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ABSTRACT: Sinoeuthemis daohugouensis gen. et sp. n. is the first record of the isophlebiopteran family Euthemistidae from Middle Jurassic of northeast China, while previously this family was restricted to the early Late Jurassic Kazakhstan. This new finding allows us to emend the family diagnosis with hindwing characters. This new species shows a mixture of characters alternatively present in different genera of the two families Euthemistidae and Sphenophlebiidae.
ZooKeys 01/2013; · 0.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A near-perfect mimetic association between a mecopteran insect species and a ginkgoalean plant species from the late Middle Jurassic of northeastern China recently has been discovered. The association stems from a case of mixed identity between a particular plant and an insect in the laboratory and the field. This confusion is explained as a case of leaf mimesis, wherein the appearance of the multilobed leaf of Yimaia capituliformis (the ginkgoalean model) was accurately replicated by the wings and abdomen of the cimbrophlebiid Juracimbrophlebia ginkgofolia (the hangingfly mimic). Our results suggest that hangingflies developed leaf mimesis either as an antipredator avoidance device or possibly as a predatory strategy to provide an antiherbivore function for its plant hosts, thus gaining mutual benefit for both the hangingfly and the ginkgo species. This documentation of mimesis is a rare occasion whereby exquisitely preserved, co-occurring fossils occupy a narrow spatiotemporal window that reveal likely reciprocal mechanisms which plants and insects provide mutual defensive support during their preangiospermous evolutionary histories.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 11/2012; · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Fishflies (Corydalidae: Chauliodinae) are one of the main groups of the basal holometabolous insect order Megaloptera, with ca. 130 species distributed worldwide. A number of genera from the Southern Hemisphere show remarkably disjunctive distributions and are considered to be the austral remnants or "living fossils" of Gondwana. Hitherto, the evolutionary history of fishflies remains largely unexplored due to limited fossil record and incomplete knowledge of phylogenetic relationships. Here we describe two significant fossil species of fishflies, namely Eochauliodes striolatus gen. et sp. nov. and Jurochauliodes ponomarenkoi Wang & Zhang, 2010 (original designation for fossil larvae only), from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China. These fossils represent the earliest fishfly adults. Furthermore, we reconstruct the first phylogenetic hypothesis including all fossil and extant genera worldwide. Three main clades within Chauliodinae are recognized, i.e. the Dysmicohermes clade, the Protochauliodes clade, and the Archichauliodes clade. The phylogenetic and dispersal-vicariance (DIVA) analyses suggest Pangaean origin and global distribution of fishflies before the Middle Jurassic. The generic diversification of fishflies might have happened before the initial split of Pangaea, while some Gondwanan-originated clades were likely to be affected by the sequential breakup of Pangaea. The modern fauna of Asian fishflies were probably derived from their Gondwanan ancestor but not the direct descendents of the Mesozoic genera in Asia.
PLoS ONE 01/2012; 7(7):e40345. · 4.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Three well-preserved fossil Pelecinids from the Late Mesozoic Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China are described and assigned to two new species, Eopelecinus huangi sp. nov. and Eopelecinus tumidus sp. nov. in Eopelecinus Zhang, Rasnitsyn and Zhang, 2002. As of now, 17 species have been included in this genus, which is the most diverse in the Pelecinidae family. With new information and characters obtained from these new specimens, the diagnosis of Eopelecinus Zhang, Rasnitsyn and Zhang, 2002 is emended.
Acta Geologica Sinica 07/2011; 85(4):749 - 757. · 1.25 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Specimens of the velvety shore bugs (Hemiptera: Ochtheridae) occur in the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation in north-eastern China. We describe two new genera and three new species –Pristinochterus ovatus Yao, Zhang & Ren sp. nov.,Floricaudus multilocellus Yao, Ren & Shih gen.n. et sp.n. and Angulochterus quatrimaculatus Yao, Zhang & Ren gen.n. et sp.n.– from this deposit. A cladistic analysis based on a combination of fossil and extant taxa, and their morphological characters, clarifies the phylogenetic status of the new fossils and allows the reconstruction of relationships within the family Ochteridae. Two main clades within Ochteridae are recognized from the cladistic analysis: Pristinochterus Yao Cai & Ren and Floricaudus Yao, Ren & Shih gen.n. form a monophyletic lineage; and Angulochterus Yao, Zhang & Ren gen.n. emerges as a sister group to all extant velvety shore bugs. A key to all fossil and extant genera of Ochteridae is provided.
