A new triadotypid insect from the Late Triassic of South Africa

Abstract

Extant odonates (damsel- and dragonflies) represent a small subset of the historical biodiversity of this group. Among their successive stem-groups, the Triadotypomorpha are poorly documented. Herein we describe a new species Reisia rieki from the Molteno Formation (South Africa, Upper Triassic) belonging to this taxon. The comparatively large sample allows a relatively complete description of the wing venation in Triadotypomorpha. We noticed the occurrence of a strongly oblique crossvein located between RA and RP1, a condition documented in some other Pandiscoidalia and which might be of phylogenetic importance. The new species probably inhabited open landscapes and foraged above large water bodies. The documentation of a Gondwanian Triadotypomorpha demonstrates that the group had a worldwide distribution by the Triassic.