Review of the Costa Rican Saltagenes Diller, 1995 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae: Phaeogenini) with descriptions of seven new species

Zootaxa. 2024 Jan 26;5405(1):93-115. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5405.1.4.

Abstract

The parasitoid wasp genus Saltagenes Diller, 1995 is known only from the original description of a single species from Argentina. However, undescribed Saltagenes species occur throughout the Neotropical region and into the southern Nearctic. Here, I review the Saltagenes species of Costa Rica and describe seven new species: Saltagenes alboannulatus sp. nov., S. atrosomus sp. nov., S. escazuensis sp. nov., S. gauldi sp. nov., S. modicum sp. nov., S. pseudatrosomus sp. nov., and S. rotundiceps sp. nov. The generic diagnosis is revised to account for hitherto unknown morphological diversity of Saltagenes. An illustrated key and specimen images are provided to aid in identification. Saltagenes is now represented by eight described species though more than double that figure remain undescribed from outside of Costa Rica. More broadly, this study highlights the paucity of our knowledge of Costa Rican Ichneumoninae.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Costa Rica
  • Hymenoptera*
  • Wasps*