Lei Chen’s research while affiliated with Shandong University of Science and Technology and other places

... The genus Ocelloblattula is also very similar in having very thin antennae, but differs, besides absence of the dark macula on the forewing, also in having a different pronotum shape with posteromedial protrusion (also present in Pseudomantina, Vrtula, Huablattula). In addition, Until now 25 genera of Blattulidae have been reported from Gondwanian and Laurasian sediments and amber from the Triassic to the Late Cretaceous (Anisyutkin & Gorochov 2008;Káčerová & Azar 2023 ;Liang et al. 2023;Barna 2014;Martin 2010;Martínez-Delclos 1993;Martins-Neto et al. 2005;Vishniakova 1982;Vršanský 1999Vršanský , 2003Vršanský , 2004Vršanský , 2005aVršanský , 2005bVršanský , 2008aVršanský ,b, 2009Vršanský , 2020Vršanský , 2024Vršanský & Ansorge 2007;Vršanský & Sendi 2024;Vršanský et al. 2013Vršanský et al. , 2017Vršanský et al. , 2021aWang et al. 2007a, b;Qiu et al. 2019;Sendi et al. 2023;So & Won 2021;Zhang et al. 2024). Elisama is a very conservative genus that was distributed worldwide, similar as the closely related Vrtula, Huablattula, Ocelloblattula and Pseudomantina. ...

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A new species of Elisama Giebel, 1856 (Blattaria: Blattulidae) discovered in mid- Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar

... Previously, only four fossil raphidiopterans were described from the latter, viz. Huaxiaraphidia shandongensis Hong 1992; Huaxiaraphidia sinensis Hong 1992, Mesoraphidia amoena Ren 1997, and Proraphidia anisomorpha Chen, Jarzembowski & Luo 2024 (Hong 1992a;Zhang et al. 2023;Chen et al. 2024). ...

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Laiyangoraphidia delicata gen. et sp. nov., a new snakefly (Insecta: Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Laiyang Formation of China

... Raphidioptera (commonly called snakeflies) are the least diverse order of the holometabolous insects but with a rich and globally distributed fossil record in the Mesozoic (Aspöck 2002;Engel 2002;Grimaldi and Engel 2005;Engel et al. 2006;Jepson and Jarzembowski 2008;Makarkin and Khramov 2015;Lyu et al. 2018;Zhang et al. 2023). Six extinct Mesozoic raphidiopteran families have been recognised, i.e., Baissopteridae Martynova 1961, Chrysoraphidiidae Liu et al. 2014, Juroraphidiidae Liu et al. 2014, Mesoraphidiidae Martynov 1925, Metaraphidiidae Bechly & Wolf-Schwenninger 2011, and Priscaenigmatidae Engel 2002(Liu et al. 2013Lyu et al. 2015;Makarkin and Khramov 2015). ...

Reference:

Laiyangoraphidia delicata gen. et sp. nov., a new snakefly (Insecta: Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Laiyang Formation of China

... The Laiyang Formation is located in the central part of the Jiaodong Peninsula, which was a terrestrial sedimentary basin during the Mesozoic, with a total thickness of about 1232 m. The Laiyang Formation consists primarily of fluvial and lacustrine siltstones and sandstone facies interbedded with shale and volcaniclastic rocks and is rich in insect and plant fossils (Zhang, 1992;Zhao et al., 2023). The third Member of the Laiyang Formation, where our specimen was found (Fig. 1B), consists of calcareous sandstone, siltstone and fine-granted sandstone intercalated with thin insectrich shales representing the facies of a large lake in the Laiyang basin (Zhang, 1992). ...

Reference:

A new species of Proraphidia (Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Laiyang Formation of China

... Fossil records of eomeropids are also extremely rare, with only twelve fossil species from the Lower Jurassic to Palaeogene (Zhao et al., 2019). Within them, Jurachorista bashkuevi Soszy nska- Maj et al., 2016, Jurathauma simplex Zhang et al., 2011, Tsuchingothauma shihi Ren and Shih 2005 (2016) provided a genus-level phylogenetic analysis based on wing venation and found that younger species with a dense venation as well as geologically older eomeropids with reduced wing venation. ...

Reference:

The first eomeropid (Insecta, Mecoptera) from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber

... A compilation of fossil occurrences of Liberiblattinidae shows a wide distribution across all Mesozoic (see Fig. 5) from Early Jurassic till terminal Cretaceous (from Barna 2014;Handlirsch 1939;Hinkelman 2023;Kopylov 2009;Kováčová et al. 2023;Li et al. 2020;Martin 2010;Sendi 2022a, b;Sendi et al. 2020aSendi et al. , b, 2023aChen et al. 2019;Vishniakova 1968Vishniakova , 1985Vishniakova , 1986Vršanský 2002Vršanský , 2004Vršanský , 2009Vršanský , 2019Vršanský , 2020Vršanský et al. 2012Vršanský et al. , 2019aVršanský et al. , b, 20222025). The majority of specimens were found in Asia, with most recurrent countries being Myanmar, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. ...

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Family diagnosis and paleogeography extended by asymmetrically deformed burmite liberiblattinid

... Fossil tiger beetles are extremely rare (Wiesner 2021). The oldest reported fossil tiger beetle is Creto tetracha grandis Zhao, Zhao, Chen & Wang, 2019 from silty mudstone of the Yixian Formation (Early Cretaceous, early Aptian, 124 -122.5 Ma), Inner Mongolia, China, being well-preserved in ventral aspect (Zhao et al. 2019). The only other unmistakable Mesozoic species is Oxycheilopsis cretacicus Cassola & Werner, 2004 from limestone of the Crato Formation (Early Cretaceous, late Aptian, 119 -113 Ma), Ceará, Brazil, being entirely visible in dorsal aspect (Cassola & Werner 2004). ...

Reference:

The first tiger beetle (Coleoptera, Adephaga, Cicindelidae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, northern Myanmar

... The fossil record of Mecoptera dates back to the Permian period and includes over 39 extinct families and 210 genera, indicating considerable morphological diversity that peaked during the Mesozoic era (Grimaldi & Engel, 2005;Lin et al., 2019). This ancient lineage showcases significant evolutionary trends, such as the development of elongated proboscises likely adapted for nectar feeding on gymnosperms and the evolution of exaggerated male genitalia, suggesting complex mating behaviours influenced by sexual selection (Soszyńska-Maj et al., 2022;Wang et al., 2012;Zhao et al., 2017). Fossil evidence from all major continents highlights the extensive distribution of these insects and their ecological roles throughout geological history (Novokshonov, 1997;Willmann, 1989). ...

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A new genus of Bittacidae (Insecta: Mecoptera) from the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous of Brazil)

... The extant representatives include the North American Merope tuber (Newman, 1838;Friedrich et al., 2013), the Western Australian Austromerope poultoni (Killington, 1933), and South American Austromerope brasiliensis (Machado et al., 2013). Among the fossil representatives of Meropeidae are Boreomerope antiqua (Novokschonov, 1995) from the Middle Jurassic of Siberia, Russia, while the remaining three species are from Burmese amber (Grimaldi & Engel, 2013;Zhao et al., 2016;Soszyńska-Maj et al., 2017;Sun et al., 2020). The family-level phylogenetic tree of family Meropeidae has been proposed twice. ...

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Evolution and mandibular sexual dimorphism in mid‐Cretaceous scorpionflies (Insecta: Mecoptera: Meropeidae)