A new mid-Cretaceous fossil genus of stonefly (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from the Burmese amber

Abstract

A new genus and species of stonefly is described and figured from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber as †Burmaperla pouilloni Jouault & Nel gen. et sp. nov. The placement of this new genus and species within the Perlidae is corroborated by an in-depth comparison of apomorphies. This new species differs from all other Acroneuriinae from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber biota, inter alia, owing to its wing venation with ScP reaching RA beyond ra-rp, RP with three branches, MP partially fused with the upper branch of CuA, CuA with four branches, its hammer nearly circular and its genitalia with paraprocts weakly sclerotized, abruptly upcurved, thinning towards the apex and symmetrical. This new species increases the diversity of Acroneuriinae stoneflies in the Burmese amber biota, and combined with the geological history of the Burmese terrane is used to discuss the putative presence of Antarctoperlaria in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.