Palaeoentomology

Paleo-air pressures and respiration of giant Odonatoptera from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Cretaceous

2023-04-12T02:40:01+12:00

Adult Odonatoptera are among the most efficient flying predators. They have retained many physical characteristics over an immense period stretching from the Carboniferous to the present. Over this time they have greatly varied in size and mass, as shown in the fossil record and in particular by the length, shape, and structure of their wings. A fossil of Meganeurites gracilipes indicates that this large ‘griffenfly’ had a ‘hawker’ hunting behavior similar to certain extant species, with long periods of flight in which power, thermoregulation, and respiration would therefore tend to a ‘steady state’ equilibrium, allowing oxygen requirements and tracheole volumes to be projected and compared to extant ‘hawkers’. Comparing these values with standard pO₂ models allows paleo-atmospheric density estimates to be derived. The results suggest that paleo-air pressure has varied from over two bars in the Late Carboniferous, Late Permian, and Middle to Late Jurassic, with lower values in the Early Triassic and Early Jurassic.

**The first Phengodidae fossil (Coleoptera: Elateroidea): Cretocydistus wittmeri gen. et sp. nov. from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber**

2023-08-01T14:31:20+12:00

Elateroidea superfamily holds a huge diversity, morphological variation and a myriad of habitat specializations. The presence of bioluminescence and paedomorphosis renders the group as an interesting model for several studies. The “lampyroid” clade manifests both features, in a variety of light displays and body-forms, but the small fossil records hampers any advance in understanding the origin of these characteristics, as well as the biogeographic history of the group. We present here the description of a new fossil species, Cretocydistus wittmeri gen. et sp. nov. from the mid-Cretaceous of northern Myanmar, the first fossil of the family Phengodidae. We putatively place the genus in the subfamily Cydistinae, which extant species are distributed in Asia Minor, the Levant, and Iran. We also discuss how the discovery of this fossil taxa influences the study of the family and the “lampyroid” clade evolutionary history and biogeography.

**From Priabonian to Selandian: a new species of Eocenostenus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Steninae) from the Paleocene Menat Formation of France**

2023-07-20T01:19:48+12:00

A new species of the extinct genus Eocenostenus Cai, Clarke, Huang & Nel, 2014, is described from the middle Paleocene (Selandian) of Menat (France). Eocenostenus vanja sp. nov. is the second known species of the genus, the first being Eocenostenus fossilis Cai et al., 2014 described from the late Eocene (Priabonian) of Monteils, France. The discovery of E. vanja has implications for our understanding of the evolution of Eocenostenus because it pushes back the origin of the genus by several tens of millions of years (i.e., from the Priabonian to the Selandian). Additionally, it possibly sheds light on the cuticular colouration of this genus, which is putatively similar to some extant Steninae, particularly those from the tropical regions of the world. An updated checklist of fossil Steninae is provided.

The strange holometabolan beak larva from about 100 million years old Kachin amber was physogastric and possibly wood-associated

2023-05-24T15:30:09+12:00

The group Neuropteriformia (beetles, lacewings, etc.) is today very species-rich, but also has a good fossil record in the Mesozoic. Amber provides not only adults, but also fossil larvae; some of these fossil neuropteriformian larvae have very unusual morphologies not seen in the modern fauna. We here report an unusual new fossil neuropteriformian larva. The mouthparts form a beak. Fossil larvae with similar mouthparts are known, and it seems that this new larva is a representative of the species ?Partisaniferus edjarzembowskii. The new larva, unlike the already known ones, has a large and inflated trunk. Based on comparison with extant larvae, such an inflated trunk should be considered physogastric. The new larva is only the second case of physogastry in fossil holometabolan larvae. Also early larvae of this species are known. The strong difference between the different larval stages give reason to interpret the ontogeny hypermetamorphic. Also this phenomenon is in fact very rare in the fossil record; most earlier candidates remain assumptions without further substantiation. Physogastry in larvae is often coupled to a mode of live in confined spaces, for a fossil preserved in amber this may mean living inside wood. Feeding mode might have been predatory, but could also have been feeding on fungi.

