Archaeatropidae, a New Family of Psocoptera from the Cretaceous Amber of Alava, Northern Spain

Abstract

A new family, genus, and species (Archaeatropidae, n. fam., Archaeatropos alavensis, n. gen., n. sp.) of Psocoptera from Alava Province, Spain, is described and illustrated from Late Cretaceous amber (114 m.y.a.). This new family belongs to the family group Atropetae. The relationships with the family group Atropetae and within Psocatropetae are discussed. We conclude that the Archaeatropidae represents an archaic, extinct lineage of Atropetae and possess some features shared with the Psocatropetae. This reinforces previous hypotheses about the relationships among Atropetae and Psocatropetae. These family groups represent 2 divergent branches arising from a common ancestor. A brief comment on the origin of the hypogean fauna in relation with our findings is made.