Raphidioptera, Linnaeus, 1758

Makarkin, Vladimir N., Perkovsky, Evgeny E., Anisyutkin, Leonid N. & Dubovikoff, Dmitry A., 2022, First larvae of Raphidioptera from Eocene Sakhalinian and Rovno ambers, Zootaxa 5219 (5), pp. 456-466 : 460-461

Raphidioptera fam. gen. sp. indet. B

Fig. 3

Material examined. Specimen SIZK K-8213, deposited in the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology , Kiev, Ukraine. An incomplete mature larva lacking the posterior part; details of the head are unclear in part because of a milky covering. Syninclusions: stellate hairs .

Locality and horizon. Ukraine: Rovno Region: Sarny District : Klesov ; Rovno amber, late Eocene.

Description. Larva. Preserved length ca. 12.5 mm, estimated complete length ca. 15 mm.

Head relatively broad, not narrowed posteriorly, ca. 2.0 mm long (including mandibles), 1.25 mm wide (ca. 1.60 times as long as wide). Ecdysial cleavage lines poorly discernible, consisting of frontal and coronal sutures; frontal sutures diverge at a relatively sharp angle. Mandible protruding, poorly discernible. Maxillary palpi relatively long; four distal elongate palpomeres; basal palpomere not discernible. Labial palpi short, three-segmented. Antennal tubercles probably short, but not clearly discernible. Antenna: first antennomere rather short and stout; second antennomere very short, narrow; other antennomeres broken. Stemmata poorly discernible; at least three stemmata visible dorsally.

Thorax covered with long scarce setae. Pronotum relatively short, widest anteriorly; 1.50 mm long, 1.15 mm wide (1.30 times as long as wide); shorter than head (0.79 times as long as head length). Mesonotum nearly quadrate (0.92 times as long as wide), widest caudally. Metanotum transverse (0.70 times as long as wide), widest caudally.

All legs similar in structure, short, covered with long scarce setae. Coxa, trochanter very short, stout. Femur elongate, stout. Tibia nearly as long as femur, rather stout. Tarsus elongate, narrowed toward apex (conical); claws small, slightly curved, basally dilated.

Abdomen wider than thorax; seven preserved segments transverse (their length less than width). Setae long, scarce.

Remarks. The natural color of the larva is altered, with maculation presumed absent. All setae are covered by numerous minute droplets of water. The larva was found in a relatively small piece of amber, so it might be preserved in resin from various parts of the amber tree (e.g., any part of the trunk or stout twigs) ( Perkovsky et al. 2012). The presence of stellate hairs indicates that this resin was exposed to the open air.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Raphidioptera fam. gen. sp. indet. B, specimen SIZK K-8213. A, dorsal view; B, ventral view; C, head, dorsal view; D, anterior part of the head (ventral view); E, right foreleg. a1, 1st antennomere; a2, 2nd antennomere; cl, claw; cs, coronal suture; cx, coxa; fe, femur; fs, frontal suture; he, head; lp, labial palpus; msn, mesonotum; mp, maxillary palpus; mtn, metanotum; pn, pronotum; ta, tarsus; ti, tibia; tr, trochanter. Scale bars = 1 mm (A–D), 0.5 mm (E).