The Phanuromyia galeata species group is delineated and its species richness explored for the first time (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae, Telenominae). This work is based upon specimens deposited in the following collections, with abbreviations used in the text: CNCI, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Canada; OSUC, C.A. Triplehorn Insect Collection, Columbus, OH. Morphological terminology follows Miko et al. (2007) and the Hymenoptera Anatomy Ontology (http://portal.hymao.org/projects/32/public/ontology), which is searchable for all morphological terms in this manuscript. Holotypes are unambiguously identifiable by means of the unique identifier or the red holotype label. The numbers prefixed with “OSUC ” are unique identifiers for individual specimens. These unique identifiers are associated with their specimens' data in The Ohio State University's Hymenoptera Online database, accessible at http://hol.osu.edu. Searching this database using a specimen's unique identifier will produce all data associated with the specimen. All new species have been prospectively registered with Zoobank as well as the Hymenoptera Name Server (http:// hns.osu.edu). All images were created using AutoMontage and Combine ZP extended focus software and archived within The Ohio State University's image database (http://specimage.osu.edu). Species descriptions were generated using a database application, vSysLab (http://vsyslab.osu.edu). This application facilitates the construction of taxon character data matrices, the integration of matrices with our existing taxonomic database, and the exportation of data in a variety of file types which can be used in other programs.
Within Phanuromyia, we separate the galeata group purely as a practical grouping; at this point we do not assert its monophyly. The group may be distinguished, first and foremost, by their unusually large body size: most specimens are greater than 2 mm in length. Beyond that, the body is distinctly elongate, T1 in the female is produced into a horn to house the ovipositor, T2 is strongly elongate, as often are the following tergites. The group is strictly Neotropical in distribution, extending from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the north to Misiones in southern Paraguay. Fifteen species are described, all of which are new: Phanuromyia comata Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Brazil), P. constellata Nesheim, sp. n. (Paraguay), P. corys Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Brazil), P. cranos Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana), P. cudo Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela), P. dissidens Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana), P. galeata Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Mexico, Peru), P. galerita Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana), P. hjalmr Nesheim, sp. n. (Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela), P. krossotos Nesheim, sp. n. (Ecuador), P. odo Nesheim, sp. n. (Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela), P. pauper Nesheim, sp. n. (Ecuador, Peru), P. princeps Nesheim, sp. n. (Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana), P. tonsura Nesheim, sp. n. (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru), P. tubulifer Nesheim & Masner, sp. n. (Brazil, Guyana).