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Photomicrograph of a probable hemiphlebiid from the Late Cretaceous of South Dakota prior to disintegration of the specimen (Photograph by R.A.D.).
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The first damselfly in Late Cretaceous amber from South Dakota is described and figured.The specimen preserves the forewing apex of a possible hemiphlebiid, a group of relict damselflies today that were apparently widespread and diverse during the Cretaceous.
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A new family, genus and species of damselfly, Burmaphlebia reifi gen. et sp. nov. (Burmaphlebiidae fam. nov.), is described as the second fossil odonate from Early Cretaceous Burmese amber. Its phylogenetic position is discussed and the fossil is attributed to a new family at the base of the anisozygopteran grade, probably closely related to the Re...
We describe herein Neoliodes andreneli sp. nov., an oribatid mite belonging to the family Neoliodidae, from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Lebanon. The new taxa is characterized, illustrated, and its systematic position is discussed. Neoliodes andreneli sp. nov. constitutes the first mite to be described from the Lebanese amber, and the earliest ori...
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... Ma; Figure 1B), dipterans account for all but one of the 22 documented inclusions (95% of all inclusions). 4,15 As more samples are recovered from all these deposits, including Big Muddy, it will be noteworthy to see if the assemblage compositions change and whether these initial trends are representative of the overall deposit assemblages or the result of sampling bias. The ordinal fossil diversity and richness of the initial Big Muddy amber assemblage also differs significantly from Grassy Lake amber ($79-78 Ma), a large and well-studied Late Cretaceous deposit located nearby in Alberta ( Figure 1B). ...
... Despite the very important recent discoveries of Odonata of the early Late Cretaceous age, especially in the Burmese amber (Zheng 2020), the Cretaceous/Paleocene transition remains a crucial period for the understanding of the ecological conditions and timing of the diversification of the modern odonatan fauna. The current knowledge on the Turonian-Maastrichtian Odonata is very fragmentary with less than 10 species (Fossilworks Database at http://fossilworks.org/; Nel et al. 2010b), but the recent unexpected discoveries of Maastrichtian Aeschnidiidae confirms the importance of this period for the turnover between the Mesozoic and a more modern fauna (Nel 2021). With 18 described species, the Paleocene Odonata are better known but the majority of taxa have been found in upper Paleocene deposits: Wighton and Wilson (1986) described some Gomphaeschnidae from the Paskapoo Formation (ca. ...
The current knowledge on the Paleocene Odonata is rather limited despite the fact that it is a crucial period for the history
of this order. An overview of the fossil odonatans from the Paleocene of Menat (France) is provided. We describe the
anisopteran Macrogomphus menatensis sp. nov., first fossil representative of the family Epigomphidae, together with
two zygopteran, viz. the dysagrionid Menatagrion hervetae gen. et sp. nov., and the new family Menatlestidae fam. nov.,
with its type species Menatlestes palaeocenicus gen. et sp. nov. The genus Menatagrion gen. nov. is the first Paleocene
record of the Dysagrionidae, otherwise known by a putative Cretaceous genus and several Eocene to Miocene genera.
Menatlestes gen. nov., putatively attributed to the stem-group of the Lestinoidea (Megalestidae and Lestidae), would
correspond to the oldest record of this clade. With these three new taxa, and the previously described Thanetophilosina
menatensis, Valerea multicellulata, “Lestes” zalesskyi, and an Aeshna species indet., the total number of Odonata from
Menat goes up to seven species in total; two Anisoptera and five Zygoptera. Furthermore, we propose new evidences
showing that the head characters defining the putative suborder Cephalozygoptera are due to deformations, very frequent
among the fossil Odonatoptera. We treat the Cephalozygoptera as a junior synonym of Zygoptera.
... It currently comprises twelve genera and sixteen fossil species, plus an undetermined genus and species, recovered from the Upper Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous as rock impressions and amber inclusions (Table 1). In particular, the hemiphlebiids are found as rock impressions in the Upper Jurassic of Mongolia and Germany (Pritykina and Vassilenko, 2014;Bechly, 2019), the Lower Cretaceous of England, Brazil, Transbaikalia (Jarzembowski et al., 1998;Vassilenko 2005;Felker and Vasilenko, 2018), and the Upper Cretaceous of Israel (Vassilenko 2014), plus in the amber from the Lower Cretaceous of France and Jordan (Lak et al., 2009) and the Upper Cretaceous of America and Myanmar (Nel et al., 2010). ...
