Priscalestidae, a new damselfly family (Odonata: Lestinoidea) from the Middle Eocene Eckfeld maar of Germany

WAPPLER, T. Y PETRULEVICIUS, J. F.

ALAVESIA

Inrtenational Palaeoentomological Society

Año: 2007 vol. 1 p. 69 - 73

1887-7419

We describe Priscalestes germanica Petrulevičius & Wappler, a new genus and species of Lestinoidea Calvert (1901) (sensu Bechly 1996) from the Eocene of Germany. The new genus represents a new family, Priscalestidae Petrulevičius & Wappler fam. nov., with close relationship to Megalestidae, Lestidae and the genus Promegalestes Petrulevičius & Nel 2004 from the late Paleocene of Argentina.. The new family seems to be in a basal position with respect to the Lestidae because of the lack of their synapomorphies, i. e. MA strongly zigzagged and the area between IR2 and RP3/4 distally strongly widened with three rows of cells between these two veins instead of only one. The new family differs also from Lestidae and Megalestidae in the presence of two autapomorphies, i.e. (1) all secondary longitudinal veins (except IR1 and IR2) suppressed, resulting in presence of unicellular rows between IR1 and RP2, RP2 and IR2, RP3 and MA; and (2) the midfork closer to the subnodus than to the arculus. The sharing of last character with Promegalestes let us thinking in a close relationship of these two genera.