Oligochlora
Encyclopedia
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 Hispaniola
.
in a 1996 paper published in the Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society
. The genus name is a combination of "Oligo", from Oligocene
a possible age of the amber and "chlora" from the genus Augochlora, the type genus of the tribe Augochlorini where Oligochlora is placed. Along with the genus description, the paper contained the description of the type species O. eickworti and the second species O. micheneri. Dr Engel described a third species, O. grimaldii in 1997. A fourth species, O. rozeni was published in 2000 and the genus was split into two subgenera, Oligochlora (Oligochlora) and Oligochlora (Soliapis). The subgenus Soliapis is named from the Latin
words sola, meaning "alone", and apis, meaning "bee" in reference the lack of an acarinarium
on O. rozeni. A fifth species, O. marquettorum was also published in 2000, jointly described by Dr. Engel and Molly G. Rightmyer and placed into O. (Soliapis). In 2009, with the publication of O. semirugosa by Dr. Engel, the total number of species was raised to six.
mites
. The genus also superficially resembles the genus Corynura but differs in a number of features including the lack of eye hairs.
only, a single 7.6 millimetre (0.299212598425197 in) long female currently in the private collection owned by Ettore Morone of Turin, Italy as number "684". The species is named in honor of Dr. George Eickwort, who specialized in Halictidae
systematics.
Department of Entomology as number "DR-14-839". The species has a heavily sclerotized black Sc+R vein and the remaining veins are brown. The species is named in honor of Dr. David Grimaldi
for his contributions to insect paleontology and study of amber.
, is distinguishable from other members of the genus by the lack of and acarinarium on the upper side of the metasoma.
, both females, preserved in a single amber specimen. Published in the May/June 2000 issue of the journal Apidologie, the amber containing the twp bees is in the American Museum of Natural History as number "DR-14-1484". Lack of an acarinarium places O. marquettorum in O. (Soliapis) and the species can be distinguished from O. rozeni by the obtuse angle of the pronotum. The species is named in honor of George Edward Marquette and Jennie Smith Proskine Marquette, grandparents of M. Rightmyer.
, is named from the Latin semi meaning "half" or "partial" and rugosus meaning, "wrinkled". This name refers to the species' distinct rugulose gena which along with the pronotal angle, the partially and sculpturing of the face, mesosoma, and metasomal terga are unique.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of sweat bee
Halictidae
Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small to midsize bees which are usually dark-colored and often metallic in appearance...
in the Halictidae
Halictidae
Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small to midsize bees which are usually dark-colored and often metallic in appearance...
subfamily Halictinae
Halictinae
Within the insect order Hymenoptera, Halictinae is the largest, most diverse, and most recently diverged of the four unique Halictidae subfamilies...
. The genus currently contains six species, all of which are known from the early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
Burdigalian
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma...
stage Dominican amber
Dominican amber
Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic. Resin from the extinct species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber and probably of most amber found in the tropics....
deposits on the island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
.
History and classification
The genus was first described by Dr. Michael EngelMichael S. Engel
Michael S. Engel is an American paleontologist and entomologist. He has undertaken field work in Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Western Hemisphere, and published more than 300 papers in scientific journals. He was trained at the University of Kansas where in 1993 he received a B.S. in Cellular...
in a 1996 paper published in the Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society
Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society
The Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Kansas Entomological Society. The journal has a 2009 impact factor of 0.607....
. The genus name is a combination of "Oligo", from Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
a possible age of the amber and "chlora" from the genus Augochlora, the type genus of the tribe Augochlorini where Oligochlora is placed. Along with the genus description, the paper contained the description of the type species O. eickworti and the second species O. micheneri. Dr Engel described a third species, O. grimaldii in 1997. A fourth species, O. rozeni was published in 2000 and the genus was split into two subgenera, Oligochlora (Oligochlora) and Oligochlora (Soliapis). The subgenus Soliapis is named from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
words sola, meaning "alone", and apis, meaning "bee" in reference the lack of an acarinarium
Acarinarium
An acarinarium is a specialized anatomical structure which is evolved to facilitate the retention of mites on the body of an organism, typically a bee or a wasp. The term was introduced by Walter Karl Johann Roepke.-Evolution:...
on O. rozeni. A fifth species, O. marquettorum was also published in 2000, jointly described by Dr. Engel and Molly G. Rightmyer and placed into O. (Soliapis). In 2009, with the publication of O. semirugosa by Dr. Engel, the total number of species was raised to six.