Systematic Entomology 06/2011; 36(3):589 - 600. · 2.94 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Nephila are large, conspicuous weavers of orb webs composed of golden silk, in tropical and subtropical regions. Nephilids have a sparse fossil record, the oldest described hitherto being Cretaraneus vilaltae from the Cretaceous of Spain. Five species from Neogene Dominican amber and one from the Eocene of Florissant, CO, USA, have been referred to the extant genus Nephila. Here, we report the largest known fossil spider, Nephila jurassica sp. nov., from Middle Jurassic (approx. 165 Ma) strata of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species extends the fossil record of the family by approximately 35 Ma and of the genus Nephila by approximately 130 Ma, making it the longest ranging spider genus known. Nephilidae originated somewhere on Pangaea, possibly the North China block, followed by dispersal almost worldwide before the break-up of the supercontinent later in the Mesozoic. The find suggests that the palaeoclimate was warm and humid at this time. This giant fossil orb-weaver provides evidence of predation on medium to large insects, well known from the Daohugou beds, and would have played an important role in the evolution of these insects.
Biology letters 04/2011; 7(5):775-8. · 3.76 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We describe a new genus and species of Mecoptera with siphonate mouthparts, Sinopolycentropus rasnitsynigen. et sp. n., assigned to the family Pseudopolycentropodidae Handlirsch, 1925. The specimen was collected from late Middle Jurassic nonmarine strata of the Jiulongshan Formation in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. The new material provides additional evidence for an early diversification of pseudopolycentropodids that was ongoing during the Middle Jurassic. This diversity also adds to the variety of known pseudopolycentropodids with tubular proboscides that apparently fed on ovulate fluids produced by Mesozoic gymnosperms.
ZooKeys 01/2011; · 0.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The Aneuretopsychidae is an unspeciose and enigmatic family of long-proboscid insects that presently consist of one known genus and three species from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous of north-central Asia. In this paper, a new genus and species of fossil aneuretopsychid is described and illustrated, Jeholopsyche liaoningensisgen. et sp. n. Fossils representing this new taxon were collected from mid Early Cretaceous strata of the well known Jehol Biota in Liaoning Province, China. This finding documents the first formal record of fossil Aneuretopsychidae in China. In addition, this well-preserved and new material reveals previously unknown and detailed morphological structure of the mouthparts, antennae, head, thorax, legs and abdomen of this distinctive insect lineage.
ZooKeys 01/2011; · 0.88 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The Dermaptera belongs to a group of winged insects of uncertain relationship within Polyneoptera, which has expanded anal region and adds numerous anal veins in the hind wing. Evolutional history and origin of Dermaptera have been in contention.
In this paper, we report two new fossil earwigs in a new family of Bellodermatidae fam. nov. The fossils were collected from the Jiulongshan Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Inner Mongolia, northeast China. This new family, characterized by an unexpected combination of primitive and derived characters, is bridging the missing link between suborders of Archidermaptera and Eodermaptera. Phylogenetic analyses support the new family to be a new clade at the base of previously defined Eodermaptera and to be a stem group of (Eodermaptera+Neodermaptera).
Evolutional history and origin of Dermaptera have been in contention, with dramatically different viewpoints by contemporary authors. It is suggested that the oldest Dermaptera might possibly be traced back to the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic and they had divided into Archidermaptera and (Eodermaptera+Neodermaptera) in the Middle Jurassic.
