Sphaeropthalma Blake, 1871

Lelej, Arkady S. & Brothers, Denis J., 2008, The genus-group names of Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) and their type species, with a new genus, new name, new synonymies, new combinations and lectotypifications, Zootaxa 1889 (1), pp. 1-79 : 57

Sphaeropthalma Blake, 1871 (as subgenus of Mutilla Linnaeus, 1758 ). Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. 3: 220 (in key); 232 (description). Male, female.

Gender. Feminine.

Type species. Mutilla (Sphaeropthalma) scaeva Blake, 1871 (male), by automatic designation (see Sphaerophthalma Blake, 1886 ) (currently Sphaeropthalma pensylvanica scaeva ).

Taxonomic history. Raised to generic status by Blake, 1886: 179. Reduced to subgeneric status (in Mutilla Linnaeus, 1758 ) by Dalla Torre, 1897: 5. Junior subjective synonym of Mutilla Linnaeus, 1758 according to Fox, 1898: 14. Resurrected to generic status by Ashmead, 1899: 56. Junior subjective synonym of Ephuta Say, 1836 according to André, 1902c: 51. Senior objective synonym of Sphaerophthalma Blake, 1886 ; senior subjective synonym of Agama Blake, 1871 , Micromutilla Ashmead, 1899 , Neophotopsis Ashmead, 1903 , Photopsioides Schuster, 1958 , Photopsis Blake, 1886 , Physetapsis Schuster, 1958, Pyrrhomutilla Ashmead, 1899 , and Xenophotopsis Schuster, 1958. Valid generic name.

Sex association. The female of the type species has not been recognized as such; the female of a different subspecies was associated and identified (as Mutilla (Sphaeropthalma) balteola Blake, 1871: 248 ) by Bradley, 1916: 331.

Distribution. Nearctic, Neotropical.