''Xeris'' is a genus of

horntail Horntail or wood wasp are any of the 150 non-social species of the hymenopteran family Siricidae, a type of wood-eating sawfly. The common name "horntail" derives from the stout, spine-like structure at the end of the adult's abdomen, which is u ...

s found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894.

Synonyms

In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh

circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this circle is called the circumcenter and its radius is called the circumradius. Not every polyg ...

a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new species, which they called ''Neoxeris melanocephala''. In 2012, ''N. melanocephala'' was transferred to ''Xeris'', making ''Neoxeris'' a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

. ''X. melanocephalus'' was later synonymized with ''X. himalayensis''.

Description

Characteristic features of ''Xeris'' compared to other genera of Siricidae genera include: a hind wing with which lacks a cell cup, a small vertical ridge behind the eye, and a metatibial spur.

Distribution

''Xeris'' species are found in North America and Eurasia. In North America, they're found from the boreal forests in Alaska and Canada south through

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

in southern Mexico. They are found in temperate and boreal regions of Eurasia as well as mountains of southern Eurasia including Morocco, India, China, and Taiwan.

Species

, ''Xeris'' consists of sixteen species:

''X. caudatus''

Xeris caudatus ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was initially placed in the genus ''

Urocerus ''Urocerus'' is a genus of horntails in the family Siricidae. There are about eight described species in ''Urocerus''. Species These species belong to the genus ''Urocerus'': * '' Urocerus albicornis'' ( Fabricius, 1781) (white horned horntail) ...

'' by Ezra Townsend Cresson in his

species 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 ...

. Its type locality is the

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the w ...

''X. chiricahua''

Xeris chiricahua ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was described by David R. Smith. Its type locality is Rustler Park, Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.

''X. cobosi''

Xeris cobosi ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was first described by M. G. de Viedma and F. J. Suárez as a subspecies of ''X. spectrum''. It was moved to the species level in 2015. Its type locality is Tizi-Ifri, Morocco.

''X. degrooti''

Xeris degrooti ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was described in 2015 by Henri Goulet. It is named in honor of Peter de Groot. Its type locality is Pennington County, South Dakota.

''X. himalayensis''

Xeris himalayensis ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was described by

James Chester Bradley James Chester Bradley (1884 in West Chester, Pennsylvania – 1975 in Ithaca, New York) was an American entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera. He graduated from Cornell University (A.B. 1906, Ph.D. 1910) and the University of California (M. ...

in 1934. Its type locality is Deoban, Chakrata, India. In 2015, it became considered the senior synonym of ''X. melanocephalus'' , whose type locality is Dalhousie, India.

''X. indecisus''

Xeris indecisus ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was initially described by MacGillivray as a species in ''Urocerus''. Its type locality is near

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

. T. C. Maa classified it as a subspecies of ''X. morrisoni'' in 1949, but in 2012 it was reinstated to the species level.

''X. malaisei''

Xeris malaisei ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was initially described as a subspecies of ''X. spectrum'', but was promoted to the species level in 2015.

''X. melancholicus''

Xeris melancholicus ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new spe ...

'' was described by

John O. Westwood John Obadiah Westwood (22 December 1805 – 2 January 1893) was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents. He published several illustrated works on insects and antiquities. He was among the first entomologist ...

, who placed it in the genus ''

Sirex ''Sirex'' is a genus of wasps in the family Siricidae, the horntails or wood wasps. They inject eggs with fungal endosymbionts into wood. The fungus is contained in a mycangium which nourishes it with secretions, and in turn it digests wood for ...

''. He listed the type locality as "America

Septentrional Septentrional, meaning "of the north", is a Latinate adjective sometimes used in English. It is a form of the Latin noun ''septentriones'', which refers to the seven stars of the ''Plough'' (Big Dipper), occasionally called the ''Septentrion'' ...

is".

''X. morrisoni''

Xeris morrisoni ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new sp ...

'' was described by Ezra Townsend Cresson in 1880; he initially placed it in the genus ''

''.

''X. pallicoxae''

Xeris pallicoxae ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new sp ...

'' was described by Henri Goulet in 2015. The specific name means "pale coxae".

''X. spectrum''

Xeris spectrum ''Xeris spectrum'' is a kind of horntail or wood wasp, that lives in coniferous forests. It is large wasp with a powerful ovipositor in females. Unlike other Siricid Wood wasps, ''Xeris spectrum ''does not have symbiotic fungi to aid its larvae ...

'' was described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1758. Costa designated it to be the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of ''Xeris''.

''X. tarsalis''

Xeris tarsalis ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new sp ...

'' was described by Ezra Townsend Cresson in 1880. Its type locality is Washington Territory, and Cresson initially placed it in the genus ''

''.

''X. tropicalis''

Xeris tropicalis ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon their description of a new sp ...

'' was described by Henri Goulet in 2012. Its type locality is San Cristobal de las Casas, in southern Mexico; the specific name ''tropicalis'' "tropical" reflects its habitat.

''X. umbra''

Xeris umbra ''Xeris'' is a genus of horntails found in North America and Eurasia. Achille Costa circumscribed the genus in 1894. Synonyms In 1987, Malkiat S. Saini and Devinder Singh circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribed a new genus, ''Neoxeris'' upon th ...

'' was described by Henri Goulet in 2015; its type locality is

Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

, China and its name ''umbra'' "shadow" refers to the species' dark color.

''X. xanthoceros''

'' Xeris xanthoceros'' was described by Henri Goulet in 2015. Its specific name means "yellow horn", referring to the female's

flagellum A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...

. The type locality is

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

, China.

''X. xylocola''

'' Xeris xylocola'' was described by Henri Goulet in 2015. The specific name means "living in wood". Its type locality is Houaphanh Province, Laos.

References

Siricidae Taxa named by Achille Costa {{Sawfly-stub