BMC Evolutionary Biology 11/2010; 10:344. · 3.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Large female pelecinid wasps, elegant and beautiful with uniquely elongated metasoma, are found only in North, Central, and South America. These distinctive wasps are “living fossils in a relict family of Pelecinidae. Recent discoveries of well preserved pelecinid fossils from the Middle Jurassic (165 Mya) to the Early Cretaceous (125 Mya) of northeastern China, of which Megapelecinus changi gen. et sp. nov. and Megapelecinus nashi, sp. nov. are described herein, provide strong evidence for morphological changes and evolution of pelecinids, such as body size, antennae and wing venation, over the past ≍165 million years. A phylogenetic analysis using 22 morphological characters, 12 extinct pelecinid taxa and one extant pelecinid taxon at the generic level suggests that Megapelecinus gen. nov. is the most basal pelecinid, whereas Cathaypelecinus Shih, Liu et Ren 2009 , Archaeopelecinus Shih, Liu et Ren 2009 , and Iscopinus Kozlov, 1974 forming a basal clade. Natural selection is demonstrated in pelecinids by the preference of larger female body size offering potentially better ovipositing capability and more efficient forewing venation with an X pattern providing potentially stronger wing structure and better flight performance for large-sized pelecinids. Furthermore, temporal and spatial analyses indicate that the most parsimonious hypothesis is that pelecinid might have originated from Northeastern China, spread to Central and Eastern Asia, and then dispersed to Americas.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 10/2010; 103(6):875-885. · 1.32 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Abstract A new species of a new genus, Atopderma ellipta gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Because of poor preservation, the placement of these specimens is contentious, either Dermaptera or Coleoptera. However, we are inclined to attribute them to Dermaptera based on differences of five key characters. Detailed description and illustration of the specimens are given. Possible reasons for lacking good and complete abdomen preservation are also discussed.
Insect Science 09/2010; 17(5):459 - 464. · 1.10 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Insects have evolved diverse methods of predator avoidance, many of which implicate complex adaptations of their wings (e.g., Phylliidae, Nymphalidae, Notodontidae). Among these, angiosperm leaf mimicry is one of the most dramatic, although the historical origins of such modifications are unclear owing to a dearth of paleontological records. Here, we report evidence of pinnate leaf mimesis in two lacewings (Neuroptera): Bellinympha filicifolia Y. Wang, Ren, Liu & Engel gen. et sp. nov. and Bellinympha dancei Y. Wang, Ren, Shih & Engel, sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic, representing a 165-million-year-old specialization between insects and contemporaneous gymnosperms of the Cycadales or Bennettitales. Furthermore, such lacewings demonstrate a preangiosperm origin for leaf mimesis, revealing a lost evolutionary scenario of interactions between insects and gymnosperms. The current fossil record suggests that this enigmatic lineage became extinct during the Early Cretaceous, apparently closely correlated with the decline of Cycadales and Bennettitales at that time, and perhaps owing to the changing floral environment resulted from the rise of flowering plants.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 09/2010; 107(37):16212-5. · 9.68 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The extinct family Archisargidae, which was rich in the Mesozoic, has been found in China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. By now, six genera and 14 species have been found in Inner Mongolia and Liaoning Province of China. In this paper, two new species of the genus Mesosolva Hong, 1983 and a new genus Brevisolva gen. nov., represented by a new species belonging to the Archisargidae, are described from the Middle Jurassic deposits of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia. A key to the species of Mesosolva is given.
Entomological Science 03/2010; 13(1):75 - 80. · 0.67 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: More than ten extinct Lower Brachycera families have been discovered throughout the world. These fossil records are of great significance in piecing together jigsaw puzzles of evolution for the Order Diptera. However, the distinct systematic relationships of the Diptera, one of the four largest orders, remain obscure. Herein, we erect a new family to enhance our systematic understanding of the Diptera. The Uranorhagionidae fam. nov. is a bewildering new extinct family comprising two new genera, Uranorhagio gen. nov. and Strenorhagio gen. nov., and five new species, Uranorhagio daohugouensis sp. nov., Strenorhagio deviatus sp. nov., Strenorhagio grimaldi sp. nov., Strenorhagio asymmetricus sp. nov., and Strenorhagio conjugovenius sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic of China. Members of the new family are moderate to large in size and robust in shape. This family possesses a peculiar shape of vein R2+3, the basal part of which is strongly fornical and nearly geniculate, and has the crossvein r–m at variable position. Furthermore, the Uranorhagionidae fam. nov. exhibits a mixture of distinct characters of two families in two disparate superfamilies, i.e. Rhagionemestriidae (Nemestrinoidea) and Rhagionidae (Tabanoidea), thus suggesting that this family might be in an inclusive position in dipteran phylogeny. We tentatively place this new family as a member of Tabanoidea, pending the discovery of more fossil specimens and further study. The comparison between the new family and other relative families will be discussed.© 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 158, 563–572.
