Plumalexiidae

Plumalexius Temporal range: Turonian Turonian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Plumalexius rasnitsyni holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	†Plumalexiidae
Genus:	†Plumalexius
Species:	†P. rasnitsyni
Binomial name
Plumalexius rasnitsyni Brothers, 2011

Plumalexius is a genus of wasps in the extinct monotypic family Plumalexiidae, containing a single species, Plumalexius rasnitsyni. The species is known only from the Late Cretaceous White Oaks Pit in Sayreville, New Jersey, USA.

Plumalexius rasnitsyni is known from only two fossils, the holotype, specimen "AMNH no. NJ-695" and the paratype, specimen "AMNH no. NJ-175". The specimens are both fairly complete male specimens which are preserved as inclusions in blocks of heavily fractured yellowish amber. The fossils were recovered in 1995 from outcrops of Turonian age strata in the White Oaks Pit, Middlesex County, New Jersey by Paul Nascimbene and subsequently embedded in blocks of epoxy. The type specimens are currently preserved in the paleoentomology collections housed in the American Museum of Natural History, located in Manhattan, New York City, USA. The two specimens were examined by Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn, who identified them as belonging to the chrysidoid family Plumariidae. Plumalexius was first fully studied by Denis J. Brothers of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Brothers 2011 type description of the family, genus, and species was published online and in print in the journal Zookeys. The generic name was coined by Brothers from a combination of the family name "Plumariidae", in recognition of the original identification of the fossils, and the name "Alexandr" in honor of Alexandr Rasnitsyn. The family name Plumalexiidae is a derivation of genus name, while the etymology of the specific epithet rasnitsyni is a derivation of Alexandr Rasnitsyn's last name.