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Study of the Cretaceous Fossil Insects of China By STUDY OF THE CRETACEOUS FOSSIL INSECTS OF CHINA BY C. PING Biological Laboratory of the Science Society of China, Nanking; and Fan Memorial I nstitute of Biology, Peking. ---------~.~..------- INTRODUCTION The Cretaceous insect" of China are very little known. To study their tax­ onomy and distribution involves a threefold interest: First, during the Mesozoic era the Asiatic continent was larger than it is today according to the geologists, so the part of the continent, where China is today, may be expected to have a very rich insect fauna; secondly, as few fossil insects of the Mesozoic era described by former workers were from other regions of Eastern Asia than from China proper, namely Siberia, and Turkestan, it is interesting to note how much relationship existed among these insects distributed in the different regions on this part of the continent; thirdly, Mesozoic insects as a whole have not been so much studied as those of other eras, any so addi­ tion to such knowledge is considered to be of interest. Former authors like Brauer, Redtenbacher and Ganglbauer have described a number of fossil insects belonging to the Middle Jurassic period from the Ust Balei Basin in the Irkutsk region: of Orthoptera, Paraple1f,rites gracilis, Pesudohumbertiella grandis; of Blattoidea, Ophismoblatta sibirica, O. macl-tlata; of Coleoptera, Trinarcho­ pais czekanowskii, C arab lcera prisca; of Per laria, M esonemoura maaki, M esoleutra gracilis. PLatyperia platypoda; of Odonata, Palmophlebia syntestoides, Samar1-tra gigantia, S. minor, S. pulla, S. augustata, S. r01mdata; of Plectoptera, Mesobaetis sibirica, M esoneta antiqua (both of nymph stage); of Panorpatae, AI esopanorpa har­ tungi; of Diptera, ill[ esopsychoda dasyptera, N ematocera. From the same re~ion Hand­ lirsch described three Coleopterous insects: Dogeria sibir£ca, M emptus braueri, 111. redtenbacheri; and Oppenheim described two: Phragmatoecites damesi and PaLfe­ cossus jurassicus. (r) 5 (r) 6 P almontologia 5 inica 5er. B. Martynov in a recent paper described thirteen beetles discovered in Jurassic slates in Eastern Karatau, Turkestan; Carabopteron pttnctato-lineatum, Carabopteron punctatum, !v! esocupes primitivtts, M esodascilla jakobsoni, Semenoviola obliquo-trttn­ cata, T erstts crassicornis, Lithostoma expansttm, N itidulina eclavata, N ecromera baekmanni, Parandreki" parvula, A rchmorrhynchus tenuicornis, Ettmolpites jurassicus. From probably Lower Cretaceous beds in different localities of Eastern Siberia a few insects have been recorded by Reis. These are: Ephemeropsis orienta/is Eichward and Phacelobranchus braueri Handl. from Turga; E. trisetalis Eichw. from Towega River, Nertschink; E. orientalis Eichw. from Konduyewskaya on the Turga in Nertschink; E. 1niddendorji Hand1. from Byrka; Carabid (gen. & sp. ?), Phryganid (gen. & sp. ?), Libellulid (gen. & sp. ?), from the deposits on the Witim River. In addition to the above, Heer records Elateroides sibiricus Heer. Cockerell is of the opinion that the above mentioned four species of fossil Mayflies described by Eichwald and Handlirsch are all synonymous. Very recently the Lower Cretaceous insects of China have been studied by Grabau and Cockerell. The former author described four species from the shales of Laiyang, Shantung. which are Sinoblatta laiyangensis, Laiyangta paradoxijormis, Pro­ teroscarabmus yeni, and Samarura gregaria, and the latter author recorded the following insects from Mongolia: Ephemeropsis trisetatis Eichwald, E. malanurus Cockerell. (?) Cymatophlebia mongolica Cock., Chironomopsisgobiensis Corck., Coleoptera (gen. & sp. 7). The specimens which I have studied and described in this paper were collected by the Staff of the Geological Survey, Peking, from two regions in China. Those from Laiyang, Shantung, were collected by Mr. H. C. Tan and Mr. H. S. Wang and those from Pei-piao, Jehol, were collected by Dr. W.H \Vong and Mr. H.C. Tan, and two specimens of Ephemeropsis by Pere Teilhard du Chardin. These two localities as well as those from where the above enumerated insects have been described and recorded I have indicated in the following map in order to show their distribution in the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous periods. Opportunities for finding things new in the insect fauna of the Lower Cretaceous and in working out their relationship with the insects of other periods on the Eastern Asiatic continent are tangible. The Geological Survey under the capable administra­ tion of Dr. W. H. Wong is every year enriching its museum with collections of fossil insects as well as specimens of geology and pal~.eontology by its excellently trained staff. There is a great hope of widening the knowledge of Chinese Mesozoic insects. Dr. A. W. Grabau kindly suggested to me to restudy those insects from the museum of the Geological Survey which he had described several years ago. The descrip­ tions of these species, of which I have made a few alterations, are incorporated in the presen t pa