Belongs within: Sphecidae.
Prionyx is a cosmopolitan genus of wasps, most diverse in the Mediterranean region and southwest Asia, that prey on grasshoppers of the family Acrididae (Bohart & Menke 1976).
Characters (from Bohart & Menke 1976): Flagellomere I sometimes equal to II or II longer than I in some males; male flagellomeres plain or with placoids on articles III–V or VI (rarely on II–VII or only III–IV), placoids usually flat and nonspiculate; female clypeus usually bulging, free margin arcuate to straight for most of its breadth, often with a median V- or U-shaped notch; male clypeus arcuate to trapezoidal in outline, sometimes weakly emarginate; female labrum entire or broadly emarginate, or with a large U-shaped median notch in which case surface usually with a median carina which projects as a tooth into notch; male labrum entire or variably emarginate; female mandible usually with two teeth near middle of inner margin (one inner tooth rarely weak or absent), male mandible with a single subapical inner tooth; mouthparts short to long, labial palpi sometimes very short and occasionally only with one to three segments; episternal sulcus extending ventrad to or nearly to anteroventral margin of pleuron, rarely ending at level of scrobe; lower metapleural area often defined in females and some males by a dorsal ridge or crest; metapleuron often depressed and channel-like for reception of hindfemur; usually three submarginal cells present (exceptionally two); first and second recurrent veins typically received by submarginal cells II and III respectively, but other combinations occur; tibiae and tarsi moderately to densely spinose; female foreleg with a well developed rake of long, usually blade-like setae: apicoventral blade-like setae of last tarsomere of mid and hind leg usually separated by not more than a setal breadth; claw with two to five basal teeth on inner margin; petiole varying from short, straight with length much less than combined length of hindtarsomeres II–IV, to elongate, arcuate, and slightly more than length of hindtarsomeres II–IV; last sternum of female varying from broadly, transversely arched to strongly keel-like; male sterna occasionally with long, erect setae and IV–V usually covered with dull, scale-like, or velvety micropubescence which contrasts with adjacent sterna (III–VI rarely densely fimbriate; sternum VIII triangular and often keel-like, or spatulate, apex rounded or narrowly truncate and sometimes emarginate; penis valve head usually with teeth along ventral margin; apical lobe of volsella long and slender.
<==Prionyx Van der Linden 1827C85 (see below for synonymy)
|--*P. kirbii (Van der Linden 1827)C85 (see below for synonymy)
| |--P. k. kirbiiBM76
| `--P. k. marginatus (Smith 1856) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. afghaniensis (Beaumont 1970) [=Sphex afghaniensis]BM76
|--P. atratus (Lepeletier 1845) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. bifoveolatus (Taschenberg 1869) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. canadensis (Provancher 1887) [=Priononyx canadensis; incl. Sphex excisus Kohl 1890]BM76
|--P. chobauti (Roth 1925) [=Sphex chobauti]BM76
|--P. crudelis (Smith 1856) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. damascenus (Beaumont 1968) [=Sphex damascenus]BM76
|--P. elegantulus (Turner 1912) [=Sphex elegantulus]BM76
|--P. erythrogaster (Rohwer 1913) [=Callosphex erythrogaster]BM76
|--P. fervens (Linnaeus 1758) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. foxi Bohart & Menke 1963 [incl. Sphex ferrugineus Fox 1892 non Lepeletier 1845]BM76
|--P. fragilis (Nurse 1903) [=Sphex fragilis]BM76
|--P. funebris (Berland 1927) [=Sphex funebris]BM76
