Typhothauma agari, BASHKUEV & JARZEMBOWSKI, 2023

BASHKUEV, ALEXEY S. & JARZEMBOWSKI, EDMUND A., 2023, The first British Cretaceous eomeropid scorpionfly (Mecoptera: Eomeropidae), Palaeoentomology 6 (3), pp. 255-259 : 256-258

? Typhothauma agari sp. nov.

( Fig. 2 )

Material. Holotype NHMUK In 64761 [S 1164], impression (without counterpart) of forewing, deposited in the Natural History Museum, London.

Etymology. Named after amateur Wealden geologist Richard Agar.

Diagnosis. Differs from T. excelsa and T. yixianensis in smaller size of wing (10.2 mm vs. 13.3 mm and> 18 mm), much shorter Sc 1, and longer Cu 1, both reaching somewhat beyond wing mid-length.

Locality and horizon. Smokejacks brickworks, Surrey, UK; Austen & Batten (2018) bed 5 (lower), Bevhalstia and siltstone band, upper Weald Clay Formation, lower Barremian.

Description. Almost complete forewing with distal part of anterior margin missing, 10.2 mm long and 3.9 mm wide, length to width ratio 2.6. Venation relatively simplified as expected from rather small size of wing. Sc with two long, zigzagging longitudinal branches, cells between them and costal margin indiscernible. Sc 1 reaching somewhat beyond wing mid-length. R 1 forking at pterostigma; pterostigma itself not preserved. Rs branching with at least six veins reaching wing margin, with apical forks on Rs 1 and either on Rs 3 or on Rs 4. Venation of M mostly obscure, but apparently with more branches than Rs. Cu 1 reaching beyond wing mid-length at the same level as Sc 1. Space between Cu 1 and Cu 2 with one row of five cells. Cu 2 and anal veins in usual position, A 3 forked. Cross-veins numerous, faintly preserved in distal part of wing, longitudinal veins mostly zigzagged by cross-veins.

Figures

FIGURE 2.?Typhothauma agari sp. nov. A, B, Photographs of the holotype in different optical and illumination settings. C, Venation interpretation, with the hypothetical position of Sc3. Scale bars = 2 mm.