Florissantoraphidia

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Florissantoraphidia
Temporal range: Priabonian
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Florissantoraphidia mortua Holotype UCM-4512 NPS img1.jpg
F. mortua holotype
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Raphidioptera
Family: Raphidiidae
Genus:† Florissantoraphidia
Makarkin & Archibald, 2014
Species
  • F. funerata
    (Engel, 2003)
  • F. mortua
    (Rohwer, 1909)

Florissantoraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Raphidiidae containing two described species Florissantoraphidia funerata and Florissantoraphidia mortua. [1] Both species were originally placed in the living raphidiid genus Raphidia , as Raphidia funerata and Raphidia mortua respectively. [2] before being redescribed and transferred to the newly erected genus in 2014.

Contents

Range

Both Florissantoraphidia funerata and F. mortua are only known from the Florissant Formation, which has produced a series of other snakefly species in three different families. The extinct family Baissopteridae is represented by the species Dictyoraphidia veterana , while Raphidiidae is present as species of the extinct genera Archiraphidia and Megaraphidia , and Inocelliidae is represented by Fibla exusta . [1] Out of the described snakefly specimens from the Florissant Formation, the F. funerata holotype is the most complete. [2]

Description

Florissantoraphidia funerata

Preserved as a compression fossil, the F. funerata female individual is fossilized in a resting position giving a side view to the body and wings. Including the ovipositor, F. funerata is 16.5 millimetres (0.65 in) and has a forewing length of 10 millimetres (0.39 in). [2] Of the known snakefly species, F. funerata is closest in appearance to the extinct F. mortua. The two cogeneric species can be separated by several features of the forewing, including a lack of terminal forks in veins along the posterior margin of the wing in F. funerata, and the radial cell bordering the pterostigma narrowing at the base in F. mortua. [2] F. funerata was originally assigned to the genus Raphidia, but this assignment was made with hesitation by Dr. Engel as the characteristics used to separate living genera, the reproductive structures, are not preserved in most fossils and very rarely in compression fossils.


The name F. funerata is derived from the Latin funeratus meaning to "bury" or "intern". [2] The species is known from a single female specimen, the holotype, deposited in the Department of Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum in London as specimen number "In. 26922". [2] Though they did not study the specimen, Aspöck, Aspöck and Rausch in the 1991 work Die Raphidiopteren der Erde noted and figured the specimen as an "unidentified raphidiid". Engel first studied and described the species after finding the specimen in the Department of Palaeontology collections. [2] and published his type description in the journal Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (Volume 106) in 2003. [2] Engel (2003) considered it possible the Florissant Formation species were members of one of the two nearctic genera Alena or Agulla . [2] In a 2014 study Vladimir N. Makarkin and S. Bruce Archibald removed the species F. mortua and F. funerata from Raphidia, and transferred them to the new genus Florissantoraphidia. [1]

Related Research Articles

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Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 1909.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inocelliidae</span> Family of insects

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Ororaphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly containing two species: the type species Ororaphidia megalocephala and Ororaphidia bifurcata.

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Styporaphidia is a genus of snakefly, belonging to the extinct family Mesoraphidiidae, containing up to three species, the type species Styporaphidia magia, Styporaphidia willmanni and tentatively Styporaphidia? hispanica. The genus was named from the Greek stypos meaning "stem" or "stump" and Raphidia, the type genus for, and most often used as, a stem for generic names in the order Raphidioptera. The species name of S. magia is from the Greek word mageia meaning "magic" while the species name for S.? hispanica is from the Latin Hispania meaning "Spain" in reference to the type locality of the species.

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<i>Agulla</i> (snakefly) Genus of insects

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Agulla mineralensis is an extinct species of snakefly in the raphidiid genus Agulla. The species is solely known from the Middle Miocene, late Bartovian stage, Pacific Union Site in the Stewart Valley Group, Mineral County, Nevada.

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<i>Necroraphidia</i> Extinct genus of insects

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<i>Alavaraphidia</i> Genus of insects

Alavaraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from an Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently, the genus comprises a single species, Alavaraphidia imperterrita.

<i>Cantabroraphidia</i> Extinct genus of insects

Cantabroraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from fossil amber found in Cantabria, northern Spain, dating to the Albian age of the Early Cretaceous Period. Currently the genus comprises a single species Cantabroraphidia marcanoi.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Makarkin, V.N.; Archibald, S.B. (2014). "A revision of the late Eocene snakeflies (Raphidioptera) of the Florissant Formation, Colorado, with special reference to the wing venation of the Raphidiomorpha". Zootaxa. 3784 (4): 401–444. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3784.4.4. PMID   24872063.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Engel, M.S. (2003). "A New Eocene-Oligocene Snakefly from Florissant, Colorado (Raphidioptera: Raphidiidae)". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 106 (3 &amp, 4): 124–128. doi:10.1660/0022-8443(2003)106[0124:anesff]2.0.co;2. JSTOR   3628392.
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