|--P. globosus (Smith 1856) [=Sphex globosa]C85
|--P. gobiensis (Tsuneki 1971) [=Sphex gobiensis]BM76
|--P. guichardi (Beaumont 1967) [=Sphex guichardi]BM76
|--P. haberhaueri (Radoszkowski 1872) [=Sphex haberhaueri]BM76
|--P. herrerai (Brèthes 1926) [=Sphex herrerai; incl. S. vilarrubiai Giner Marí 1944]BM76
|--P. inda (Linnaeus 1758) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. insignis (Kohl 1885) [=Sphex insignis]BM76
|--P. judaeus (Beaumont 1968) [=Sphex judaeus]BM76
|--P. kurdistanicus (Balthasar 1953) [=Sphex kurdistanicus]BM76
|--P. ‘leuconotus’ (Morawitz 1890) [=Sphex leuconotus non Brullé 1833]BM76
|--P. lividocinctus (Costa 1858) (see below for synonymy)BM76
| |--P. l. lividocinctusBM76
| |--P. l. apakensis (Tsuneki 1971) [=Sphex apakensis]BM76
| `--P. l. oasis (Tsuneki 1971) [=Sphex oasis]BM76
|--P. macula (Fabricius 1804) [=Pepsis macula; incl. Sphex eatoni Saunders 1910]BM76
| |--P. m. maculaBM76
| `--P. m. lugens (Kohl 1889) [=Sphex lugens]BM76
|--P. melanotus (Morawitz 1890) [=Sphex melanotus]BM76
|--P. neoxenus (Kohl 1890) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. nigropectinatus (Taschenberg 1869) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. niveatus (Dufour 1853) (see below for synonymy)BM76
| |--P. n. niveatusBM76
| `--P. n. ettingol (Tsuneki 1971) [=Sphex ettingol]BM76
|--P. notonitidus (Willink 1951) [=Chlorion notonitidum]BM76
|--P. nudatus (Kohl 1885) [=Sphex nudatus]BM76
|--P. parkeri Bohart & Menke 1963BM76
|--P. perezi (Berland 1927) [=Sphex perezi]BM76
|--P. persicus (Mocsáry 1883) [=Sphex persicus; incl. S. hispidus Morawitz 1890]BM76
|--P. pseudostriatus (Giner Marí 1944) [=Sphex pseudostriatus; incl. S. vaqueroi Giner Marí 1944]BM76
|--P. pumilio (Taschenberg 1869) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. radoszkowskyi (Kohl 1888) [=Sphex radoszkowskyi]BM76
|--P. reymondi (Roth 1954) [=Sphex reymondi]BM76
|--P. saevus (Smith 1856) [=Harpactopus saevus]C85
| |--P. s. saevusBM76
| `--P. s. harpax (Kohl 1898) [=Sphex harpax]BM76
|--P. senegalensis (Arnold 1951) [=Sphex senegalensis]BM76
|--P. senilis (Morice 1911) [=Sphex senilis; incl. S. biskrensis Roth 1925]BM76
|--P. sennae (Mantero 1901) [=Sphex sennae]BM76
|--P. simillimus (Fernald 1907) [=Chlorion simillimum; incl. S. tucumanensis Strand 1910]BM76
|--P. sirdariensis (Radoszkowski 1877) [=Sphex sirdariensis]BM76
|--P. songaricus (Eversmann 1849) [=Sphex songaricus; incl. S. tenuicornis Morawitz 1890]BM76
|--P. spinolae (Smith 1856) [=Sphex spinolae; incl. S. chilensis Spinola 1851 non Lepeletier 1845]BM76
|--P. stschurowskii (Radoszkowski 1877) [=Sphex stschurowskii]BM76
| |--P. s. stschurowskiiBM76
| `--P. s. hyalipennis (Kohl 1895) [=Sphex hyalipennis]BM76
|--P. subfuscatus (Dahlbom 1845)BM76 (see below for synonymy)
| |--P. s. subfuscatusBM76
| |--P. s. albovillosulus (Giordani Soika 1942) [=Sphex albovillosulus]BM76
| |--P. s. namkumiensis (Laidlaw 1929) [=Sphex namkumiensis]BM76
| |--P. s. rhodesianus (Arnold 1936) [=Chlorion rhodesianum]BM76
| `--P. s. rukwaensis (Arnold 1959) [=Sphex rukwaensis]BM76
|--P. sundewalli (Dahlbom 1845) [=Enodia sundewalli]BM76
|--P. thomae (Fabricius 1775) (see below for synonymy)BM76
|--P. trichargyrus (Spinola 1838) [=Sphex trichargyrus; incl. S. leucosoma Kohl 1890]BM76
|--P. viduatus (Christ 1791) (see below for synonymy)BM76
| |--P. v. viduatusBM76
| |--P. v. argentatus (Mocsáry 1883) [=Enodia argentata; incl. Sphex mocsaryi Kohl 1885]BM76
| `--P. v. pollens (Kohl 1885) [=Sphex pollens]BM76
|--P. vittatus (Kohl 1884) [=Enodia vittata]BM76
`--P. zarudnyi (Gussakovskij 1933) [=Sphex zarudnyi]BM76
Nomen nudum: Pseudosphex noverca Kaye 1910BM76
