Amarantoraphidia Perez-de la Fuente, Penalver , Delclos & Engel

Fuente, Ricardo Perez-de la, Penalver, Enrique, Delclos, Xavier & Engel, Michael S., 2012, Snakefly diversity in Early Cretaceous amber from Spain (Neuropterida, Raphidioptera), ZooKeys 204, pp. 1-40 : 14-15

Amarantoraphidia Perez-de la Fuente, Penalver, Delclos & Engel gen. n.

Type species.

Amarantoraphidia ventolina sp. n.

Diagnosis.

Minute size. Head ovoid, with the portion posterior to the compound eyes longer than the eye diameter and tapering caudad; three large ocelli present, situated between anterior half of compound eyes; antennae with a low number of flagellomeres (i.e., ≤ 26). Pronotum slightly longer than head, with a constant height along its entire length. Mesotibiae especially swollen; process at midlength of the metatibiae absent. Forewing with costal field moderately broad; pterostigma elongate, without crossveins; Sc terminating into C slightly distad wing midlength; six c-sc crossveins present; two discoidal cells posterior to MP; apicalmost branch of CuA simple; 1cua-cup crossvein located at the M-CuA separation.

Etymology.

The new genus-group name is a combination of the Greek term amarantos, meaning "that never fades, ageless", and Raphidia , common generic stem for snakeflies. The name is feminine.

Comments.

Amarantoraphidia gen. n.is first compared with the other described minute mesoraphidiid genera, which have a forewing length around 6 or less. They include amber inclusions but also some compression fossils. Apart from the minute size, in all of these taxa the pterostigma is very elongate, without crossveins, and basally closed by a crossvein. Regarding those as amber inclusions, Amarantoraphidia is readily distinct from the other two currently described Spanish mesoraphidiid genera, Cantabroraphidia and Alavaraphidia gen. n., as well as Lebanoraphidia , by its ovoid head shape (subquadrate in Cantabroraphidia , and rhomboidal in the other two genera) and by its lesser number of antennal flagellomeres (26 flagellomeres in Cantabroraphidia , 38 flagellomeres or more in Lebanoraphidia , and 44 in Alavaraphidia ). The two genera Nanoraphidia (type species Nanoraphidia electroburmica Engel, 2002, Burmese amber, latest Albian in age) and Grimaldiraphidia (type species Grimaldiraphidia luzzi (Grimaldi, 2000), New Jersey amber, Turonian in age)share with Amarantoraphidia the ovoid head shape. However, in both of these genera the ocelli are placed between the posterior half of the compound eyes, not between the anterior part as in Amarantoraphidia . Additionally, whereas Amarantoraphidia has two discoidal cells posterior to MP in the forewing, Grimaldiraphidia has three and Nanoraphidia just a single cell. Also, in Nanoraphidia the M-CuA separation is located near midpoint of the first and second cua-cup crossveins ( Engel 2002; Jepson et al. 2011), not at the 1cua-cup crossvein as in Amarantoraphidia .

In addition to the aforementioned taxa, five mesoraphidiids with minute size have been hitherto described from compression fossils: Grimaldiraphidia parvula (Martynov, 1925), from Karatau (South Kazakhstan), Late Jurassic in age; Grimaldiraphidia mitchelli (Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009), Grimaldiraphidia purbeckensis Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009, and Mesoraphidia websteri Jepson, Coram and Jarzembowski, 2009, the three species from the Purbeck Limestone Group, Dorset (UK), Berriasian in age; and Nanoraphidia lithographica Jepson, Ansorge and Jarzembowski, 2011 (tentatively assigned to this genus), from El Montsec (Spain), Early Barremian in age. Grimaldiraphidia parvula (described from a complete specimen but its wings unresolved dorsoproximally) has more proximal positions of the fork of Rs and the 2r-rs and rs-ma crossveins than Amarantoraphidia ( Martynov 1925: p. 242, figs 7-9). Grimaldiraphidia mitchelli (described from a wing, most likely a forewing, with not preserved base and pterostigma), although possessing two discoidal cells posterior to MP as in the forewing of Amarantoraphidia , has a venation somewhat different, with the second radial cell relatively wide compared to its length, and more proximal positions of the fork of Rs and the 2r-rs and rs-ma crossveins ( Jepson et al. 2009). Grimaldiraphidia purbeckensis possesses three discoidal cells posterior to MP in the forewing, the M-CuA separation is located near midpoint of the first and second cua-cup crossveins, and has more proximal positions of the fork of Rs and the 2r-rs and rs-ma crossveins (ibid.). Mesoraphidia websteri (based on a hind wing) has the Sc ending beyond the first radial cell, relatively shorter second radial and discal cells, and a single discoidal cell (two discoidal cells posterior to MP in Amarantoraphidia ) (ibid.). Lastly, Nanoraphidia lithographica shows only one discoidal cell posterior to MP in the forewing as in the type species for the genus, Nanoraphidia electroburmica ( Jepson et al. 2011).