... nov. with a weak angle (Jarzembowski et al., 1998;Bechly, 1998;Vasilenko, 2005Vasilenko, , 2014Lak et al., 2009;Nel et al., 2010;Pritykina and Vassilenko, 2014;Zheng et al., 2017;Felker & Vasilenko, 2018;Bechly, 2019;Zheng, 2021). The alleged hemiphlebiid Pantelusa krassilovi Vasilenko, 2014 ...
Hemiphlebiidae are the most basal lestomorphan family following the latest phylogenetic analysis of the Zygoptera: this unique damselfly family today contains one relict species found in the wetlands of Australia. It was, however, very diverse and widespread during the Mesozoic. Nevertheless, very few species were known obscuring the origination and early evolution of the family. Here we propose a new stem hemiphlebioid taxon (Protohemiphlebiidae Zheng, Jarzembowski & Nel, fam. nov.) based on a new genus and two species: Protohemiphlebia zhangi Zheng, Jarzembowski & Nel, sp. nov. and Protohemiphlebia meiyingae Zheng, Jarzembowski & Nel, sp. nov. The new family shares the characters of both Hemiphlebiidae and Coenagrionoidea, but it is more closely related to Hemiphlebiidae in having the pterostigma with a ‘star-shaped’ microsculpture, and AA originating from the wing base slightly distal of Ax0. Protohemiphlebia Zheng, Jarzembowski & Nel, gen. nov. is further considered to belong to the stem group of Hemiphlebioidea, instead of belonging to the Hemiphlebiidae, in possessing pretibial combs and a weakly kinked RP1 below the Pt-brace. The new damselflies will help to calibrate the origin of Hemiphlebiidae, which could be earlier than their current oldest records in the Kimmeridgean (Late Jurassic).
... The odonatans are rare compared to the other insects in the fossil records especially in the amber deposits. There are scarce records of the odonatans in Cretaceous ambers outside of Kachin amber: two fragmentary wings in Lebanese amber (early Barremian; Azar et al., 2010), a single wing in Jordanian amber (Barremian; Lak et al., 2009), a well-preserved damselfly in Charentes amber (latest Albian; Lak et al., 2009), and a wing apex from amber of South Dakota (Maastrichtian; Nel et al., 2010), all belonging or closely related to the family Hemiphlebiidae. In Kachin amber, odonatans are especially abundant with 38 species of 16 families having been described (Table 1). ...
Odonatans are rare in Cretaceous amber deposits, and only four fragmentary specimens were recorded in Lebanese, Jordanian, Charentes and South Dakota ambers except for Kachin amber. This study reviewed the odonatans in lowermost Cenomanian Kachin amber and commented 11 odonatans, which were previously placed in the family level. Until now, over 350 odonatans have been found in Kachin amber, including 38 species of three extant suborders, and representing the most diverse and abundant dragonfly assemblage in amber inclusions. The dominated odonatans include the damselflies Burmahemiphlebia zhangi and Mesomegaloprepus magnificus, and the damsel-dragonfly Burmaphlebia reifi, accounting for ca. 79% of all odonatans. The Kachin odonatans include the earliest records of the damselfly Perilestidae, Platycnemididae and Platystictidae, and the youngest records of the true dragonfly Araripegomphidae and Stenophlebiidae, contributing to exploring the origination and evolution of these families.
Hemiphlebiidae is the dominant family in Kachin amber, represented by the species Burmahemiphlebia zhangi with ca. 160 species been recorded. It is surprising that the hemiphlebiid damselfly is abundant, but the diversity is very low with only two species been previously reported. Herein, a new hemiphlebiid damselfly, Kachinhemiphlebia lini gen. et sp. nov., is described by the unique characters: Arc slightly distal of Ax2 in both fore- and hindwings; and a well-defined AA ending on posterior wing margin below Ax2. This is the second genus of the Hemiphlebiidae in Kachin amber.
