Revision of the enigmatic insect family Anthracoptilidae enlightens the evolution of Palaeozoic stem-dictyopterans
Author
Guan, Zhaoying
Author
Prokop, Jakub
Author
Roques, Patrick
Author
Lapeyrie, Jean
Author
Nel, André
text
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
2016
2015-01-19
61
1
71
87
http://dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.00051.2014
journal article
10.4202/app.00051.2014
1732-2421
10980713
Mesoptilus dolloi
(
Lameere, 1917
)
Fig. 3
.
Holotype
: MNHN R51159, imprint of prothorax, forewings and fragmentary legs.
Type locality
: Commentry Basin, Allier department,
France
.
Type horizon
: Stephanian, Carboniferous (= Gzhelian, Upper Pennsylvanian).
Material
.—
Type
material only.
Emended diagnosis
.—Forewing anterior branches of CuA strongly approximate at their bases, with first one distant from m-cua.
Description
.—Some details of forewing venation have been neglected by
Béthoux and Wieland (2009)
, so we prefer to provide a redescription of this taxon. An imprint of prothorax with nearly complete right wing and base of left wing, and some legs attached.
Fig. 4. Forewing of anthracoptilid insect
Mesoptilus carpenteri
sp. nov.
from Artinskian of Elmo, Oklahoma, USA, holotype MCZ 11253, photograph (
A
), line drawing (
B
).
Thorax poorly preserved, 6.0 mm wide; fore femur
23 mm
long,
1.7 mm
wide; tibia more than 8.0 mm long,
0.9 mm
wide, with a series of strong curved spines along inner margin,
0.3 mm
long. Hind leg with strong femora and with tibia
1.6 mm
wide, armed with an outer series of strong spines; a hind wing partly preserved; a complete forewing and basal half of the other one attached to thorax.
Forewing with anterior margin partly missing in apical part, and posterior base part missing due to covering by a leg; wing
29.6 mm
long,
8.9 mm
wide; straight, concave
ScP
with several anterior branches reaching costal margin, each subdivided; area between
ScP
and costal margin with numerous crossveins and veinlets,
1.5 mm
wide;
ScP
parallel to radius,
0.7 mm
apart, ending on RA
17.5 mm
from wing base; radial stem straight, with
RP
separating from RA
7.9 mm
from wing base; RA strongly convex, straight and simple, ending
3.1 mm
from wing apex; slightly concave
RP
posteriorly pectinate, with eight main branches, resulting into 11 branches ending on wing margin;
RP
and median vein separated but approximate with a short crossvein between them
5.6 mm
from wing base; median vein slightly more convex than
RP
, divided into three straight and simple branches; presence of a brace m-cua between median vein and CuA; strongly convex CuA anteriorly pectinate with four main branches distinctly less convex than main stem of CuA, resulting into seven branches ending on wing margin; CuA separating from
CuP
2.3 mm
from wing base; concave
CuP
simple, curved with numerous crossveins between it and CuA in a
1.4 mm
wide area, this zone being partly covered by a leg in one wing; area between
CuP
and posterior wing margin
2.5 mm
wide; five visible weakly curved main branches of anal veins, a net of crossveins present in between, but poorly preserved; posterior part of anal area and wing base (possible jugal area) missing; a dense net of rather straight crossveins between branches of all main veins, except in area between CuA and
CuP
, between C and
ScP
, and anal area where nets of more irregular cells are present.
Stratigraphic and geographic range
.—Gzhelian (Upper Pennsylvanian),
France
.