Osmylidia taliae, Makarkin & Archibald & Mathewes, 2021

Makarkin, Vladimir N., Archibald, S. Bruce & Mathewes, Rolf W., 2021, New Protosmylinae (Neuroptera: Osmylidae) from the early Eocene of western North America, with taxonomic remarks, Zootaxa 4980 (1), pp. 142-156 : 147-148

Osmylidia taliae sp. nov.

Fig. 3

Type material. Holotype UCM 67996, collected by David Kohls, 4 March 2004; deposited in UCM. A poorly preserved incomplete specimen with at least small portions of all four wings.

Type locality and horizon. UCM locality 2005025 (Anvil Points Kohls site); Garfield County, Colorado, U.S.A. Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation ; late Ypresian (early Eocene) .

Etymology. From the first name of Talia Karim, for her long-standing helpful support of paleoentomology.

Diagnosis. May be distinguished from other species of the genus by forewing stem of RP distally pectinately branched [other species: dichotomously branched]; MP not branched at outer gradate series [other species: branched]; hind wing posterior branch of MA fused with MP for short distance [other species (except some specimens of O. picta ): separate, connected by crossvein].

Description. Body poorly preserved, ca. 9 mm long; details not discernable.

Forewing ca. 14 mm long, ca. 4.8–5.0 mm wide. Costal space broad, with subcostal veinlets simple, closely spaced. Sc fused with RA far from wing apex. Subcostal space narrow in distal portion; crossveins not detected. RA space relatively broad medially, with two preserved crossveins. RP with 11 pectinate branches, all shallowly forked. All preserved crossveins in radial to medio-cubital spaces arranged in three gradate series: proximal series with three preserved crossveins; intermediate series with eight preserved crossveins; outer series with 11 preserved crossveins (probably 14 in life). MA pectinately branched distally, probably with three branches. MP probably shallowly branched (apex not preserved), at least not branched at outer gradate series or proximad it. CuA pectinately branched, with three preserved branches. Wing colouration: faint spots at pterostigma and along apical margin; some crossveins in gradate series appear surrounded by fuscous colouration.

Hind wing 7.5 mm long as preserved (estimated complete length ca. 13 mm), ca. 3 mm wide as preserved (estimated complete width ca. 3.5 mm). Costal space moderately broad, with simple, relatively closely spaced preserved subcostal veinlets. Three closely spaced crossveins preserved in RA space medially. RP with five partially preserved branches. MA deeply forked, distally pectinately forked, with at least three branches. MP pectinately forked with two branches. CuA fragmentarily preserved. Crossveins in radial, radio-medial spaces arranged in two preserved gradate series: intermediate series with four preserved crossveins; outer series with six preserved crossveins. Two preserved crossveins between posterior branch of MA, MP.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Osmylidia taliae sp. nov., holotype UCM 67996 from the Green River Formation. A, photograph of the part; B, drawing of forewing venation; C, drawing of hind wing venation. Posterior branch of MA in red. Scale bar = 5 mm (all to scale).