electra'' is an

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 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 ...

of sweat bee in the Halictidae genus ''

Neocorynura ''Neocorynura'' is a genus of bees belonging to the family Apidae. The species of this genus are found in South America. Species: *'' Neocorynura aenigma'' *'' Neocorynura atromarginata'' *'' Neocorynura autrani'' *'' Neocorynura azyx'' *'' ...

''. ''N. electra'' is named from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''electrum'' meaning "amber". The species is known from a single female specimen, 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 ...

, deposited in the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

, and which was first studied by Dr. Michael S. Engel. He published his

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 ...

in the '' Journal of the New York Entomological Society'' volume 103 published in 1995. Extremely well preserved in 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 ...

from 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 ...

, the female individual is very slightly compressed along the legs and head but without apparent destruction of details and the specimen is free from "schimmel", a type of white mold sometimes present on arthropods in amber. Though a fracture does cross the specimen the bee is not harmed, with the fracture running along the bee from the head down the body to the mesothorax. The wings of the female are either slightly folded or crumpled and held at an angle to the line of the thorax. Overall ''N. electra'' has a total length, not including antennae, of just over and a forewing length of . As a whole the female has a metallic gold-green coloration to the head and thorax. The antenna and some of the region above the mouth are black while the pronotum is black with metallic green highlights. The legs are dark brown to black with strong metallic green highlights, while the wings are

hyaline A hyaline substance is one with a glassy appearance. The word is derived from el, ὑάλινος, translit=hyálinos, lit=transparent, and el, ὕαλος, translit=hýalos, lit=crystal, glass, label=none. Histopathology Hyaline cartilage is ...

. ''N. electra'' is the only species of ''Neocorynura'' known from fossils and one of only a few extinct Halictidae which are known from the amber record. ''N. electra'' can be identified from the extinct halictid genus ''

Oligochlora ''Oligochlora'' is an extinct genus of sweat bee in the Halictidae subfamily Halictinae. The genus currently contains six species, all of which are known from the early Miocene Burdigalian stage Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispani ...

'' by differences in the mesoscutum and carinate pronotal ridge. Although similar to the associated Dominican amber species '' Eickwortapis dominicana'' the mesoscutum is again different between the two species. The modern

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...

do not have any native species of ''Neocorynura''. The closest living species is an undescribed species which is found on

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, known from specimens in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. The relationship between ''N. electra'', the only known species from the Greater Antilles, and species in Central and South America is not clear. The rarity of ''N. electra'' in the Dominican amber record may be in part due to the general habit of ''Neocorynura'' species bees to nest in the ground and not collect resin as other bees thus making contact and preservation unlikely.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6992631 † Fossil bee taxa Burdigalian life Neogene Dominican Republic Miocene insects of North America Prehistoric insects of the Caribbean Fauna of Hispaniola Insects of the Dominican Republic Fossils of the Dominican Republic Dominican amber Fossil taxa described in 1995 Taxa named by Michael S. Engel