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 | |
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Tetrapus costaricanus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Agaonidae |
Subfamily: | Tetrapusiinae |
Genus: | Tetrapus Mayr, 1885 |
Type species | |
Tetrapus americanus Mayr 1885
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Species[1] | |
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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]