A revised terminology for male genitalia in Hymenoptera (Insecta), with a special emphasis on Ichneumonoidea

Davide Dal Pos; István Mikó; Elijah J Talamas; Lars Vilhelmsen; Barbara J Sharanowski

doi:10.7717/peerj.15874

A revised terminology for male genitalia in Hymenoptera (Insecta), with a special emphasis on Ichneumonoidea

PeerJ. 2023 Oct 17:11:e15874. doi: 10.7717/peerj.15874. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Davide Dal Pos¹, István Mikó², Elijah J Talamas³, Lars Vilhelmsen⁴, Barbara J Sharanowski¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, United States of America.
² Don Chandler Entomological Collection, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States of America.
³ Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL, United States of America.
⁴ Natural History Museum of Denmark, SCIENCE, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Abstract

Applying consistent terminology for morphological traits across different taxa is a highly pertinent task in the study of morphology and evolution. Different terminologies for the same traits can generate bias in phylogeny and prevent correct homology assessments. This situation is exacerbated in the male genitalia of Hymenoptera, and specifically in Ichneumonoidea, in which the terminology is not standardized and has not been fully aligned with the rest of Hymenoptera. In the current contribution, we review the terms used to describe the skeletal features of the male genitalia in Hymenoptera, and provide a list of authors associated with previously used terminology. We propose a unified terminology for the male genitalia that can be utilized across the order and a list of recommended terms. Further, we review and discuss the genital musculature for the superfamily Ichneumonoidea based on previous literature and novel observations and align the terms used for muscles across the literature.

Keywords: Braconidae; Comparative anatomy; Confocal laser scanning microscopy; Homology; Hymenoptera anatomy ontology; Ichneumonidae; Ichneumonoidea; Male genitalia; Ontology; Unified terminology.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Genitalia
Genitalia, Male
Hymenoptera*
Insecta
Male
Phylogeny

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF: DEB-1916788) grant awarded to Barbara J. Sharanowski. Article processing charges were provided by the UCF College of Graduate Studies Open Access Publishing Fund. There was no additional external funding received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.