Pyrgaspis Kozlov syn. n.

Comments.

Kozlov considered Pyrgaspis to be closest to Synopeas, presumably because of the pointed mesoscutellum, and he separated these genera based on the orientation and height of the mesoscutellar spine. However, the widely separated lateral propodeal carinae (propodeal keels) (Fig. 18) indicate that Pyrgaspis haloxylonomiae does not belong in or near Synopeas . In the context of the gamut of mesoscutellar morphology within Platygaster (Figs 19 - 24), the dorsally pointed mesoscutellum alone does not warrant placement in a separate genus. Evaluation of this character revealed that the mesoscutellar points in P. haloxylonomyiae and P. striativentris are formed by a carina on the posterior surface of this sclerite (Figs 18, 21 - 22, 25). Examination of Platygaster from the eastern United States yielded a specimen that has a similar, but more pronounced, carina on the posterior surface of the mesoscutellum which does not form a point dorsally (Fig. 26). The mesoscutellum of this specimen also bears a character that is new to us, the posterolateral mesoscutellar carina (Figs 23 - 26).