Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Zelomorpha Ashmead 1900
Based on morphological evidence, Chou & Sharkey (1989) synonymized Zelomorpha with Coccygidium de Saussure 1892, considering Zelomorpha to be a junior synonym.
Based on a detailed combined morphological and molecular analysis, Sharkey
et al. (2006) recognized that
Zelomorpha and
Coccygidium are each monophyletic and should be considered separate genera.
(1)Numbers
3 spp. in our area; ~103 worldwide
(2)
1. Zelomorpha acuta: FL
2. Zelomorpha arizonensis: AZ, TX
3. Zelomorpha concinna: FL
Identification
Similar to the extralimital
Coccygidium, with which the genus has occasionally been conflated.
Zelomorpha is distinguished from
Coccygidium by having short fore-tibial spurs (versus long in
Coccygidium). (
Sarmiento-Monroe, 2006, Sharkey
et al. 2006
(1))
Food
Larval hosts: Noctuidae and Arctiidae (Sharkey, M.J. 1997.
In:
(3)Remarks
There has been confusion in the literature in the definitions of Coccygidium de Saussure 1892 and Zelomorpha Ashmead 1900. The 2 genera were considered distinct until 1989, when they were synonymized based on a morphological analysis. In 2006, they were again separated based on a combined morphological and molecular analysis, and it was recognized that the longer fore tibial spur in Coccygidium s.s. is a more derived, specialized feature in contrast to the shorter spur in Zelomorpha. Under present definitions, Coccygidium is excluded from the Nearctic fauna.
