New distributional records for Khamul Gates, 2008 (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) from Brazil

. Khamul Gates, 2008 (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), a small genus poorly represented in entomological collections, is widely distributed in the Neotropical region, occurring mainly in tropical forests. This study reports the expansion of the geographic distribution of Khamul erwini Gates, 2008 to the state of Amazonas and Khamul lanceolatus Gates, 2008 to the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais, Brazil. These new records are an important contribution to understanding the distribution patterns of Khamul species in Brazil. In addition, illustrations and maps of geographic distribution of the studied species are provided based on new records and data from the literature.

infrequently encountered in entomological collections, comprising four species: Khamul erwini, Khamul lanceolatus, Khamul gothmogi and Khamul tolkeini, all of which were described by Gates (2008).The species of Khamul can be distinguished from other eurytomids by four unique characteristics that support their monophyly: female flagellomeres cylindrical and tightly appressed, parallel-sided, with decumbent setation; apex of clava with elongate sensillar region; deep notauli and reticulate scutellar boss present (Gates 2008).Additional characteristics useful for identifying Khamul species in combination with the aforementioned are described by Gates (2008).
All known species of Khamul are found solely within the Neotropical region, primarily inhabiting tropical forests.K. erwini has been documented in Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil (ES); K. lanceolatus in Mexico, Costa Rica and Peru; while K. gothmogi and K. tolkeini are found in Ecuador and Peru (Gates 2008;Noyes 2019;UCD Community 2023).
The sole available information regarding Khamul's biology originates from the label on a specimen of K. lanceolatus from Mexico.It states that the specimen was reared from eggs of Prisopus Saint-Fargeau & Audinet-Serville, 1828 (Phasmatodea: Prisopodidae) found in association with leaves of Chamaedorea sp.(Arecaceae) (Gates 2008).
Our knowledge of the fauna of Brazilian Khamul and its distribution remains limited and incomplete.The present study aims to incorporate new geographic distributional data for K. erwini and K. lanceolatus.These new records significantly enhance our comprehension of the distribution patterns of Khamul species in Brazil.Furthermore, illustrations and maps of the geographic distribution of the examined species are included based on both new findings and existing literature data.
Observations and descriptions were conducted under magnification using a stereomicroscope Leica S APO.Color images were captured with a digital camera Leica DFC295 attached to a stereomicroscope Leica M205C APO.The specimens under study were illuminated with high diffuse dome illumination Leica LED5000 HDI.Serial images from different layers were generated using Leica Application Suite software (LAS version 4.12.0) and merged with Helicon Focus software (v.5.3). Figure plates were created using Adobe Photoshop software (v.11.0).
Identification was carried out utilizing the key proposed by Gates (2008).Species distributions were compiled into a dataset and integrated into distribution maps.Geographic coordinates of species records, if absent from labels, were sourced from Google Earth software (https://www.google.com/earth/).The distribution maps were generated using the web software SimpleMappr (Shorthouse 2010).
The following acronyms refer to Brazilian states: AM, Amazonas; ES, Espírito Santo; GO, Goiás and MG, Minas Gerais.