Two new hymenopteran fossils from the mid-Cretaceous of southern Africa (Hymenoptera: Jurapriidae, Evaniidae)

ne deposits at Orapa, Botswana, include several unique specimens of Hymenoptera that provide insights into relationships amongst various higher taxa, and insights into the probable characteristics of their ancestral forms. This paper describes two new monotypic genera and their type species. Chalscelio orapa Rasnitsyn & Brothers gen. et sp. n. shows characteristics of Chalcidoidea and Scelionidae, and may be a sister taxon to Chalcidoidea: it is provisionally placed in the family Jurapriidae. Botsvonia cretacea Rasnitsyn & Brothers gen. et sp. n. shows a mixture of plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters when compared with other species of Evaniidae: its placement at or near the base of Evaniidae is highly probable, but greater certainty requires additional specimens.