AnimaliaHymenopteraFigitidaevan NoortSimonBuffingtonMatthew L.ForshageMattiasAfrotropical Cynipoidea (Hymenoptera)Zookeys1420152015493117610.3897/zookeys.493.6353 Cothonaspis Hartig, 1840Remarks.

Rare.

Diagnosis.

Small elongate eucoilines without a hairy ring, with narrow wings with narrow triangular marginal cells. May be confused with certain Leptopilina with strongly reduced hairy ring, but Cothonaspis are far more elongate in shape, have globular heads, and a pointed metapleural corner, whereas Leptopilina are stout, have more transverse heads and an oblique metapleural corner. Easily separated from their closest relatives in the region, Kleidotoma, by the reduced hairy ring, wing apex truncate (not incised), and male F2 modified (not F1).

Cothonaspis species (Uganda). A habitus lateral view B head and mesosoma dorsal view C head, anterior view.

Distribution.

Mainly Palearctic, but also present in Nearctic and Afrotropical regions, and with a widespread species present throughout the Old World tropics. Afrotropical records: South Africa (Quinlan 1986), Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Uganda, Yemen (here).

Biology.

Parasitoids of Sepsidae in dung (Nordlander 1976, Quinlan 1978, Pont and Meier 2002).

Species richness.

Cothonaspis ealis Quinlan, 1986 (South Africa)

Additional species, unidentified or undescribed.

QuinlanJ (1986) A key to the Afrotropical genera of Eucoilidae (Hymenoptera), with a revision of certain genera.Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Historical series52: 243–366.NordlanderG (1976) Studies on Eucoilidae (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea) I. A revision of the north-western European species of Cothonaspis Htg. with a description of a new species and notes on some other genera.Entomologisk Tidskrift97: 65–77.QuinlanJ (1978) Hymenoptera Cynipoidea. Eucoilidae.Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects8: 1–58.PontAMeierR (2002) The Sepsidae (Diptera) of Europe.Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica37: 1–219.