PTEROMALIDAE OF N.W. EUROPE 423 



I have not seen the type-species of this genus, which Erdos considered to be near 

 Metacolus Forster ; some points in his description (mandibular formula 3.4, clypeus 

 striate) suggest that it does not belong here, but perhaps in the vicinity of 

 Homoporus. 



Neanica c lava lis Erdos 



Neanica clavalis Erdos, 1953 : 226-227, ?• 



Type material. Syntypes, Hungary, Tompa, 2 $, 7. v. 1949, taken from flowers of 

 Lepidium draba L., in coll. Erdos, Tompa. 



The male of clavalis is unknown. 



Hungary. 



Biology. Unknown. 



Note. Four of the following genera (Roptrocerus, Xiphydriophagus, Perniphora, 

 and Nikolskayana) have much in common as regards morphological characters, e.g., 

 the shape of the head, which tends to be swollen ; the mandibles, both of which have 

 3 teeth, the upper tooth occasionally slightly emarginate ; relatively small eyes and 

 short antennae ; thick legs, especially the femora ; fore wing having a constriction 

 or hyaline break marking the junction of the parastigma with the marginal vein ; 

 pronotum without a margined collar. Although some of the similarities might be 

 due to convergence, these genera give the impression of really being fairly closely 

 related. Habritys also shares most of the above characters, but has no hyaline break 

 between the parastigma and marginal vein. Roptrocerus also appears to have some 

 slight affinity with certain genera allied to Cheiropachus (e.g., to Rhopalicus). 



ROPTROCERUS Ratzeburg 



Pachyceras Ratzeburg, 1844a : 217. Type-species : P. xylophagorum Ratzeburg (autobasic). 

 Roptrocerus Ratzeburg, 1848 : 209. Type-species : P. xylophagorum Ratzeburg, by designation 



of Ashmead, 1904 : 388. 

 Roptrocerus Ratzeburg ; Forster, 1856 : 64, 68-69. 

 Roptrocerus Ratzeburg ; Ashmead, 1904 : 323. 

 Roptrocerus Ratzeburg ; Schmiedeknecht, 1909 : 360. 

 Rhoptrocerus [sic] Ratzeburg ; Kurdjumov, 1913 : 3. 

 Rhoptrocerus Ratzeburg ; Nikol'skaya, 1952 : 214. 

 Pachycerus Ratzeburg ; Gyorfi, 1952 : 113-117. 

 Roptrocerus Ratzeburg ; Hedqvist, 1963 : 61-70. 

 Roptrocerus Ratzeburg ; Peck et al., 1964 : 42. 



Ratzeburg thought that his generic name Pachyceras was pre-occupied (by Pachy- 

 cerus Gyllenhal, 1826) and he proposed the name Roptrocerus to replace it. Roptro- 

 cerus is a nomen conservandum by the decision of the International Commission on 

 Zoological Nomenclature (1957, Opin. Decl. int. Commn zool. Norn. 15 : 35-40) ; 

 Pachyceras Ratzeburg is a rejected and invalid name by the same decision. 



The European species have been revised by Hedqvist (1963). The earlier paper 



