Abstract:
Neocardiochiles Szépligeti, 1908, is a rare Neotropical genus of the subfamily Cardiochilinae Ashmead,
1900. The genus was previously synonymized with Heteropteron Brullé, 1846 by Dangerfield et al.
(1999). In this study, we examined multiple specimens of Heteropteron-related genera: Heteropteron,
Neocardiochiles, and Wesmaelella Spinola, 1851, and resurrect Neocardiochiles as a valid genus based on
morphological data. As a result, five new species, N. alexeyi Kang, sp. nov. from Ecuador, N. franki
Kang, sp. nov. from Costa Rica, N. braeti Kang, sp. nov., N. chriscarltoni Kang, sp. nov., and N. victoriae
Kang, sp. nov., from French Guiana are included as members of Neocardiochiles and described based
on morphological and molecular data. Additionally, four species previously included in Heteropteron are
transferred to Neocardiochiles: Neocardiochiles fasciipennis Szépligeti, 1908, comb. nov., Neocardiochiles
hasegawai (Dabek & Whitfield, 2020) comb. nov., Neocardiochiles kidonoi (Dabek & Whitfield, 2020),
comb. nov., and Neocardiochiles whitfieldi (Mercado, 2003), comb. nov.. Diagnosis of each taxon and
both traditional and interactive identification keys to Neocardiochiles species are included. Molecular
data of N. alexeyi sp. nov., N. chriscarltoni sp. nov., N. victoriae sp. nov., and N. hasegawaii (Dabek &
Whitfield, 2020), are also provided.
