scholarly journals A golden orb-weaver spider (Araneae: Nephilidae: Nephila ) from the Middle Jurassic of China

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 775-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Selden ◽  
ChungKun Shih ◽  
Dong Ren

Nephila are large, conspicuous weavers of orb webs composed of golden silk, in tropical and subtropical regions. Nephilids have a sparse fossil record, the oldest described hitherto being Cretaraneus vilaltae from the Cretaceous of Spain. Five species from Neogene Dominican amber and one from the Eocene of Florissant, CO, USA, have been referred to the extant genus Nephila . Here, we report the largest known fossil spider, Nephila jurassica sp. nov., from Middle Jurassic (approx. 165 Ma) strata of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species extends the fossil record of the family by approximately 35 Ma and of the genus Nephila by approximately 130 Ma, making it the longest ranging spider genus known. Nephilidae originated somewhere on Pangaea, possibly the North China block, followed by dispersal almost worldwide before the break-up of the supercontinent later in the Mesozoic. The find suggests that the palaeoclimate was warm and humid at this time. This giant fossil orb-weaver provides evidence of predation on medium to large insects, well known from the Daohugou beds, and would have played an important role in the evolution of these insects.

Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1269 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUNZHI YAO ◽  
WANZHI CAI ◽  
DONG REN

Two new genera and two new species of fossil rhopalid, Miracorizus punctatus gen. & sp. nov. and Longiclavula calvata gen. & sp. nov., are described and illustrated. They were collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. This is the earliest fossil record of the family Rhopalidae in the world.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2897 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUSHUANG LIU ◽  
CHAOFAN SHI ◽  
DONG REN

A new species of the family Grammolingiidae (Neuroptera) (Leptolingia imminuta sp. nov.) is described from Daohugou village (Middle Jurassic), Inner Mongolia, China. In this new species, MA forks at the same level as the separation of Rs2 from Rs, close to the middle of forewing, this structure of MA is peculiar in Grammolingiidae and is different from that of all other known species. Moreover, this new species is the smallest species known in the family Grammolingiidae (30 mm wing span).


2007 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 1266-1283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Kröger ◽  
Matilde S. Beresi ◽  
Ed Landing

The Early and Middle Ordovician Orthocerida and Lituitida of Precordilleran Argentina are described, and their systematics and paleogeographic significance are revised. These cephalopods show a strong affinity to coeval faunas of North China, suggesting a location of the Precordillera at middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere east of the North China block and relatively close to the Gondwanan margin during the early Middle Ordovician. The descriptive terminology of characters of the septal necks, the position and shape of the siphuncule, and the shape of the connecting ring is improved. The distribution of these characters support an emendation of the Baltoceratidae, Sactorthoceratidae, and Proteoceratidae. Braulioceras n. gen. (Sactorthoceratidae) and Palorthoceras n. gen. (Orthoceratidae) are erected. The new species Braulioceras sanjuanense, Eosomichelinoceras baldisii, Gangshanoceras villicumense, and Rhynchorthoceras minor are proposed. Palorthoceras n. gen. from the Lower Ordovician Oepikodus evae Zone represents the earliest known orthocerid.


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 471-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menglun Wang ◽  
Longfeng Li ◽  
Chungkun Shih

Two new species,Symphytopterus gracilersp. nov. of the family Ephialtitidae andPraeaulacus byssinussp. nov. of the family Praeaulacidae, are described and illustrated from the late Middle Jurassic of Jiulongshan Formation at Daohugou in Inner Mongolia, China. Based on new information onS. gracilersp. nov. andP. byssinussp. nov., two taxonomic keys to the known species of generaSymphytopterusandPraeaulacusare provided. By comparing the wings ofSymphytopterus, we find that the change of the veins length is the main interspecific difference andS. liasinusmay occupy the most basal position inSymphytopterus.


Fossil Record ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker Lohrmann ◽  
Michael Ohl ◽  
Peter Michalik ◽  
James P. Pitts ◽  
Laurent Jeanneau ◽  
...  

