POSITION OF LITHOSAPHONECRUS

Lithosaphonecrus was described as a Saphonecrus - like genus exclusively associated with galls on Lithocarpus Blume. In accordance with Bozsó et al. (2013), our results support the monophyly of Lithosaphonecrus, which is clearly separated from other inquiline genera by morphological, molecular and biological peculiarities. In the trees provided by Bozsó et al. (2013), Lithosaphonecrus is recovered as the sister-taxon to the Saphonecrus + Ufo clade with low support. However, our results resolve this genus as a sister-taxon to the Palaearctic clade of Synergus, also with a low support. Hence, the position of this genus within Synergini needs to be assessed in more detail.

DOES RHOOPHILUS BELONG TO A NEW CYNIPID INQUILINE TRIBE?

Rhoophilus, which is endemic to South Africa (AT), is the sole genus within Synergini known exclusively from the Southern Hemisphere and the only one not associated with Cynipini galls on Fagaceae, but with Lepidoptera galls on Searsia (Anacardiaceae) (Van Noort et al., 2007). Furthermore, it shows significant morphological differences with respect to the rest of Synergini genera. Two of the most relevant differences are: (1) the first metasomal tergite is reduced to a smooth dorsal crescent-shaped scale like in Ceroptres (Ceroptresini), Synophromorpha and Periclistus (Diastrophini), instead of ring-shaped and longitudinally sulcate as in the rest of Synergini (Ronquist et al., 2015); (2) in both sexes the second metasomal tergite (T2) is fused with the third (T3) as in the rest of Synergini, but in this case the resulting sclerite does not cover the subsequent metasomal tergites, which are visible and of similar length (Van Noort et al., 2007).

In both analyses, Rhoophilus is recovered as the sister-taxon to the rest of Synergini with a moderate to strong support (BS = 72, PP = 1.00) (see Fig. 2). This topology is consistent with the latest phylogeny of Cynipoidea obtained by Blaimer et al. (2020), in which the position of Rhoophilus at the base of the tribe as a sister-taxon to the rest of Synergini is well supported (BS = 100). Therefore, and on the basis of molecular, morphological and biological data, we are confident to raise Rhoophilus to a new, separate tribe, Rhoophilini Lobato-Vila & Pujade-Villar, trib. nov., which is characterized both morphologically and biologically at the end of this paper based on the re-description and pictures of R. loewi given by Van Noort et al. (2007).