Spathiopterygidae is an extinct

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of small parasitic

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 ...

s, known from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

(

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma ( million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is pre ...

Santonian The Santonian is an age in the geologic timescale or a chronostratigraphic stage. It is a subdivision of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 86.3 ± 0.7 mya (million years ago) and 83.6 ± 0.7 mya. ...

) of

Laurasia Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around ( Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pan ...

and Northern Gondwana. They are suggested to be members of

Diaprioidea Diaprioidea is a hymenopteran superfamily containing five extant families, though in the past these families were included in the superfamily Proctotrupoidea Proctotrupoidea is a hymenopteran superfamily containing seven extant families, thou ...

, in part due to their similarly reduced

wing venation Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to flight, fly. They are found on the second and third Thorax (insect anatomy), thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referre ...

. Some members of the group reduced or lost the hindwings entirely.

Genera

* †''

Myamaropsis ''Myamaropsis'' is an extinct 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 somewha ...

'' Engel & Ortega-Blanco ''in'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco, Soriano, Grimaldi & Martinez-Delclos, 2013 **''M. baabdaensis'' Krogmann et al. 2016

Lebanese amber Lebanese amber is fossilized resin found in Lebanon and southwest Syria. It dates back approximately 130-125 million years to the Barremian of the Early Cretaceous. It formed on what was then the northern coast of Gondwana, believed to be a tropic ...

**''M. turolensis'' Engel & Ortega-Blanco in Engel, Ortega-Blanco, Soriano, Grimaldi & Martinez-Delclos, 2013

Albian The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/ Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± ...

, San Just amber, Escucha Formation (

Spanish amber Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) * †''

Spathiopteryx ''Spathiopteryx'' is an extinct 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 somew ...

'' Engel & Ortega-Blanco ''in'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco, Soriano, Grimaldi & Martinez-Delclos, 2013 **''S. alavarommopsis'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco & Grimaldi ''in'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco, Soriano, Grimaldi & Martinez-Delclos, 2013 Albian, Alava amber, Escucha Formation (

) **''S. soosi'' Szabó, Brazidec & Perrichot, 2022

Ajka Coal Formation Ajka () is a city in Hungary with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is situated in the hills of Bakony. History Around 1000 BCE, the area was inhabited by Celts. By the second century CE, the territory was conquered by the Romans. The Hungarians occup ...

, Hungary * †''

Spathopria ''Spathopria'' is an extinct 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 ...

'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco & Grimaldi ''in'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco, Soriano, Grimaldi & Martinez-Delclos, 2013 **''S. sayrevillensis'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco & Grimaldi ''in'' Engel, Ortega-Blanco, Soriano, Grimaldi & Martinez-Delclos, 2013

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded ...

New Jersey amber New Jersey Amber, sometimes called Raritan amber, is amber found in the Raritan and Magothy Formations of the Central Atlantic (Eastern) coast of the United States. It is dated to the Late Cretaceous, Turonian age, based on pollen analysis of t ...

* †'' Diaspathion'' Engel and Huang, 2015 **''D. ortegai'' Engel and Huang, 2015 Cenomanian,

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. ...

* †'' Diameneura'' Santer and Álvarez-Parra, 2022 **''D. marveni'' Santer and Álvarez-Parra, 2022 late

References

†Spathiopterygidae Taxa named by Michael S. Engel {{Apocrita-stub