Fossil ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the early Oligocene Canyon Ferry Reservoir deposit

2023-07-21T04:07:37+12:00

The early Oligocene (ca. 32.0 Ma) Canyon Ferry Reservoir deposit is known to contain an extraordinary number of well-preserved plant and animal fossils. Among those are 111 fossil ant specimens that were examined and assigned to five genera: Dolichoderus, Liometopum, Camponotus, Lasius, and Manica from three subfamilies: Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, and Myrmicinae. Two new fossil species are described. Liometopum greenwalti sp. nov. is the third fossil species known from this genus in North America and is morphologically distinct from the other two fossil species that are known from the Florissant deposit. The three fossil Liometopum species are compared to the three extant North American species. Manica iviei sp. nov. is the first fossil species in this genus known from North America and only the second fossil species described. This species possesses a broad ventral postpetiolar process which among North American extant species is only present in Manica hunteri. The Canyon Ferry ants represent the only definitively Oligocene-aged fossil deposit that contains ants in North America and therefore offer a unique view into a time when the modern-day ant communities of the continent were emerging.

**New species of Notocupes (Coleoptera: Archostemata) from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds, with discussion on the generic circumscription**

2023-08-18T14:02:22+12:00

Exquisitely preserved fossils from the Middle Jurassic Haifanggou Formation (the Daohugou beds; ~165 Ma) and mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (~99 Ma) are studied to clarify the external morphology of Notocupes. Three new species from Daohugou are described as N. spinosus sp. nov., N. robustus sp. nov., and N. daohugouensis sp. nov. Our examination of specimens from Burmese amber does not support the division of Notocupes into Notocupes s.s. and Echinocups. Therefore we treat Echinocups syn. nov. as a junior synonym of Notocupes, and N. ohmkuhnlei comb. rev., N. neli comb. rev. and N. denticollis comb. rev. are returned to Notocupes from Echinocups.

Two new species of soldier beetles (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from Eocene Baltic amber, including one with a rare type of antennae

2023-07-14T02:19:56+12:00

Two new species of the family Cantharidae from Baltic amber are described and illustrated: Sucinorhagonycha fabrizioi sp. nov. (Cantharinae, Cacomorphocerini) and Cantharis (Cantharis) samsocki sp. nov. (Cantharinae, Cantharini). The former is particularly notable because it has 12 antennomeres, a characteristic that is relatively rare among the world’s extant beetles, particularly in soldier beetles. This fascinating characteristic and why it may have evolved are explored here.

Blurring the limits of anaxyelid subfamilies: a new genus and species (Hymenoptera: Anaxyelidae) from the Albian of the Republic of Korea

2023-07-25T02:38:33+12:00

Hanguksyntexis haeretica gen. et sp. nov. is the first Anaxyelidae described and illustrated from the early Albian Jinju Formation (Republic of Korea). This new taxon is attributed to the subfamily Syntexinae because of its forewing venation (i.e., 1-Rs+M forking at 1m-cu level), but differs from all other syntexines genera because of its peculiar shape and length of 2r cell (ca. twice as long as wide, not distinctly widened apically nor basally) and by its vein 6-Rs strongly curved distally towards wing margin. The discovery of this new genus challenges the clear differentiation between Anaxyelinae and Syntexinae, prompting a thorough discussion on the diagnostic value of the wing venation characters that were previously used to distinguish the two subfamilies. Consequently, the genus Cretosyntexis Rasnitsyn & Martínez-Delclòs, 2000 is transferred to Anaxyelinae.

The first water treader (Heteroptera: Mesoveliidae) from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber

2023-06-29T22:53:58+12:00

Myanmarvelia pankowskiorum gen. et sp. nov., is the first occurrence of the aquatic bug family Mesoveliidae in the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This new taxon is described and illustrated based on a well-preserved female specimen. Although numerous morphological characters confirm its placement in the Mesoveliidae its position within the family is unclear. The presence of claws inserted pre-apically and head extended in front of eyes would suggest a placement in the Mesoveliinae but we consider it putative. The fossil record of this family is very poor, ranging between the late Jurassic and the Miocene.

**New record of Libanochlites neocomicus Brundin, 1976 from the lower Barremian amber outcrop of Bqaatouta, Lebanon**

2023-08-03T09:59:25+12:00

Amber, dubbed by Ross (1998, 2010) as a “natural time capsule”, is a fossil resin renowned for its remarkable preservation fidelity of biological inclusions. Its unique property to capture organisms in pristine condition has offered scientists the opportunity to access to some minute details permitting as such to better evaluate the evolutionary stages of different animal and vegetal groups, and to open a portal to past environments and ecological dynamics of early periods in the natural history of the Earth (Azar et al., 2010).

