Notulae Entornologicae LV, 53-57, 1975

Fossil Coniopterygidae (Neuroptera)

Martin Meinander

Abstract

MEINANDER,MARTIN: Fossil Coniopterygidae (Neuroptera). - Notulae Entomol. 55:53-57. 1975. Three fossil species are described: Juraconiopteryx gen. n. zherichini sp. n. from the Upper Jurassic: Tithonian (?Aleuropteryginae); Glaesoconis gen. n. cretica sp. n. from the Cretaceous: Conician-Santonian (Aleuropteryginae: Fon- tenelleini) and Hemisemidalis sharovi sp. n. from the Tertiary: Eocene, Baltic amber (Coniopteryginae: Coniopterygini). The specimen of Juraconiopteryx zherichini is the earliest certain find of a coniopterygid. Author's address: Dr. Martin Meinander, Zoological Museum, N. Jarnvbs- gatan 13, SF-00100 Helsingfors 10, Finland.

Although the neuropterous family nity to examine material comprising Coniopterygidae is at present cosmopo- five fossil specimens of three species of litan in its distribution and conioptery- Coniopterygidae. Two of them are, the gids are fairly coinmon on all the con- first certain finds of the family from tinents, very few fossil representatives the Mesozoic Era, one lbeing Jurassic have been found. Four species are re- and one Cretaceous. corded from European amber, Archi- For terminology and references to coniocompsa prisca Enderlein, 1910, the literature on the previously descri- Archiconis electrica Enderlein, 1930, bed coniopterygid fossil species, see Coniopteryx timidus (Hagen, 1856) and MEINANDER1972. Heminiphetica fritschi Enderlein, 1930, and two species from subfossil African Jttruconiopteryx Meinander, gen. n. copal, Coniopteryx enderleini Meunier, Type, by present designation, Juraconiopteryx 1910 and Semidalis copulina Meunier, zherichini Meinander, sp. n. 1910. These specimens in question are Head capsule in lateral view dorso- all of fairly recent origin. ventrally elongated. Genae long. Anten- In addition, there is a controversial nal sockets apparently separate. Eyes find of a forewing from the upper Eu- medium-sized. Antennae about 28-seg- ropean Lias (Jurassic). HANDLIRSCHmented, segments slightly longer than 1906 attributed it to a psyllid, which broad. Investigation of palpi impossib- he named Archipsylla liasina Hand- le. No generic characters distinguishab- lirsch, but ENDERLEIN(1909) later le in thorax and abdomen. transferred it to Coniopterygidae and a Juraconiopteryx is clearly a conio- new genus, Archiconiopteryx; its iden- pterygid and this is thus the earliest tity is still disputed. certain record of the family. Although Through the kindness of Dr. V. V. distinct generic characters cannot be Zherichin of the Palaeontological In- seen, it seems advisable to name the stitute of the USSR Academy of Scien- species, to permit future references to it, ces in Moscow, I have had the opportu- and as it cannot be attributed to a re- 54 NOTULAE ENTOMOLOGICAE LV, 1975

FIG. 1. Photograph of Juraconiopteryx zherichini (holotype). cent genus with any certainty, I have and Ri. Length of fore wing about created a new one. In view of the 2.7 mm. structure of the head and the antennae, Specimen examined: South Kazakhstan, Tshimkent Region, Karatau Range, Aktas Villa- the genus should obviously be assigned ge, Aulie, holotype. to Aleuropteryginae. Glaesoconis Meinander, gen. n. Juraconiopteryx zherichini Mei- Type, by present designation, Glaesoconis cre- nander, sp. n. tica Meinander, sp. n. Type: holotype, sex?; an impress on a piece of shale from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian); No. 2384/1300, Palaeontological Institute in Moscow. Antennae %segmented, slightly ta- pering towards base and tip. Scape and pedicel of specimen indistinct, but cer- tainly not much longer than broad. Basal flagellar segments broader than long, median and distal segments slight- ly longer than broad. Length of anten- nae 1.7 mm. Wings rather slender- Venation FIG.2. Drawing of Jtlraconiopteryx zherichini distinguishable except for the thick Sc (holotype) . M. MEINANDER, FOSSIL CONICTPTERYGIDAE (NEUROPTERA). 5 5

Head capsule elongate, apparently long as broad. Two distinct basal cross- with a large unsclerotized area on frons veins in costal area. Sc2 striking RI including antenna1 soclslets and extend- distinctly basally of radial cross-vein, ing downwards to cl~peus.Eyes me- which strikes Rs on its branch R2+3. dium-sized. R4+5~uperficicall~ resembling an aa- Antennae 24-27-segmented. Scape terior branch of M, the basal part be- and pedicel about one and a half times ing cross-vein-like and the cross-vein as long as broad. Flagellar segments R4+5-Mlt-2 looking like an anterior slightly longer than broad. Hairs on branch of MI-1-2.NO setae visible on M flagellar segments very dense, apparent- and accordingly no thickenings. Three ly arranged in a basal and distal whorl median branches. Cross-veins Ks-M 2nd but some also scattered between the M-Cui striking M close to each other. whorls. Sc, Ri, most distal part of R3+4 and Maxillary palpi long and slender, basal part of Cui, A1 and A2 bearing distal segment of about the same width hairs. Marginal fringes minute. as the preceding ones. Distal segment Mind wings about two and a half of labial palpi broad and oval, basal times as broad as long. Venation as in segments small and at most only slight- fore wings except that there is 110 dis- ly longer than broad. tal cross-vein M-Cul. Basal cross-vein Fore wings two and a half times as Rs-M striking M on'its stem close to

