Rasnitsyneura, Makarkin & Ansorge & Khramov, 2021

Makarkin, Vladimir N., Ansorge, Jörg & Khramov, Alexander V., 2021, Revision of Epigambriinae Handlirsch, stat. nov., a subfamily of Early Jurassic Ithonidae s. l. (Neuroptera), Palaeoentomology 4 (6), pp. 516-531 : 521

Genus Rasnitsyneura gen. nov.

Type species. Prohemerobius aequabilis Bode, 1953 .

Etymology. The genus is named in honor of Professor Alexander P. Rasnitsyn, a well-known Russian paleoentomologist; the ending - neura is from Neuroptera . Gender: feminine.

Diagnosis. Forewing: several brown spots [ Polyosmylus : none]; CuP shallowlyforked [ Polyosmylus : deeply forked]. Hind wing: unknown.

Remarks. Bode (1953) described seven species of Prohemerobius with spotted forewings from two localities near Braunschweig in Germany (Hondelage and Schandelah): Prohemerobius aequabilis , P. septemvirgatus Bode, 1953 , P. succisus Bode, 1953 , P. dispar Bode, 1953 , P. sexfasciatus Bode, 1953 , P. quatuorpictus Bode, 1953 , and P. obliquevirgatus Bode, 1953 . Ponomarenko (1996) reexamined most of their types and assigned several additional specimens to them. He considered four species to be junior synonyms: P. aequabilis , P. succisus , and P. dispar to be synonyms of P. septemvirgatus ; P. obliquevirgatus as a synonym of P. quatuorpictus . However, the situation is complicated by the fact thatthe present location of these types is unknown, thephotographs of them providedby Ponomarenko (1996) are poor and not very informative, and their drawings by Bode (1953) and Ponomarenko (1996) are not accurate, at least in some details. Therefore, this synonymy is not well justified, and the actual number of these Prohemerobius species is unknown, as their diagnostic characters and generic affinities remain unclear. However, we may reasonably assume that P. aequabilis , P. succisus , P. dispar and P. septemvirgatus belong to Rasnitsyneura gen. nov. judging from the similar size, maculation and venation (but considering that their venations were drawn or interpreted somewhat incorrectly) to those of the specimens described here. Three other species ( P. sexfasciatus , P. quatuorpictus , and P. obliquevirgatus ) probably do not belong to Epigambriinae judging from their smaller sizes, stouter bodies, and differing maculations.