Eutanyacra Cameron, 1903
Eutanyacra is a moderate-sized genus in the Amblyteles genus-group. There are currently 17 described species concentrated in the East with an unknown number of undescribed species in the West. Males and females are highly sexually dimorphic such that they are diagnoses based on separate characters.
With the longitudinally striate postpetiole and amblypygous metasomal apex, Eutanyacra are most similar to Diphyus and Spilichneumon. Eutanyacra females are differentiated from these genera by a combination of the more elongate basal flagellomeres (1st flagellomere at least 2 times a long as wide) and the dense tuft of setae at the apex of the hypopygium. The latter character separates Eutanyacra from Diphyus, though it is not entirely reliable due to variability in specimen preservation or natural variation in some species. An additional character to look for to separate the two is the more oval-shaped metasoma in Eutanyacra.
Males of Eutanyacra generally resemble those of Ichneumon except that they have a medial process on the hypopygium. Spilichneumon males share this character but the two genera can be separated by where the tyloids begin on the flagellum. In Eutanyacra the tyloids begin nearer the base at the 1st or 2nd flagellomere, while in Spilichneumon they begin on the 3rd or 4th flagellomere. Additionally, the gonoforceps are generally slightly wider in Eutanyacra.
Diagnosis
- postpetiole longitudinally striate
- gastrocoeli and thyridia small
- female metasoma oval-shaped
- female metasoma amblypygous
- male flagellum with tyloids beginning at 1st or 2nd flagellomere
- male gonoforceps larger than in Spilichneumon
