Palaeoentomology

First fossil representative of the sawfly subfamily Blennocampinae (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae)

2022-03-14T14:35:22+13:00

Eutomostethus karimae sp. nov., the first fossil representative of the sawfly subfamily Blennocampinae, is described from the Eocene Green River Formation (Colorado, USA). Extant representatives of the genus Eutomostethus are distributed in the Palaearctic and the Oriental regions, with two species probably introduced by humans in the Nearctic Region. The presence of a fossil related to this genus in the Eocene of North America is in accordance with the different land bridges present at that time and allowing important entomofaunal exchanges between this region and Eurasia. The present discovery also corroborates the recent estimate of the divergence of the subfamily Blennocampinae at the extreme end of the Cretaceous.

Fossil caddis cases from the lower Eocene Huachong Formation of the Sanshui Basin, Foshan City, Guangdong Province, South China with detrital zircon analyses

2022-04-12T14:52:30+12:00

Here we describe for the first time the insect (trace) fossils from the lower Eocene Huachong Formation at the Sanshui Basin in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, South China. Three specimens of caddis cases display different morphologies, but all of them are constructed using mainly ostracods. The detrital zircon from a layer below the fossil bed is studied. Our isotopic chronological analyses of the detrital zircons reveal at least four phases of volcanic activities in this area during the Phanerozoic.

A new calopterygid damselfly (Odonata, Zygoptera) from the Oligocene Ningming Basin, Guangxi, South China

2022-04-12T15:28:28+12:00

A new calopterygid genus and species, Guangxicalopteryx huashanensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Oligocene of the Ningming Formation in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. It probably belongs to the subfamily Calopteryginae, ‘in-between’ Caliphaea + Noguchiphaea and the other Calopteryginae. This new fossil strongly supports the current hypothesis of a humid subtropical climate for the area at this time.

New Serphitidae and Gallorommatidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Microprocta) in the Early Cretaceous Lebanese amber

2022-04-12T14:20:50+12:00

Three new serphitids (Microserphites libanensis sp. nov., Leptoserphites pabloi gen. et sp. nov. and Leptoserphites iriae gen. et sp. nov.) and a gallorommatid (Cretaceomma libanensis gen. et sp. nov.) from two different outcrops from the lower Barremian Lebanese amber are characterised, described, illustrated and their taxonomic positions are discussed. These serphitids and gallorommatid constitute the earliest records of these Cretaceous fossil families. Galloromma turolensis Ortega et al., 2011 is transferred to the genus Cretaceomma gen. nov.

**Redescription of Minyohelea nexuosa (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) based on a new specimen from Lebanese amber**

2022-04-12T15:05:03+12:00

The first records of Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges, are from the earliest Cretaceous. The early Cretaceous representatives of the family are currently interpreted as haematophagous. †Minyohelea Borkent, 1995 is one of six extinct, bloodsucking ceratopogonid genera currently recorded (Pielowska-Ceranowska et al., 2021). So far, nine species of the genus Minyohelea have been described, with the most recently addition being M. nexuosa Pielowska-Ceranowska, 2021 from the Mdeyrij-Hammana amber locality in Lebanon. However, subsequent work has recovered an additional male specimen of M. nexuosa from a separate outcrop hosting Lebanese amber at 32 km South-West from Mdeyrij-Hammana outcrop at the Jezzine Fall (Fig. 1) in Wadi Jezzine village [Caza (= District) Jezzine, South Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon]. As this new specimen preserves additional morphological features not seen previously, this paper documents the additional details and provides an amended diagnosis for Minyohelea nexuosa Pielowska-Ceranowska, 2021. Previously missing morphological features are documented and illustrated here.

A new fossil representative of the scorpionfly subfamily Panorpinae (Mecoptera, Panorpidae) from the Miocene of France

2022-04-10T21:52:07+12:00

The extant representatives of the order Mecoptera (except Siphonaptera now considered to belong to the Mecoptera: Tihelka et al., 2020) are famous among insects because of their long beaklike rostrum but also, because the males of the family Panorpidae have enlarged genitals raised over the body, and are called scorpionflies. The order Mecoptera is thought to have arisen during the Carboniferous period (Misof et al., 2014), a dating corroborated by their abundant fossil record during the Permian period (https://paleobiodb.org), and the presence of the antliophoran sister group Amphiesmenoptera during the late Carboniferous (Nel et al., 2007). The origin of the main family of Mecoptera i.e., the Panorpidae, was estimated to date to the Early Cretaceous (ca. 122.5 Ma) (Miao et al., 2019). The phylogenetic relationships within the family Panorpidae were recently investigated and revised using morphological data (Wang & Hua, 2021) and new hypotheses were proposed for their past dispersal events. Wang & Hua (2021: fig. 17) assumed that the Panorpidae originated from Asia and that at least two dispersal events have shaped the west European fauna. Here we describe a new specimen of scorpionfly from the Miocene of Murat (Cantal, France).