FIG.3. Glae~oconiscretica, specimens No. 3130136 and No. 3311162. 56 NOTULAE ENTOMOLOGICAE LV, 1975 the fork, or branch M1+2 close to its base. Abdomen weakly sclerotized except genitalia. Distinct large plicaturae on certain abdominal segments. Glaesoconis clearly belongs to the subfamily Aleuropteryginae: the head is dorso-ventrally elongated in lateral view, the genae are long, the fore wing has two radiomedial cross-veins besides possible basal cross-veins, and the hind wing has Rs branching off from R near the base. It was not possible to in- vestigate the gales. The presence of pli- caturae is an apomorphic character in Aleuropteryginae. A distinctly primitive feature of FIG. 4. Wing venation of Glaesoconis cretica. Glaesoconis is the three median branch- es in both wings; all recent genera have frons and the wing venation indicate only two branches. Among the fossil that it belongs to Fontenelleini. Aleuropteryginae, Archiconis has two median branches in both wings, Archi- coniopteryx has two branches in the Glaesoconis cretica Meinander, fore wing (hind wing not known) and sp.n. Archiconiocompsa has two branches in Type: $ holotype; In Cretaceous amber (Coni- cian-Santonian) collected in northern Siberia, the fore wing but three branches in the Taimyr, Jantardakh; No. 3311/62, Palaeonto- hind wing. logical Institute in Moscow. The absence of median thickenings is Head apparently with a very large probably also primitive, although they unsclerotized area on frons. Eyes me- are also absent (secondarily?) in the re- dium-sized, height 0.18 mm (height of cent genera Aleuropteryx, Cryptoscenea head 0.34 mm). Antennae 24-27-seg- and Paraconis. mented. Flagellum slightly tapering to- In Aleuropteryginae, except the re- wards the tip. Length of antennae cent genera Pseudoconis and Vartiana about 1.2 mm. and the fossil Archiconiocornpsa, M Wing venation, Fig. 4. Position of and Cui of the hind wing are very cross-vein Rs-M of hind wing variable, close to each other basally; in Glaeso- cross-vein striking either stem of M or conis they are not particularly close to branch MI+^, in both cases close to the each other. fork. Length of fore wing 1.9-2.1 mm, In 1972 I divided the Aleuroptery- of hind wing (specimen 3130136) 1.8 ginae into three tribes, the certainly mm. monophyletic Aleuropterygini and Co- In the female specimen there are di- niocompsini and the probably paraphy- stinct large plicaturae on certain abdo- letic Fontenelleini. Glaesoconis does not minal segments but it was not possible possess any of the apomorphic charac- to determine on which segments. I did ters that characterize the Aleuroptery- not discern plicaturae in the male spe- gini and Coniocompsini, and the pre- cimens. sence of the large fontanelle on the No detailed investigation of the male M. MEINANDER, FOSSIL CONIOPTERYGIDAE (NEUROPTERA). 57 genitalia is possible on either of the available specimens. Terminally there is an ectoproct-like structure which ends ventrally in a clavate tooth. Vent- rally there are several rods, apparently the parameres and penis. Specimens examined: Taimyr, Jantardakh, 2 $ $ 1 $? in amber found in lignite-bearing Cretaceous sands of the Khete Formation, nos. 3311162 (holotype), 3311163 (9) and 3130/36. Hemisemidalis sharovi Meinander, sp. n. Type: Q holotype; In Baltic amber (?Middle FIG. 5. Wing venation of Hemisemidalis sha- Eocene) collected in Kaliningrad Region; No. rovi. FIG. 6. Female genitalia of Hemisemidalis 964/56, Palaeontological Institute in Moscow. sharovi. Head, Fig. 5-6. It agrees with the description of Hemisemidalis in MEI- NANDER 1972:290, except that the distal Hemisemidalis. They are surrounded segment of the maxillary palpus is by some milky substance, which has about twice as broad as the preceding dissolved from the body into the amber one. Antennae 32-segmented. Flagellar and makes a closer studv of them im- segments about as long as broad. possible. Wings, Fig. 5. The venation agrees S~ecimenexamined: USSR. Kalininerad Re- gion: $? holotype in the ambe; mines g Jantar- with my description of the genus nyj (formely Palmnicken). (1972), except that the fore wings have two basal cross-veins C-Sc. In the hind wing the cross-vein M-Cui strikes M References perpendicularly, instead of slightly ob- liquely, as in the earlier described spe- ENDERLEIN,G. 1909: Zur Kenntnis friihjuras- sischer Copeognathen und Conioptery- cies of Hemisemidalis, H. barnardi giden und iiber das Schiksal der Archi- (Kimmins), H. kasyi (Aspiick & As- psylliden. - Zool. Anz. 34:770-776. piick), H. longipennis (Tjeder) and H. HANDLIRSCH,A. 1906: Die Fossilen Insekten pallida (Withycombe). Length of fore und die Phylogenie der rezenten Formen. - 1430 pp. Leipzig. wing 2.4 mm, of hind wing 2.0 mm. MEINANDER,M. 1972: A revision of the family Female genitalia, Fig. 6. They agree Coniopterygidae (Planipennia) . - Acta fairly well with those of the recent Zool. Fennica 136:l-357. Bibliography of the Neuropterida

Bibliography of the Neuropterida Reference number (r#): 4132

Reference Citation: Meinander, M. 1975 [1975.??.??]. Fossil Coniopterygidae (Neuroptera). Notulae Entomologicae 55:53-57.

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