per. Vol. XIII. Ping--Cretaceous Fossil Insects of China (1) 7 I desire to acknowledge my intebtedness to Dr. A. W. Grabau for his encourage­ ment and guidance. Valuable criticisms and help have been kindly given to me during the progress of the study. To my friend, Dr. W. H. Wong, Director of the Geological Survey, for putting the specimens and every facility of the Survey at my disposal, to :JIr. Y. T. Chao for his untiring kindness in rendering me help, and to Mr. K H. Hsu who has kindly made photographs for me, I also wish to express my thanks and appre­ ciation. Descriptions of Species Order BLATTOIDEA Handlirsch. Genus LAIYANGIA Grabau This speclmen was described by Professor Grabau and as to what order it belongs there remains an open question. As the same author points out that the wings bear a remarkable resemblance to those of the order Blattoidea, but the charac­ ters of the body do not suggest that the insect could be of this order, it is deemed necessary to restudy the specimen in order to ascertain the salient features for the ordinal determination. Single and poorly preserved, the specimen does not permit examination on all the important structures characteristic of the order. It seems however that the head of the insect is vertical, and very faint traces of the marginal portions of the broad and flattened pro thorax are still recognizable near both sides of the head and at the bases of the fore wings. In addition to these characters the shape and venation of the wing suggest very strongly the possibilty of its belonging to the order Blattoidea. As far as the family is concerned, its wing venation shows that this form fits into Mesoblattinidoo of which only one American species has been describe~ by Handlirsch from the Upper Cretaceous, Both the generic and specific characters have been very carefully observed and fully recorded by Professor Grabau, and these are quoted in the following with revisions on a few points. "Head oval, rather large, not transverse, and apparently loosely jointed to the thorax. Antennoo and mouth parts not determinable". Pro thorax with only its central portion preserved, traces of its peripheral parts very fain t near the head and the bases of the fore wings, probably much larger than preserved parts. "The combined mesothorax and metathorax large. forming together a truncated cone (as compressed on the rock surface) fully twice as wide behind as in fron t. and strongly lobed with oblique lobations; abruptly ending behind. Legs slender with long. many-jointed tarsus. Two pairs of well developed wings approximately of equal length, the anterior about three times as long as wide, the posterior apparently wider. Venation simple. the principal veins all beginning far back. Costa marginal, sub­ costa simple, meeting the wing margin near the mid-length. Radial simple, (1) 9 (1) 10 Palmontologia Sinica Ser. B. meeting the margin a little III front of the mid-length of the wing. Radial sector branching off near the base of the radial, and sending a number of branches to the front margin of the wing. Media also beginning far back, much branched, the bran­ ches extending to both the frontal and back margins of the wings, cubitus few­ branched (about four in the genotype); anal field sharply outlined by strong arcuate anal fold, which has a remarkable resemblance to that of the wings of the Blattoidea. Anal veins not preserved; cross veins not shown. Posterior wings with more com­ plicated nervation, the subcosta(?) giving off a number of short branches to the frontal margin of the wing. Abdomen remarkable in that the anterior ring is much contract­ ed as in many Hymenoptera, the next one abruptly widening again, thus giving the insect a contracted .. waist". "Posterior part of abdomen not preserved." "In attempting to interpret the structure of this insect we might assume that the meso-and meta-thorax are very short and the greater part of the triangular lobed structure here referred to the thorax might in reality be a part of the abdomen, the posterior part of which is abruptly contracted and has an unknown terminal portion. In that case we must consider the sudden expansion of the body behind the contracted ring as illusory and only apparent, this appearance being brought about in some way by the crushing. While this would do away with the anomaly of a lobed thorax, it would still leave us with a form differing markedly in appearance and in wing structure from any known type. In such a form the posterior wings, which are evidently folded over the body, would project for almost half their length beyond the end of the abdomen. Moreover, there is a faint but not to be disregarded indication of a posterior leg which proceeds from a point that would fall upon the prolongation of the line separating the fourth and fifth lobes of the supposed thorax ......... Until better preserved material then shows the contrary. I shall regard the lobed conical portion of the body as forming the combined meso-and meta­ thorax." Laiyangia paradoxiformis Grabau Text fig.
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