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 02/2010; 158(3):563 - 572. · 2.43 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In this paper two new species of fossil Pseudopolycentropus Handlirsch, 1906 are described: Pseudopolycentropus janeannae sp. nov. and P. novokshonovi, sp. nov. All of them were recovered from the Middle Jurassic non-marine sedimentary strata of northeastern China. The new material from China reveals that the early diversification of pseudopolycentropodids was well underway by the Middle Jurassic.
Acta Geologica Sinica 01/2010; 84(1):22 - 30. · 1.25 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A new genus with three new species of fossil Buprestidae, Sinoparathyrea bimaculata gen. et sp. nov., S. gracilenta sp. nov., and S. robusta sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, are described. This is the earliest fossil record of buprestids in China and it is also the first record of buprestids from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of China.
01/2010;
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ABSTRACT: The head and mouthpart structures of 11 species of Eurasian scorpionflies represent three extinct and closely related families during a 62-million-year interval from the late Middle Jurassic to the late Early Cretaceous. These taxa had elongate, siphonate (tubular) proboscides and fed on ovular secretions of extinct gymnosperms. Five potential ovulate host-plant taxa co-occur with these insects: a seed fern, conifer, ginkgoopsid, pentoxylalean, and gnetalean. The presence of scorpionfly taxa suggests that siphonate proboscides fed on gymnosperm pollination drops and likely engaged in pollination mutualisms with gymnosperms during the mid-Mesozoic, long before the similar and independent coevolution of nectar-feeding flies, moths, and beetles on angiosperms. All three scorpionfly families became extinct during the later Early Cretaceous, coincident with global gymnosperm-to-angiosperm turnover.
Science 11/2009; 326(5954):840-7. · 31.20 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Three new species of the extinct genus of Eoptychopterina from the Eoptychopteridae family, Eoptychopterina antica sp. nov., Eoptychopterina adnexa sp. nov., and Eoptychopterina mediata sp. nov., are described and illustrated. These three new species are established based on fossil specimens with bodies and complete wings. All were collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Based on the new materials, the name of two species in Eoptychopterina from China—Eoptychopterina elenae Ren and Krzeminski and Eoptychopterina gigantea Zhang—is sysnonymum Junius.
Acta Geologica Sinica 04/2009; 83(2):222 - 228. · 1.25 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Two new genera, including three new species assigned to the subfamily Iscopininae Rasnitsyn, 1980 and family Pelecinidae Haliday, 1840—Archaeopelecinus tebbei, gen. et sp. nov., A. jinzhouensis, gen. et sp. nov., and Cathaypelecinus daohugouensis gen. et sp. nov.—are described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Eastern Inner Mongolia, China. This article documents the earliest record of fossil pelecinid wasps, extending the pelecinid existence to the Middle Jurassic and suggesting origination of pelecinid in northeastern China. Migration of pelecinid from East Asia to North, Central, and South Americas and evolution of pelecinid morphology (e.g., antennae, wing venation, body size, mouthparts) and dietary requirement also are discussed.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 01/2009; · 1.32 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Archisargidae, a Jurassic extinct family, is found only in Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. Archisargus Rohdendorf, 1938 is a small genus with two known species from the Middle/Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan. In this paper, two new species from the Middle Jurassic of China, Archisargus spurivenius sp. nov. and A. strigatus sp. nov., are described, and a key to the species of the genus is given. These two species are possibly the earliest representatives of the genus Archisargus.
Annales Zoologici 11/2007; 57(4):827-832. · 0.48 Impact Factor
