A new family of wasps has been discovered in New Zealand. While it is not
uncommon to discover new insect species, it is rare to find creatures different
enough to constitute a separate family. The wasps, called Maamingidae from the
Maori word for trickster, have heads that look like those of one related wasp
group, and tails that look like another’s. DNA analysis to be published shortly
shows they are most closely related to wasps from Australia and South America,
so they must have evolved in Gondwanaland, the supercontinent that once united
those land masses (Invertebrate Taxonomy, vol 15, p…
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