... It is distinguished from all other Mesozoic Hemiphlebiidae by the following diagnostic characters: From Burmahemiphlebia Zheng et al., 2016b by veins MP and CuA not shortened; from Cretarchistigma Jarzembowski et al., 1998 by the lower number of postnodals, shorter IR1, and the arculus not aligned with ax2 (also see Bechly 1998aBechly , 2007a; from Cretacoenagrion Jarzembowski, 1990 by the shorter pterostigma, shorter IR1, lower number of 4 non-aligned postnodals (instead of 9 aligned ones), very different shape of the discoidal cell (less acute); from Cretahemiphlebia Jarzembowski et al., 1998 by the lower number of postnodals, shorter IR1, and distally divergent RP2 and IR2; from Electrohemiphlebia Lak et al., 2009 by the very different shape of the forewing (also see Bechly, 1998a, 2007a by the absence of a mesothoracic interpleural suture, only 2 cells between RP1 and RP2 basal of IR1, bigger distance between arculus and ax2, distinct kink in arculus before the origin of the discoidal vein MAb, and very short vein MAb; and from Thairia Felker & Vasilenko, 2018 by a shorter IR1 and straight MP at discoidal cell. Finally, the new genus differs from an unnamed possible hemiphlebiid from the Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota (Nel et al., 2010) by the shorter IR1, and the distally divergent RP2 and IR2. ...
Three new taxa of odonates are described from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen limestone from Eichstätt and Painten in Bavaria (Germany), including the first two genuine Zygoptera (Andrephlebia buergeri gen. et sp. nov. in fam. inc. sed. and Jurahemiphlebia haeckeli gen. et sp. nov. in Hemiphlebiidae) and a new taxon of Stenophlebioptera (Reschiostenophlebia koschnyi gen. et sp. nov. in Stenophlebiidae). With an age of about 152 million years, the holotype of Jurahemiphlebia from the Painten locality represents the oldest fossil record and thus a new calibration point for crown group Zygoptera, Lestoidea, and Hemiphlebiidae, and the oldest record for any living odonate family. Furthermore, the first relatively complete specimen of the dragonfly Prohemeroscopus kuehnapfeli (Prohemeroscopidae) is described, which was previously known only from a pair of isolated hind wings. A revised diagnosis is provided for the species and genus.
... Fossil odonatans are quite rare in amber compared to sedimentary deposits with sporadic records in Baltic, Dominican, Burmese, French, Jordanian, South Dakotan and Lebanese amber (Bechly, 1996a(Bechly, , 1998Fleck et al., 2000;Bechly and Wichard, 2008;Lak et al., 2009;Nel et al., 2010;Azar et al., 2010;Poinar et al., 2010;Bechly et al., 2013). In Asia, many odonatans have been discovered in Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, but only a few have been recently described from Burmese amber despite a century of study of insect inclusions (Poinar et al., 2010;Bechly et al., 2013;Huang et al., 2015;Schä del and Bechly, 2016;Zheng et al., 2016a,b,c,d). ...
A new dragonfly, Cretagomphaeschnaoides jarzembowskae gen. et sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Cretagomphaeschnaoides gen. nov. is of a small size, has a three-celled discoidal triangle, and more undulating vein MAb than other genera in the extinct tribe Gomphaeschnaoidini of the extant family Gomphaeschnidae. This fossil is the second record of Anisoptera in Cretaceous amber.
... The recent spectroscopic and sedimentological study of the above-mentioned sites of Cretaceous Canadian resins (McKellar and Wolfe, 2010) convincingly shows that all this material origi- nates from the same deposits; thus, their age and origin can be confidently considered identical, and the arthropod records can be combined and analysed together (see SI Tables 1 and 2 Nel et al., 2010). This de- posit is not considered herein. ...
... Finally, Parahemiphlebia and Enteropia both have a long MP and CuA, and a nonrectangular discoidal cell, and can be excluded from further comparison. Cretarchistigma Jarzembowski et al., 1998, Cretahemiphlebia Jarzembowski et al., 1998 and an unnamed damselfly described by Nel et al. (2010) are all considered to be closely related to Hemiphlebiidae (Jarzembowski et al. 1998, Bechly 1998) but differ from Burmahemiphlebia in having IR1 originating before, instead of distal of, Pt. The extant genus Hemiphlebia differs from Burmahemiphlebia in the presence of a long IR1 originating slightly basal of Pt, the long MP and CuA, a short cell between the bases of RP3/4 and IR2 below Sn, and in developing more crossveins between the main veins (Münz 1919). ...
