| Evanioidea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Evania appendigaster | |
 | |
| Gasteruption | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Suborder: | Apocrita |
| Superfamily: | Evanioidea Latreille 1802 |
| Families | |
Aulacidae | |
TheEvanioidea are a smallhymenopteran superfamily that includes three extant families, two of which (Aulacidae andGasteruptiidae) are much more closely related to one another than they are to the remaining family,Evaniidae. The rich fossil record, however, helps fill in the gaps between these lineages. They all share the trait of having themetasoma attached very high above the hindcoxae on thepropodeum.
It is a poorly known group as a whole, with some 1100 known species in total, and a great many species are still undescribed. While each of the three families differs in biology, within each family, they are remarkably uniform in appearance and habits.
The oldest records of the group date to theMiddle Jurassic, and were diverse from the Middle Jurassic to midCretaceous, however, during the mid-Cretaceous they were overtaken in diversity by theIchneumonoidea, and since the end of the Cretaceous have a relatively scant fossil record.[1]
Early-diverging families
NeoevaniodesEngel, 2006