Discovery of Late Cretaceous amber from Guangzhou, South China

2023-08-10T10:53:24+12:00

Cretaceous amber plays a crucial role in comprehending the origin and early evolution of terrestrial life, as well as understanding paleoclimate and paleoecology during the Late Mesozoic, especially the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution. Amber outcrops from the Cretaceous period are to date more abundant in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern one and are primarily distributed within an interval of approximately 54 million years, spanning from the Barremian to the Campanian (Delclòs et al., 2023). These outcrops are known for containing amber exceptionally rich in bioinclusions, as seen in locations such as Kachin in Myanmar (Grimaldi et al., 2002) and Lebanon (Maksoud et al., 2022).

A new fossil insect locality from the Upper Triassic of Jiyuan, Henan Province, Central China

2023-08-10T11:12:36+12:00

The Triassic insects are relatively abundant from the Anisian to Rhaetian stages. Several well-known Triassic insect localities are distributed worldwide. Examples include the Anisian Grès à Voltzia in France, the Ladinian–Carnian Madygen Formation in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, the Cow Branch Formation of the latest Triassic in the USA, and the Carnian Molteno Formation in South Africa (Grimaldi & Engel, 2005).

A new damselfy from the Lower Eocene Green River Formation (Odonata, Dysagrionidae)

2023-07-15T20:55:21+12:00

The Eocene Green River Formation in the USA is well known as a Konservat-Lagerstätte, and has yielded an enormous number of beautifully preserved fossil insects from the Parachute Creek Member of Lake Uinta in Colorado and Utah, USA (Grande, 1984) where insects dominate the fauna. In Fossil Lake deposits, fish dominate the fauna with insects a minor component. This formation spans a 5-myr-long period between ca. 53.5 and 48.5 Ma (Smith et al., 2003) in three distinct basins containing lacustrine sediments. Many of these fossils are in an exquisite state of preservation, occasionally even with soft tissues and colour patterns preserved (e.g., Bechly et al., 2020). As this entomofauna is one of the most diverse for the Early Eocene, increasing its knowledge is crucial for the understanding of the evolution of the insects at that time. This is especially the case for the Odonata, a clade that remains poorly known for the Paleocene and early Eocene (Nel & Jouault, 2022). Bechly et al. (2020) provided a first revision of the damselflies from the Green River Formation, but continuing excavation produces new specimens. The specimen described herein was recently discovered while excavating fossil fish in the Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation in southwest Wyoming. This new species of Zygoptera from the Fossil Lake deposits further demonstrates its impressive diversity of Odonata.

Updating manuscript types and formats for Palaeoentomology

2023-08-22T14:17:10+12:00

Prompted by a rapid development in the field of palaeoentomology, fossil terrestrial arthropods and amber research, Palaeoentomology was established in late 2018 through a collaborative effort between the International Palaeoentomological Society (IPS) and Magnolia Press (Azar et al., 2018). The inception of this scientific journal was met with enthusiastic reception from the palaeoentomological and amber community, and it achieved a consistent and robust growth throughout its initial five-year period (2018–2022). A significant milestone was attained in November 2022, as Palaeoentomology was granted acceptance into the Emerging Sources Citation Index™ (ESCI) within the esteemed Web of Science Core Collection™, a recognition indicative of its emerging influence. All papers published between 2018 and 2022 within Palaeoentomology were incorporated into the ESCI in January 2023, solidifying the journal’s presence and visibility within the scholarly landscape. More recently, according to June 2023 release of Journal Citation Reports, the 2022 journal impact factor of Palaeoentomology is 2.3, which is slightly higher than 2.2 estimated by Zhang (2023). Boasting a substantial impact factor, Palaeoentomology secures an impressive 20^th position among 108 peers in the field of PALEONTOLOGY (Q1) and 8^th position out of 57 in ENTOMOLOGY (Q1), further accentuating its influential stature (Clarivate Analytics, 2023). In order to continue fostering the rapid advancement of the journal, we are now implementing updates to the manuscript format of new submissions. A brief description of each article type is provided below.