Abstract
A new Cretaceous dustywing, Soplaoconis ortegablancoi gen. et sp. nov. (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae), is described from four specimens preserved in Early Cretaceous (Albian, ~105Ma) El Soplao amber (Cantabria, northern Spain). Two additional specimens are assigned to this new taxon. A crossvenational abnormality on an area of diagnostic significance from one of the holotype’s forewings provides a reminder of the importance of not ruling out character plasticity or teratoses when evaluating palaeodiversity. A comment on the possible palaeoecological significance of the co-occurrence as syninclusions of plant trichomes with the holotype of S. ortegablancoi and seven of the eleven described Burmese amber dustywing species is provided.
Highlights
Dustywings (Coniopterygidae) comprise a relatively large neuropteran family with about 570 extant species described and a cosmopolitan distribution (Oswald & Machado, 2018; Engel et al, 2018). Both adults and larvae are usually generalist predators that can be mostly found on bushes and trees, some species are more commonly found in low vegetation feeding on minute, generally inactive arthropods such as aphids, coccids, and mites; some species appear to be associated with particular plant species, which suggests preference for certain food types (Meinander, 1972)
Coniopterygids reach the smallest sizes within Neuroptera, which translates into simplified wing venation patterns
Fossil coniopterygids are known since the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan (Meinander, 1975), and currently comprise 25 Mesozoic and 16 Cenozoic species, mostly known from amber inclusions (Li et al, 2019; Ružičková et al, 2019)
Summary
Dustywings (Coniopterygidae) comprise a relatively large neuropteran family with about 570 extant species described and a cosmopolitan distribution (Oswald & Machado, 2018; Engel et al, 2018). Both adults and larvae are usually generalist predators that can be mostly found on bushes and trees, some species are more commonly found in low vegetation feeding on minute, generally inactive arthropods such as aphids, coccids, and mites; some species appear to be associated with particular plant species, which suggests preference for certain food types (Meinander, 1972). Fossil coniopterygids are known since the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan (Meinander, 1975), and currently comprise 25 Mesozoic and 16 Cenozoic species, mostly known from amber inclusions (Li et al, 2019; Ružičková et al, 2019)
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