A new hangingfly (Insecta: Mecoptera: Bittacidae) from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia, China

PETRULEVICIUS, J. F, HUANG, DI-YING Y REN, DONG

Pretoria

Congreso; III International Congress on Palaeoentomology, II International Meeting on Paleoarthropodology y III International Congress on amber; 2005

South African National Biodiversity Institute

Bittacidae is a small family of insects, but a major family of mecopterans, with more than the half of its genera known from the Mesozoic. Cenozoic records are scarce and in most cases are assigned to extant genera. Living bittacids are widespread in temperate and tropical climates. Hangingflies usually occur in mesic habitats, including stream margins, slowly flying short distances. Eggs are drought resistant and laid on the ground, where the larvae scavenge on dead insects. A new genus of Bittacidae, Mongolbittacus n. gen., based on Mongolbittacus daohugoensis n. sp., is erected from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, China. The new species is represented by a bi-dimensionally articulated specimen, without head. The new genus appears to be related to the Mesobittacus -Anabittacus group because of the presence of three synapomorphies, i.e. MP4+CuA1+2 simple; Kreuz der Bittaciden not aligned; and crossvein c-sp absent. Mongolbittacus shares with a new genus (Antiquanabittacus) in Petrulevièius and Jarzembowski (in press) the AA3+4 strongly curved posteriorly and linked to AP1+2 by a short crossvein. Presence of two strong synapomorphies in Jichoristella, Antiquanabittacus, and Anabittacus, i.e. basal shifting of RP1+2 + RP3+4+MA bifurcation and MP3+MP4+CuA1+2 short or inexistent, allows thinking that the mentioned character is a convergence of Mongolbittacus and Antiquanabittacus and therefore, an apomorphy of the new genus.