Prionyx Van der Linden 1827C85 [incl. Calosphex Kohl 1890BM76, Enodia Dahlbom 1843 non Hübner 1819BM76, Gastrosphaeria Costa 1858BM76, Harpactopus Smith 1856BM76, Neosphex Reed 1894BM76, Parasphex Smith 1856BM76, Priononyx Dahlbom 1843BM76, Pseudosphex Taschenberg 1869 non Hübner 1818BM76]
Prionyx atratus (Lepeletier 1845) [=Sphex atratus; incl. Priononyx brunnipes Cresson 1872, S. labrosus Harris 1835 (n. n.)]BM76
Prionyx bifoveolatus (Taschenberg 1869) [=Priononyx bifoveolatus; incl. Sphex caridei Lieberman 1931, S. striatulus Brèthes 1909, S. subexcisus Brèthes 1909, S. wagneri Berland 1927]BM76
Prionyx crudelis (Smith 1856) [=*Harpactopus crudelis; incl. Sphex aegyptius Lepeletier 1845 non Linnaeus 1758, S. grandis Radoszkowski 1876, S. rufipennis Fabricius 1793 non De Geer 1778, S. turcomanicus Radoszkowski 1893]BM76
Prionyx fervens (Linnaeus 1758) [=Sphex fervens; incl. S. doumerci Lepeletier 1845, Pepsis johannis Fabricius 1804, S. laerma Cameron 1897, Priononyx striatus Smith 1856]BM76
Prionyx inda (Linnaeus 1758) [=Sphex inda; incl. S. englebergi Brauns 1889, S. indostana Linnaeus 1764, Harpactopus tyrannus Smith 1856, S. vagus Radoszkowski 1881 nec Linnaeus 1758 nec Christ 1791]BM76
*Prionyx kirbii (Van der Linden 1827)C85 [=Ammophila kirbiiC85, P. kirbyiBM76; incl. Sphex albisectus Lepeletier & Serville 1828BM76, *Enodia albisectaBM76, *Parasphex albisectusBM76]
Prionyx kirbii marginatus (Smith 1856) [=Parasphex marginatus; incl. Sphex alluaudi Berland 1927, S. chudeaui Berland 1927, S. congoensis Berland 1927, S. curvilineatus Cameron 1912, S. sjoestedti Cameron 1908]BM76
Prionyx lividocinctus (Costa 1858) [=Enodia lividocincta; incl. E. graeca Mocsáry 1883, Priononyx isselii Gribodo 1880, E. obliquestriata Mocsáry 1883]BM76
Prionyx neoxenus (Kohl 1890) [=Sphex neoxenus; incl. S. gayi Berland 1927, S. melaenus Spinola 1851, S. melanogaster Brèthes 1910, S. nigricapillus Berland 1927, S. ommissus Kohl 1890]BM76
Prionyx nigropectinatus (Taschenberg 1869) [=Sphex nigropectinatus; incl. S. dives Lepeletier 1845, Podium maracandicum Radoszkowski 1877, S. nivosus Smith 1856]BM76
Prionyx niveatus (Dufour 1853) [=Sphex niveatus, *Calosphex niveatus; incl. Enodia albopectinata Taschenberg 1869, Sphex suavis Morawitz 1893]BM76
Prionyx pumilio (Taschenberg 1869) [=*Pseudosphex pumilio; incl. *Neosphex albospiniferus Reed 1894, Sphex dolichoderus Kohl 1890]BM76
Prionyx subfuscatus (Dahlbom 1845)BM76 [=Sphex subfuscatusBM76; incl. *Gastrosphaeria anthracina Costa 1858BM76, Enodia chrysoptera Ruthe & Stein 1857BM76, S. desertorum Eversmann 1849BM76, S. nigrita Lucas 1849 non S. nigritus Fabricius 1781BM76, E12, S. soror Dahlbom 1845BM76, S. subfuscatus Eversmann 1849 non Dahlbom 1845BM76]
Prionyx thomae (Fabricius 1775) [=Sphex thomae, Pepsis thomae, *Priononyx thomae; incl. Sphex altibia Strand 1911, Priononyx antillarum Saussure 1867, Pepsis crucis Fabricius 1804, Sphex edwardsi Cameron 1903, Priononyx mexicanus Saussure 1867, S. platensis Brèthes 1908, Enodia pubidorsum Costa 1862]BM76
Prionyx viduatus (Christ 1791) [=Sphex viduatus; incl. Enodia canescens Dahlbom 1843, S. granti Kirby 1900, S. micans Eversmann 1849, S. platynotus Matsumura 1912, S. pubescens Fabricius 1793, Priononyx zanoni Gribodo 1925]BM76
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[BM76] Bohart, R. M., & A. S. Menke. 1976. Sphecid Wasps of the World. University of California Press: Berkeley.
[C85] Cardale, J. C. 1985. Vespoidea and Sphecoidea. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 2. Hymenoptera: Formicoidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea pp. 150–303. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.
[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.