Aulacus
Aulacus is a genus of aulacids, ensigns, and gasteruptiids in the family Aulacidae. There are 77 species of Aulacus.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
This genus was originally described in 1807 by Louis Jurine. It is currently one of two extant genera within the family Aulacidae along with its sister genus, Pristaulacus.As presently defined, the genus Aulacus has been noted by Turrisi et al. in 2009 as not representing a monophyletic group, instead being a paraphyletic assemblage of species with respect to Pristaulacus. Their research also concluded the need for further studies to split the genus into several monophyletic genera.
Description and identification
Aulacus are generally small auladic wasps. The head lacks an occipital carina, and the tarsal claws are simple. The forewing has vein 2r-m present in contrast to the genus Pristaulacus, which lacks this vein.Distribution
The genus Aulacus has a nearly worldwide distribution apart from the Afrotropics and Antarctica.Behavior
While little is known about the biology of the genus as a whole, many species are known to be koinobiont parasitoids of beetles or wood wasps.Species
The following are 72 of the described species belong to the genus Aulacus:Aulacus albimanus i c gAulacus amazonicus i c gAulacus aneurus Walkley, 1952 i c gAulacus aroueti i c gAulacus atriceps i c gAulacus belairensis Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus biroi i c gAulacus bituberculatus Cameron, 1899 i c gAulacus braconiformis i c gAulacus brasiliensis i c gAulacus braunsi i c gAulacus brevicaudus i c gAulacus brevis Smith, 2005 i c gAulacus burquei i c g bAulacus burwelli Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus cephalus Smith, 2005 i c gAulacus coracinus Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus costulatus i c gAulacus davidi Kuroda, Konishi, Turrisi & Yamasako, 2020 jAulacus digitalis Townes, 1950 i c gAulacus dispilis Townes, 1950 i c g bAulacus douglasi Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus elegans i c gAulacus emineo Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus eocenicus Nel, Waller & De Ploëg, 2004 i c gAulacus erythrogaster He & Chen, 2002 i c gAulacus festivus i c gAulacus flavicornis i c gAulacus flavigenis Alekseev, 1986 i c g jAulacus flavimanus i c gAulacus flindersbaudini Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus forus i c gAulacus fritschii † i c gAulacus fuscicornis Cameron, 1911 i c gAulacus fusiger Schletterer, 1890 i c gAulacus gaullei i c gAulacus grossi Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus houstoni Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus hyalinipennis Westwood, 1841 i gAulacus impolitus Smith, 1991 i c g jAulacus japonicus Konishi, 1990 i c g jAulacus jeoffreyi Alekseev, 1993 i c gAulacus kohli Schletterer, 1890 i c gAulacus krahmeri Elgueta & Lanfranco, 1994 i c gAulacus larisae Sundukov & Lelej, 2015Aulacus longiventris i c gAulacus lovei i c gAulacus machaerophorus Kuroda, Kikuchi & Konishi, 2016 jAulacus magnus Chen, Turrisi & Xu, 2016 zAulacus mcmillani Jennings, Austin & Stevens, 2004 i c gAulacus minutus Crosskey, 1953 i c gAulacus moerens Westwood, 1868 i c gAulacus nigriventris i c gAulacus notatus i c gAulacus ochreus Smith, 2005 i c gAulacus pallidicaudis i c gAulacus pallipes Cresson, 1879 i c gAulacus pediculatus Schletterer, 1890 i c gAulacus philippinensis i c gAulacus planiceps i c gAulacus prisculus † i c gAulacus pterostigmatus i c gAulacus schiffi Smith, 1996 i c gAulacus schoenitzeri Turrisi, 2005 i c gAulacus shizukii Kuroda, Konishi, Turrisi & Yamasako, 2020 jAulacus sinensis He & Chen, 2007 jAulacus striatus Jurine, 1807 i c gAulacus thoracicus Westwood, 1841 i c gAulacus truncatus i c gAulacus uchidai Turrisi & Konishi, 2011 jAulacus vespiformis i c gAulacus westwoodi Kieffer, 1912 i c gData sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net, z = Revision of Chinese Aulacidae, j = Revisional Study of Japan, r = Aulacidae in the Russian Far East