Insectos del Mioceno Inferior de Ribesalbes (Castellón, España). Hymenoptera

This paper studies a significant part of the fossil hymenopterous of the Lower Miocene locality of 'La Rinconada', near Ribesalbes (Province of Castellón, Spain), housed in several collections. Formicidae studied by other authors in the early eighties are reviewed. New additions to the study of hymenopterans are new specimens assigned to the following taxa: Tiphiidae indet., Ammophila aff. sabulosa (Sphecidae), Bombus sp. (Apidae), Helconinae (Braconidae), cf. Eucerotinae (Ichneumonidae) and Pteromalidae indet., together with several undetermined forms of Braconidae and Ichneumonidae. Except for Formicidae, all these taxa are uncommon in the fossil record. At Ribesalbes, they are represented by single specimens, except for the two specimens of the genus Bombus. Taphonomic observations are included and two useful methods for the study of compressed fossil insects affected by tectonic deformation are proposed.

Key words: Insecta, Hymenoptera, Lacustrine environment, Lower Miocene, Spain.