The Smallest Snakefly (Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae): A New Species in Cretaceous Amber from Myanmar, with a Catalog of Fossil Snakeflies

Abstract

The world's smallest snakefly (Raphidioptera) is described and figured from a fossil preserved in Cretaceous amber from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Nanoraphidia electroburmica, new genus and species, is distinguished from other mesoraphidiids by characters of the wing venation and head morphology. Brief comments are made on the diminutive size of the specimen (forewing length just over 4 mm) and the geological history of the order is reviewed. Additionally, a larval snakefly is described from the same deposits, but is not considered to be congeneric with Nanoraphidia. A taxonomic catalog of all described, fossil snakeflies is appended. The following taxonomic changes are proposed: Priscaenigmatidae, new family, including Priscaenigma Whalley and Hondelagia Bode; Huaxiaraphidiidae, Sinoraphidiidae, and Jilinoraphidiidae, new synonyms of Mesoraphidiidae; Cratoraphidia and Rudiraphidia, new synonyms of Baissoptera; Caloraphidia, Mioraphidia, Phiradia, Xynoraphidia, and Yanoraphidia, new synonyms of Mesoraphidia; Miofibla, new synonym of Fibla (Reisserella); Cretoraphidiopsis, new name for Cretoraphidia Willmann (non Cretoraphidia Ponomarenko); Baissoptera pulchra (Martins-Neto and Nel), new combination; B. liaoningensis Ren, resurrected combination; Cretoraphidiopsis bontsaganensis (Ponomarenko), new combination; Fibla (Reisserella) cerdanica (Nel), new combination; Pararaphidia vitimica (Martynova), new combination; Mesoraphidia furcivenata Ren and M. pterostigmalis Martynova, resurrected combinations; and M. gaoi (Ren), M. glossophylla (Ren), M. longistigmosa (Ren), M. myrioneura (Ren), M. obliquivenatica (Ren), M. polyphlebia (Ren), and M. shangyuanensis (Ren), all new combinations in Mesoraphidia.