Rhomeocalpsua torosa gen. et sp. nov., a unique lineage of Endomychidae from mid‑Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Coccinelloidea)

2022-04-17T00:40:28+12:00

A new fossil genus and species of the family Endomychidae, Rhomeocalpsua torosa Li, Tomaszewska & Cai, gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new genus is characterised by the relatively elongate body, antennae composed of nine antennomeres with unique club morphology, unmodified pronotum, mesocoxal cavities broadly closed laterally, femora with deep and long grooves, and 3-3-3 tarsi. Detailed morphological comparisons between the Cretaceous fossils and extant relatives suggest that its unique character combination does not fit into any existing subfamilies of Endomychidae, Mycetaeidae, Eupsilobiidae or Anamorphidae.

The youngest and first Lebanese representative of the family Saucrosmylidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) from the Cenomanian

2022-04-15T01:21:51+12:00

Lebanosmylus leae gen. et sp. nov., the youngest and first representative of the family Saucrosmylidae, is described from the marine lithographic Cenomanian limestone of the Konservat-Lagerstätte of Hjoula, Lebanon, on the basis of a wing compression. The paleobiogeographic implications are briefly discussed.

New dictyopteran fossils from the Pennsylvanian of West Beijing, China

2022-04-25T19:45:33+12:00

Carboniferous insects from China are rare. Here we report a new fossiliferous locality at the Yexi Section, western Beijing, from where Pennsylvanian insects have been discovered. These insect fossils collected from the black shales of the Benxi Formation (middle–late Moscovian to early Kasimovian) are associated with rich plant remains. The fossils are represented mainly by dictyopteran tegmina that cannot be further identified. The discovery is helpful for our understanding of the diversity and preservation of Carboniferous insects in western Beijing and also the Benxi Formation of North China.

A brief report on the Palaeocene insects from the Sanshui Basin of Guangdong, South China

2022-04-25T19:59:39+12:00

More than two hundred and seventy specimens belonging to seven neopteran orders were collected, primarily from the upper part of the Xinzhuangcun Formation. Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera have become more diverse groups in the Early Paleocene. The environment and climate in this period are putatively reconstructed.

**Revision of the Oligocene pamphiliid genus and species Tapholyda caplani (Cockerell, 1933)**

2022-03-12T01:54:54+13:00

The position of the enigmatic Oligocene pamphiliid genus and species Tapholyda caplani (Cockerell, 1933) is revised based on new specimens from the late Oligocene of the Creede Formation (Colorado, USA). The study of the wing venation and body characters indicate affinities with the fossil subfamily Juralydinae. The species is transferred to the latter accordingly. We revise the diagnoses of the Juralydinae and Tapholyda caplani. We designate a lectotype for the species and provide an interpretative drawing of its forewing venation. The placement of Tapholyda caplani in the Juralydinae extends the temporal range of the subfamily to the Oligocene.

New insect fossils discovered from the Lower Jurassic Sangonghe Formation at the Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, NW China

2022-04-27T14:03:01+12:00

Early Jurassic insects have been described from the Badaowan and the Sangonghe formations in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, NW China. Among them, the insect fossils from the Sangonghe Formation remain poorly explored. Here we report for the first time a diverse assemblage of fossil insects from the Sangonghe Formation near the Daheyan Township, Turpan Basin. They are represented by six groups, including Odonatoptera, Dermaptera, Blattodea, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera. Sinoscarterella incompleta Nel, Fu & Huang, gen. et sp. nov. of Dysmorphoptilidae (Hemiptera) and Liassorhyphus liaoi Nel & Huang, gen. et sp. nov. of Anisopodidae (Diptera) are described here. Our discovery provides a window into a potentially diverse entomofauna in the Early Jurassic, increasing our knowledge about the insect diversity during that time in eastern Asia.