Abstract
We describe Pamphilioidea: Mirolydidae Wang, Rasnitsyn et Ren, fam. n., containing Mirolyda hirta Wang, Rasnitsyn et Ren, gen. et sp. n., from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new taxon is characterized by unique forewing venation with the presence of forewing SC, 1-RS almost as long as 1-M, M + Cu straight, 2r-rs strongly reclival, and antenna with homonomous flagellum, revealing new and important details in antennal evolutionary transformations. Thus, M. hirta with a combination of primitive and more derived characters highlights its transitional state in the Pamphilioidea and complex mosaic evolution within Pamphilioidea in the late Middle Jurassic. The body of this species is densely covered with thin and long setae, suggesting its possible habit of visiting gymnosperm reproductive organs for pollen feeding and/or pollination during the late Middle Jurassic, much earlier than the appearance of angiosperm flowers.
Highlights
The small group of distinctive sawflies, Pamphilioidea, has long been considered to comprise four families, viz., two extinct families of Xyelydidae and Praesiricidae and two extant families, Pamphiliidae and Megalodontesidae[1,2,3]
A critical comparison between fossil and extant pamphilioids is lacking, mainly because known fossils are poorly preserved., we describe Mirolydidae Wang, Rasnitsyn et Ren, fam. n., including one genus and its type species, with distinct characters including antenna, wing venation and legs
The new mirolydid species is based on two specimens collected from the latest Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation at Daohugou Village, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China
Summary
The small group of distinctive sawflies, Pamphilioidea, has long been considered to comprise four families, viz., two extinct families of Xyelydidae and Praesiricidae and two extant families, Pamphiliidae and Megalodontesidae[1,2,3]. The new mirolydid species is based on two specimens collected from the latest Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation at Daohugou Village, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China This unique fossil taxon can not be classified into any existing families because it has a striking combination of the unique plesiomorphies and a number of hardly questionable apomorphies in the forewing venation, and special antenna. In our view, this makes it necessary to erect a new family. The discovery of this unique and unusual pamphilioid in the mid Mesozoic is of considerable significance to enhance our understanding of the morphological evolution within the Pamphilioidea or even within the basal Hymenoptera; the new data necessitate a re-evaluation of the evolution of antennal morphology in Pamphilioidea
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