Tetrapus

Tetrapus is a genus of fig wasp native to the Americas. Fig wasps have an obligate mutualism with the fig species they pollinate. Tetrapus pollinates figs in the subgenus Pharmacosycea.

Tetrapus
Tetrapus costaricanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Agaonidae
Subfamily:	Tetrapusiinae
Genus:	Tetrapus Mayr, 1885
Type species
Tetrapus americanus Mayr 1885
Species[1]
Tetrapus americanus Mayr Tetrapus antillarum Ashmead Tetrapus costaricanus Grandi Tetrapus ecuadoranus Grandi Tetrapus mayri Brues Tetrapus mexicanus Grandi

Tetrapus appears to be the sole genus of the subfamily Tetrapusiinae and a basal clade among the fig-pollinating wasps.[2]

The genus is estimated to be 87.5 million years old using cytochrome oxidase nucleotide sequences, and more than 34.5 million years old based on a fossil from Florissant, Colorado in the United States.[2]

References

1. "Universal Chalcidoidea Database: Taxonomic Tree". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
2. Machado, Carlos A.; Jousselin, Emmanuelle; Kjellberg, Finn; Compton, Stephen G.; Herre, Edward Allen (2001). "Phylogenetic relationships, historical biogeography and character evolution of fig-pollinating wasps". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 268 (1468): 685–694. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.1418. PMC 1088657. PMID 11321056.