Two damselflies, Burmahemiphlebia zhangi gen. et sp. nov. and Palaeodysagrion cretacicus gen. et sp. nov., are described from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Burmahemiphlebia zhangi is the first record of Hemiphlebiidae from this amber, although the family was cosmopolitan during the Mesozoic. It can be readily distinguished from all other members of Hemiphlebiidae in having very short MP and CuA veins, and in its rectangular discoidal cell. The new fossils support the view that hemiphlebiid damselflies were one of the dominant groups of Zygoptera during the Mesozoic. Palaeodysagrion cretacicus is the first dysagrionid damselfly from Burmese amber and the second Mesozoic representative of this predominantly Paleogene group. It differs from other members of Dysagrionidae in having a unique elongate discoidal cell. These new finds increase the diversity of damselflies in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.
... Lehman, 1987;White, Fastovsky, & Sheehan, 1998;Russell & Manabe, 2002). Recent studies have become more detailed, uncovering possible heterogeneity in the Hell Creek fauna (Bartlett, 2004;DePalma, 2010), and even including more obscure faunal members, such as insects (Labandiera, Johnson, & Lang, 2002;DePalma & others, 2010, Nel, DePalma, & Engel, 2010. All Hell Creek paleoecological reconstructions have recorded a substantial megaherbivore component composed of ceratopsians, hadrosaurs, nodosaurs, medium-sized herbivores such as pachycephalosaurs and ornithomimids, and smaller subsidiary ornithischian herbivores (Lehman, 1987;White, Fastovsky, & Sheehan, 1998;Russell & Figure 14. ...
Most dromaeosaurids were small- to medium-sized cursorial, scansorial, and arboreal, sometimes volant predators, but a comparatively small percentage grew to gigantic proportions. Only two such giant “raptors” have been described from North America. Here, we describe a new giant dromaeosaurid, Dakotaraptor steini gen. et sp. nov., from the Hell Creek Formation of South Dakota. The discovery represents the first giant dromaeosaur from the Hell Creek Formation, and the most recent in the fossil record worldwide. A row of prominent ulnar papilli or “quill knobs” on the ulna is our first clear evidence for feather quills on a large dromaeosaurid forearm and impacts evolutionary reconstructions and functional morphology of such derived, typically flight-related features. The presence of this new predator expands our record of theropod diversity in latest Cretaceous Laramidia, and radically changes paleoecological reconstructions of the Hell Creek Formation.
... At present six genera with known wings are placed in the family Hemiplebiidae or considered close to it: Parahemiphlebia Jarzembowski et al., 1998 from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil and England (Jarzembowski et al., 1998, Bechly, 1998, Cretarchistigma Jarzembowski et al., 1998 from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil (Jarzembowski et al., 1998, Bechly, 1998, Cretahemiphlebia Jarzembowski et al., 1998 from the Lower Cretaceous of England (Jarzembowski et al., 1998), Mersituria Vasilenko, 2005 from the Upper Jurassic -Lower Cretaceous of Russia (Vasilenko, 2005), Electrohemiphlebia Lak et al., 2009(Lak et al., 2009 from the Cretaceous amber of France, Jordanhemiphlebia Kaddumi, 2009 from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Jordan (Lak et al., 2009). Another likely Hemiphlebiidae fossil is a wing apex from the Upper Cretaceous amber of the United States (Nel et al., 2010). Members of this family typically have small wings, strongly reduced wing venation, and some specific characters: non-corresponding crossveins in the first and second spaces and open discoidal cell in the forewing. ...
The damselfly Pantelusa krassilovi Vassilenko, gen. et sp. n. of the family
Hemiphlebiidae is described from the Turonian of Israel (Gerofit locality, Ora
Formation) from a single fossil wing. It is the first odonate known from this
locality. The new genus is considered close to Cretaceous representatives of the
family, especially the genus Electrohemiphlebia Lak et al., 2009, known from the
Albian amber of France. The possibility is discussed that some endophytic
ovipositions known from Gerofit belong to similar small damselflies.
