New fossil giant lacewings from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of China (Neuroptera, Ithonidae)

A new genus with a new species, Fuscopolystoechotes reticulatus Xu, Zheng, Shih & Wang, gen. et sp. nov., and a new species Lichenipolystoechotes fenestratus Xu, Fang, Shih & Wang, sp. nov. of Ithonidae, are described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation, Inner Mongolia, China. Both new species are assigned to Polystoechotes genus-group mainly based on the combination of following characters: the distinctly narrowed costal space in distal half, presence of recurrent humeral veinlet and ScA, absence of interlinked crossveins in between costal crossveins, converged ScP and RA and pectinately branched MA and MP in distal. But the new genus of Fuscopolystoechotes gen. nov. is differentiated from all other genera by a combination of characters, i.e., specialized markings on forewing; scp-ra crossveins absent; CuP with pectinate branches and crossveins in RP–A area complicated. These two new species with the remarkable markings in forewings are considered to be adapted for the particular Mesozoic environments for camouflage or mimicry.

New replacement name for the genus Latitergum Yu, Ślipiński, Leschen, Ren & Pang, 2014 (Insecta: Coleoptera: Trogossitidae)

Yu, Ślipiński, Leschen, Ren and Pang (2014) established the trogossitid fossil genus Latitergum with the type species Latitergum glabrum Yu, Ślipiński, Leschen, Ren & Pang, 2014 from China (Jiulongshan Formation, Inner Mongolia). So far, this genus includes only type species and it is recorded only from China. It was used as a valid generic name in the family Trogossitidae (Insecta: Coleoptera).

The early assemblage of Middle–Late Jurassic Yanliao biota: checklist, bibliography and statistical analysis of described taxa from the Daohugou beds and coeval deposits

Checklists of all described organisms from the Daohugou biota, and insects from the Haifanggou Formation at Haifeng Village (Beipiao City, Liaoning Province) and the ‘Jiulongshan Formation’ at Zhouyingzi Village (Luanping County, Chengde City, Hebei Province), are provided. Fossil insects from the Daohugou biota are summarized, including a total of 760 valid species reported in 396 research papers from 2001 to April, 2021. The heyday of exploration of Daohugou insects has been lasted for a decade from 2006 to 2016 according to the number of published papers.

New species and material of Hagloidea (Insecta, Ensifera) from the Yanliao biota of China

A new species of Cyrtophyllitinae, Archaboilus polyneurussp. nov. Gu, Yue & Ren, is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation, Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China. The species is characterized by its ScA reaching the anterior wing margin at the level of the divergence of M+ CuA, distally branched RP, lengths of free CuA and free M equal, and numerous branches of CuA + CuPaα. A new fossil of Liassophyllum caii Gu & Ren, 2012 is described which increases knowledge of its wing venation and indicates that Liassophyllum should be assigned to the Tuphellidae.

New lance lacewings (Osmylidae: Kempyninae) from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China

Contrary to the typical southern distribution of the extant Kempyninae, a subfamily of Osmylidae, its fossil group shows the high diversification in the northern hemisphere during the Mesozoic. Herein a new genus with a new species, Mirokempynus profundobifurcus gen. et sp. nov., and a new species, Jurakempynus loculosus sp. nov., of Kempyninae, are described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou Village, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species share the characteristic synapomorphies of Kempyninae, e.g. subcostal veinlets mostly irregularly forked in the forewing and the distinctly expanded intramedial area with multiple rows of cells in the hind wing. The new genus distinctly shows a particular condition of intramedial area and MP branching in the hind wing. However, the condition of the region between MA and MP significantly broadened in the hind wing appear distinctively different to other known kempynine genera. A key is provided for all the genera of documented kempynines, both fossil and extant.

New species of Archisargus from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou of Northeastern China (Diptera: Brachycera: Archisargidae)

Archisargidae, an extinct family of the suborder Brachycera, are traditionally attributed to the infraorder Stratiomyomorpha (Oberprieler & Yeates, 2012). The type genus, Archisargus Rohdendorf, 1938, is a small group including only four species from two well-known localities, the Karatau Formation of Kazakhstan and the Jiulongshan Formation of China. Rohdendorf (1938) erected the genus based on the species Archisargus pulcher from the Karatau Formation of Kazakhstan, and assigned it to Stratiomyidae. Hennig (1954) questioned Rohdendorf’s assignment and pointed out that the characters of the Stratiomyidae were absent, but he didn’t propose an appropriate placement for this genus. Rohdendorf (1962) reconsidered the systematic position of the genus and established the new family Archisargidae based on the genus. In fact, the description of the Archisargus was not informative due to the incomplete preservation of the type specimen (only Sc and R were mentioned) (Rohdendorf, 1938). Mostovski (1997) re-described the type specimen of Archisargus pulcher, clarified the status of the genus, and described a second species, Archisargus maximus, which was also from Karatau, Kazakhstan. A decade later, Zhang et al. (2007) described two older species from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, China. The Daohugou locality is well-known for its diverse fossil insects, representing an important diversification center of insects during the Mesozoic Era (Ren et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2010, 2012; Gao et al., 2012; Gu et al., 2012; Meng et al., 2017; Ren et al., 2019). Herein, we describe a new species, Archisargus aequinervus sp. nov., from this locality. Additionally, a key to species of the genus is provided.

The first Elcanidae (Orthoptera, Elcanoidea) from the Daohugou fossil bed of northeastern China

A new species of Elcanidae (Orthoptera, Elcanoidea), Parelcana pulchmaculasp. nov., is described based on four new specimens from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of northeastern China. The new species differs from all other known Archelcaninae species by its combination of wing-venation characters. This new finding improves our knowledge of variation on wing venation in elcanid insects and constitutes the first record of Elcanidae from the Daohugou fossil bed (Yanliao Biota) of northeastern China.

A new fossil snipe fly with long proboscis from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China (Diptera: Rhagionidae)

A new genus and species of rhagionids with a long proboscis, Elliprhagio macrosiphonius gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation in Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China, which is considered to be the earliest hematophagous rhagionid described hitherto according to the typically piercing and sucking mouthparts. All previously documented rhagionids from northeastern China are reviewed a key to genera of Rhagionidae from Daohugou is provided for the first time. The genus Daohugorhagio Zhang, 2013 is considered as a new synonym of Trichorhagio Zhang, 2013.