Abstract. Rhopalosomatidae are a family of aculeate wasps that are ectoparasitoids of crickets as larvae and are predominantly distributed pantropically. The published fossil record of the family is scarce. Here, we report three new fossil rhopalosomatid wasp specimens from Dominican and Mexican amber. Rhopalosoma hispaniola Lohrmann sp. nov. is described and documented from Dominican amber by two separate inclusions – one of each sex. An additional fossil female Rhopalosoma is described and documented from Mexican amber but is not named due to the insufficient preservation of the fossil. The new fossils, which are morphologically intermediate between Townes' isopus and poeyi species groups, do not only represent the first fossil records of an extant genus of this peculiar family but also the first records of the family in Dominican and Mexican amber.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4567 (3) ◽  
pp. 546 ◽  
Author(s):  
DALE E. GREENWALT ◽  
VLADIMIR A. BLAGODEROV

The dipteran family Bolitophilidae, with the single extant genus Bolitophila, is a small family of mycophagous flies. In marked contrast to related families such as Sciaridae and Mycetophilidae, the family has a poor fossil record with no definite species assigned to the genus. In addition, the position of the extinct Cretaceous subfamily Mangasinae Kovalev, 1986 (described in Bolitophillidae) has been controversial and it has been suggested that species in this clade may belong to other sciaroid families. This situation is made worse by misplacement of the type specimen. We herein describe two new species of Bolitophila, Bolitophila warreni sp. nov. from the 46-million-year-old Kishenehn Formation in Montana, USA and Bolitophila rohdendorfi sp. nov. from Baltic amber. Bolitophila pulveris Lewis, 1969 is reassigned to Sciaroidea incertae sedis. The subfamily Mangasinae is reviewed and its position within the Bolitophilidae confirmed. Two new species of Mangas, M. kovalevi sp. nov. and M. brevisubcosta sp. nov., both from the Lower Cretaceous of Khasurty in Western Transbaikalia, are described. 


2015 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Engel

A new species of scolebythine wasp (Chrysidoidea: Scolebythidae) is described and figured from a female beautifully preserved in Early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic.  The specimen is the first fossil record of the extant genus <em>Clystopsenella</em> Kieffer, and is quite similar to the extant <em>Clystopsenella longiventris</em> Kieffer, a species that occurs widely from Brazil to Belize.  <strong><em>Clystopsenella mirabilis</em></strong> Engel, new species, is distinguished from <em>C. longiventris</em> on the basis of size; head, pronotal, and pterostigmal shape; and putative color differences.  The living and fossil diversity of the family is summarized and evolutionary patterns within the clade are discussed.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2745 (1) ◽  
pp. 53 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIAOXIONG PAN ◽  
HUALI CHANG ◽  
DONG REN ◽  
CHUNGKUN SHIH

A new genus with three new species of fossil Buprestidae, Sinoparathyrea bimaculata gen. et sp. nov., S. gracilenta sp. nov., and S. robusta sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, are described. This is the earliest fossil record of buprestids in China and it is also the first record of buprestids from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of China.


2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Nel ◽  
Romain Garrouste

AbstractTwo new semiaquatic bugs of the families Mesoveliidae and Gerridae are described from the Middle Miocene Dominican amber, Mesovelia dominicana sp.n. and Miohebrus anderseni gen.n., sp.n. The former is the first fossil record of the extant genus Mesovelia and the second described fossil of the family Mesoveliidae (the first mesoveliid fossil record was from undescribed fossils in French Cretaceous amber). The latter is the second described fossil Hebridae.


ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1065 ◽  
pp. 125-139
Author(s):  
Shurong Xiong ◽  
Michael S. Engel ◽  
Lifang Xiao ◽  
Dong Ren

Two new species of Archidermaptera are described and figured from the Middle Jurassic Jiulonghsan Formation of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Aneuroderma oiodesgen. &amp; sp. nov. is described in the family Protodiplatyidae and Sinopalaeodermata concavumsp. nov. is established in the family Dermapteridae. Both new species share the typical characters of the extinct suborder Archidermaptera (e.g., pentamerous metatarsi, filiform and multimerous cerci, externalized ovipositor). Aneurodermagen. nov. is compared with other genera of the Protodiplatyidae, while S. concavumsp. nov. allows us to emend the diagnosis of the genus Sinopalaeodermata. We briefly discuss the diversity of Archidermaptera and challenges to understanding relationships among this mid-Mesozoic diversity.


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