Abstract
Adjacivena rasnitsyni gen. n., sp. n., from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation (Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China), is described based on a set of well-preserved specimens, interpreted as two females and a male of the same species. The new taxon is assigned to the family Susumaniidae, i.e. is a candidate stem-Phasmatodea. This ordinal assignment is supported by genital elements, chiefly a putative operculum concealing the ovipositor observed in one female specimen and a putative extension of the 10th tergum with a thorn pad in the male specimen. Variation in the venation of the forewing is appreciated based on more or less complete pairs of wings and a comparison with that in the forewings of male Heteropteryx dilatata (Parkinson, 1798). This material offers new perspectives on the primary homologies of the hind wing venation of stick-insects.
Highlights
Stick-insects compose a rather small order of insects, which currently includes over 3,000 extant species (Bragg, 2001; Brock & Hasenpusch, 2009)
Relevant at the level of the order, the comparative analysis of foreand hind wing venation provided by Ragge (1955), based on extant material, needs to be reinterpreted in a broader context, because the CuA vein in the hind wings, which is strongly convex in most polyneopteran insects, is not included in this interpretation
This trait is present in the forewing of male Heteropteryx dilatata and in several genera assigned to the family Susumaniidae
Summary
Stick-insects ( known as Cheleutoptera, Phasmatodea, Phasmida and Phasmatoptera, among others) compose a rather small order of insects, which currently includes over 3,000 extant species (Bragg, 2001; Brock & Hasenpusch, 2009). Relevant at the level of the order, the comparative analysis of foreand hind wing venation provided by Ragge (1955), based on extant material, needs to be reinterpreted in a broader context, because the CuA vein in the hind wings, which is strongly convex in most polyneopteran insects (possibly most winged insects), is not included in this interpretation (the vein interpreted as “Cu” is concave). This situation has two interrelated consequences: conjectures about the primary homologies of stick-insect wing venation and the identification of several Mesozoic representatives of the order are both uncertain
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