Megaraphidia Cockerell, 1907

Makarkin, Vladimir N. & Archibald, S. Bruce, 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), pp. 401-444 : 414

Genus Megaraphidia Cockerell, 1907

Megaraphidia Cockerell, 1907: 606 ; Cockerell 1908: 342 (as a possible subgenus of Raphidia ); Cockerell 1909a: 73; Cockerell 1909b: 78; Cockerell 1912: 216 (as a possible subgenus of Raphidia ); Handlirsch 1913: 812; Handlirsch 1920 –1921 [1921]: 255; Cockerell & Custer 1925: 295; Martynov 1925a: 244, 245; Carpenter 1936: 145, 146; Metzger 1960: 41; Oswald 1990: 160 (as a synonym of Raphidia ); Aspöck et al. 1991: 536, 537, 665; Engel 2002: 21 (as a tentative synonym of Raphidia ).

Type species. Megaraphidia elegans Cockerell, 1907 , by monotypy.

Diagnosis. Relatively large raphidiids (forewing up to 14 mm long). Both wings: relatively long ScP [short in Archiraphidia , Florissantoraphidia gen. nov.]; short, rather pale pterostigma [long in Florissantoraphidia gen. nov.] in which incorporated branch of RA clearly visible [incorporated branch of RA poorly visible in Archiraphidia ]. Forewing: costal space broad [relatively narrow in Florissantoraphidia gen. nov.]; branches of CuA, M long [short in Archiraphidia ], mainly forked [mainly simple in Archiraphidia , Florissantoraphidia gen. nov.].

Species included. Two species from Florissant, Megaraphidia elegans and M. exhumata (Cockerell, 1909) , comb. nov.

Remarks. Two species included in this genus have very similar venation, distinguished as indicated in their diagnoses. However, they may represent one variable species.

The venation of this genus is most similar to that of the extant Palearctic genus Phaeostigma (41 species) distributed mainly in the eastern Mediterranean. In particular, they share a strongly broadened costal space; branches of CuA to RP mainly forked; and a long ScP. However, the majority of Phaeostigma species possess two or more branches of RA incorporated in the pterostigma, and/or 3ra-rp is located distad the pterostigma. The venation of a few Phaeostigma species differs from that of Megaraphidia species only in small details. Nevertheless, the possible synonymization of two these genera is premature. Further, among other considerations, the body of Megaraphidia (the senior name) is unknown.