Description
Oligochlora is most similar to the extant genus Neocorynura, from which it can be separated by the shapes of the mesoscutum and preoccipital ridge or the monotypic genus Thectochlora which also has a mutualistic relationship with specialized acaridAcaridae
The Acaridae are a family of mites. Common forms include some mold mites, for example the grain mite. Genera in the family include:Fagacarinae Fain & R. A. Norton, 1979* Fagacarus Fain & R. A...
mites
MITES
MITES, or Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science, is a highly selective six-week summer program for rising high school seniors held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its purpose is to expose students from minority, or otherwise disadvantaged backgrounds, to the fields of...
. The genus also superficially resembles the genus Corynura but differs in a number of features including the lack of eye hairs.
O. eickworti
O. eickworti is known from the holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
only, a single 7.6 millimetre (0.299212598425197 in) long female currently in the private collection owned by Ettore Morone of Turin, Italy as number "684". The species is named in honor of Dr. George Eickwort, who specialized in Halictidae
Halictidae
Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small to midsize bees which are usually dark-colored and often metallic in appearance...
systematics.
O. micheneri
The O. micheneri holotype is also a female in the Morone collection, as specimen number "167" and has a body length of approximately 7.8 millimetre (0.307086614173228 in). The head and metasoma are a brilliant metallic green with brown edges. Dr. Engel named O. micheneri for Dr. Charles D. Michener who devoted most of his research career studying bees.O. grimaldii
Dr. Engel described O. grimaldii in the journal Apidologie in 1997 from a female specimen. The single 7.2 millimetre (0.283464566929134 in) long bee specimen is deposited in the American Museum of Natural HistoryAmerican Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
Department of Entomology as number "DR-14-839". The species has a heavily sclerotized black Sc+R vein and the remaining veins are brown. The species is named in honor of Dr. David Grimaldi
David Grimaldi
David A. Grimaldi is an entomologist and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. He received his graduate training at Cornell University, where he earned his doctorate in Entomology in 1986. Dr. Grimaldi is an authority in many fields of insect...
for his contributions to insect paleontology and study of amber.
O. rozeni
O. rozeni is known from the 8.2 millimetre (0.322834645669291 in) long holotype female, number "M-2523" of the Morone collection. The species, named in honor of Jerome G. Rozen, Jr. of the American Museum of Natural HistoryAmerican Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, is distinguishable from other members of the genus by the lack of and acarinarium on the upper side of the metasoma.
O. marquettorum
The first species to be described from more than one individual bee was O. marquettorum, which was described from both a holotype and a paratypeParatype
Paratype is a technical term used in the scientific naming of species and other taxa of organisms. The exact meaning of the term paratype when it is used in zoology is not the same as the meaning when it is used in botany...
, both females, preserved in a single amber specimen. Published in the May/June 2000 issue of the journal Apidologie, the amber containing the twp bees is in the American Museum of Natural History as number "DR-14-1484". Lack of an acarinarium places O. marquettorum in O. (Soliapis) and the species can be distinguished from O. rozeni by the obtuse angle of the pronotum. The species is named in honor of George Edward Marquette and Jennie Smith Proskine Marquette, grandparents of M. Rightmyer.
O. semirugosa
O. semirugosa is the newest addition to the genus and the fourth species in the subgenus O. (Oligochlora). The holotype is a 7.9 millimetre (0.311023622047244 in) female specimen, number KU-DR-21 in the collections of the University of Kansas Natural History MuseumUniversity of Kansas Natural History Museum
The University of Kansas Natural History Museum is part of the University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, which is itself part of the KU Biodiversity Institute....
, is named from the Latin semi meaning "half" or "partial" and rugosus meaning, "wrinkled". This name refers to the species' distinct rugulose gena which along with the pronotal angle, the partially and sculpturing of the face, mesosoma, and metasomal terga are unique.