Abstract
The Albian amber from Spain presently harbors the greatest number and diversity of amber adult fossil snakeflies (Raphidioptera). Within Baissopteridae, Baissoptera? cretaceoelectra sp. n., from the Peñacerrada I outcrop (Moraza, Burgos), is the first amber inclusion belonging to the family and described from western Eurasia, thus substantially expanding the paleogeographical range of the family formerly known from the Cretaceous of Brazil and eastern Asia. Within the family Mesoraphidiidae, Necroraphidia arcuata gen. et sp. n. and Amarantoraphidia ventolina gen. et sp. n. are described from the El Soplao outcrop (Rábago, Cantabria), whereas Styporaphidia? hispanica sp. n. and Alavaraphidia imperterrita gen. et sp. n. are describedfrom Peñacerrada I. In addition, three morphospecies are recognized from fragmentary remains. The following combinations are restored: Yanoraphidia gaoi Ren, 1995, stat. rest., Mesoraphidia durlstonensis Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009, stat. rest., and Mesoraphidia heteroneura Ren, 1997, stat. rest. The singularity of this rich paleodiversity could be due to the paleogeographic isolation of the Iberian territory and also the prevalence of wildfires during the Cretaceous.
Highlights
Raphidioptera are regarded as one of the most primitive lineages of holometabolous insects, their fossil record dating back to the Early Jurassic (Grimaldi and Engel 2005)
Samples designated by the institutional abbreviation CES are housed in the laboratory of the El Soplao Cave, Celis, Cantabria (Spain) encompassing the Institutional Collection from the El Soplao outcrop; whereas those designated as MCNA are housed in the Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
And Wolf-Schwenninger (2011) transferred several species of Mesoraphidia to the genus Grimaldiraphidia. These transfers were made to eliminate the putative paraphyly of Mesoraphidia, and the referred species were claimed to share the synapomorphic characters the authors used for their tribe Nanoraphidiini Bechly and Wolf-Schwenninger, 2011, i.e, “Rs distally unbranched or only with single apical fork, [ptero]stigma very long, postorbital margin region of head shortened, ovipositor short and conspicuosly strong (?), minute size of body and wings”. While at least those few wing characters are correct for the combinations G. mitchelli, G. parvula, and G. purbeckensis, the transference of M. durlstonensis Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009 and M. heteroneura Ren, 1997 to Grimaldiraphidia is in stark contradiction with some of these, as the holotype of M. durlstonensis has a forewing 10.6 long (Jepson et al 2009), whereas M. heteroneura has a forewing with Rs forked twice and 10.5 long (Ren 1997)
Summary
Raphidioptera (snakeflies) are regarded as one of the most primitive lineages of holometabolous insects, their fossil record dating back to the Early Jurassic (Grimaldi and Engel 2005). There is consensus that Raphidioptera forms a distinct clade together with Megaloptera and Neuroptera, the superorder Neuropterida. The active, predatory larvae of snakeflies are long-lived, with a high number of instars and distinctive hibernating periods, living under the bark of trees and shrubs or in soil detritus; their pupation needs a period of cold to break diapause, and the pupae are exarate and active, a plesiotypic condition within Holometabola (Aspöck 2002). The fossil record of Raphidioptera is comprised principally of compressions ranging from the Early Jurassic through the Miocene (Engel 2002). Inclusions in amber are far more uncommon (e.g., Carpenter 1956; Engel 1995; Aspöck and Aspöck 2004), those in Cretaceous resins (Grimaldi 2000; Engel 2002; Perrichot and Engel 2007; Engel and Grimaldi 2008; Pérez-de la Fuente et al 2010; Bechly and Wolf-Schwenninger 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
