James E. Jepson

Fossil Neuropterid Papers rest of 2016-2017

Posted on April 16, 2019 by admin

These papers carry on from the April 2016 post up until the present (DATE)*. There are many interesting papers here including phylogenetic work, which includes fossil material, and many descriptions of new taxa from the Eocene and Mesozoic. A number of these new taxa are from the Cretaceous Burmese amber, where some interesting and often strange neuropterans have been described.

Phylogenies

Winterton, S.L., Zhao, J., Garzón-Orduña, Wang, Y., & Liu, J. 2017. The phylogeny of lance lacewings (Neuroptera: Osmylidae): Lance lacewing phylogeny. Systematic Entomology.

Bakkes, D.K., Mansell, M.W., & Sole, C.L. 2017. Phylogeny and historical biogeography of silky lacewings (Neuroptera: Psychopsidae). Systematic Entomology.

Liu, X., Aspöck, H., Winterton, S.L., Zhang, W., & Aspöck, U. 2016. Phylogeny of pleasing lacewings (Neuroptera: Dilaridae) with a revised generic classification and description of a new subfamily. Systematic Entomology, 42(2) 448–471.

Eocene

Makarkin, V.N. 2017. Oldest new genus of Myrmeleontidae (Neuroptera) from the Eocene Green River Formation, Colorado. Zootaxa, 4337(4), 550–552.

Archibald, S.B. & Makarkin, V.N. 2017. A new fossil green lacewing (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) from the early Eocene Driftwood Canyon, Canada. Zootaxa, 4324(2), 397–400.

Makarkin, V.N. 2017. A remarkable new genus of Protosmylinae (Neuroptera: Osmylidae) from late Eocene Florissant, Colorado. Zootaxa, 4268(4), 581–587.

Makarkin, V.N. 2017. An interesting new genus of Berothinae (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from the early Eocene Green River Formation, Colorado. Zootaxa, 4226(4), 594-600.

Wichard, W., Wedmann, S., & Weiterschan, T. 2016. Spongillaflies (Neuroptera, Sisyridae) in Baltic amber. Zootaxa, 4158(1), 117–125.

Makarkin, V.N., Wedmann, S., & Weiterschan, T. 2016. A new genus of Hemerobiidae (Neuroptera) from Baltic amber, with a critical review of the Cenozoic Megalomus-like taxa and remarks on the wing venation variability of the family. Zootaxa, 4179(3), 345–370.

Wichard, W. 2016. Overview and descriptions of Nevrorthidae in Baltic amber (Insecta, Neuroptera). Palaeodiversity, 9(1), 95–111.

Cretaceous

Liu, X. & Lu, X. 2017. A remarkable new genus of Cretaceous dustywings (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae) in amber from northern Myanmar. Zoological Systematics, 42(3), 380–389.

Lü, Y., Dong, R., & Liu, X. 2017. Systematic revision of the fossil snakefly family Baissopteridae (Insecta: Raphidioptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of China, with description of a new genus and three new species. Cretaceous Research, 80, 13–26.

Liu, X., Lu, X., Xia, F., & Wang, B. 2017. First description of female of Haplosialodes liui Huang et al., 2016 (Megaloptera: Sialidae) from Cretaceous Burmese amber. Zootaxa, 4528(2), 172–178.

Liu, X., Lu, X., Xia,F. & Wang, B. 2017. Erratum: XINGYUE LIU, XIUMEI LU, FANGYUAN XIA & BO WANG (2017) First description of female of Haplosialodes liui Huang et al., 2016 (Megaloptera: Sialidae) from Cretaceous Burmese amber. Zootaxa, 4258(2): 172–178. Zootaxa 4277(4), 600.

Lu, X., Zhang, W., Ohl, M., & Liu, X. 2017. New genus and species of silky lacewing (Insecta: Neuroptera: Psychopsidae) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Zootaxa, 4291(2), 373–383.

Makarkin, V.N., Heads, S.W., & Wedmann, S. 2017. Taxonomic study of the Cretaceous lacewing family Babinskaiidae (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontoidea: Nymphidoidae), with description of new taxa. Cretaceous Research, 78, 149–160.

Lu, X., Zhang, W., Ohl, M. & Liu, X. 2017. The first moth lacewing (Insecta: Neuroptera: Ithonidae) from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Cretaceous Research, 78, 78–83.

Makarkin, V.N. & Perkovsky, E. 2017. A new species of Glaesoconis Meinander (Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae) from the Santonian Taimyr amber. Cretaceous Research, 75, 120–124.

Wichard, W. 2017. Family Nevrorthidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Palaeodiversity, 10, 1–5.

Makarkin, V.N. 2017. New taxa of unusual Dilaridae (Neuroptera) with siphonate mouthparts from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Cretaceous Research, 74, 11–22.

Liu, X., Lu, X., & Zhang, W. 2017. New genera and species of the family Dipteromantispidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the Cretaceous amber of Myanmar and New Jersey. Cretaceous Research, 72, 18–25.

Makarkin, V.N. 2016. The neuropteran assemblage (Insecta) of the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber confirms transitional character of its biota. In: Cretaceous Ecosystems and Their Responses to Paleoenvironmental Changes in Asia and the Western Pacific. Short papers for the Fourth International Symposium of International Geoscience Programme IGCP Project 608. August 15–20.

Zheng, B., Dong, R., & Wang, Y. 2016. A new species of Lasiosmylus from the Early Cretaceous, China clarifies its genus-group placement in Ithonidae (Neuroptera). Zookeys, 636(2), 41–50.

Lu, X., Zhang, W., & Liu, X. 2016. Discovery of the family Babinskaiidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the mid Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Cretaceous Research, 71, 14–23.

Lu, X., Zhang, W., & Liu, X. 2016. Nomenclatural validation of new genera and species of the superfamily Psychopsoidea (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Journal of Systematics, 41, 323–326.

Yuan, D., Dong, R., & Wang, Y. 2016. New beaded lacewings (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from Upper Cretaceous Myanmar amber. Cretaceous Research, 68, 40–48.

Liu, X., Lu, X., & Zhang, W. 2016. Phylogenetic position of Corydasialidae (Insecta: Neuropterida) revisited based on a significant new fossil in Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 15, 571–581.

Liu, X., Lu, X. & Zhang, W. 2016. Halteriomantispa grimaldii gen. et sp. nov.: A new genus and species of the family Dipteromantispidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Zoological Systematics, 41(2), 165–172.

Makarkin, V.N. 2016. Enormously long, siphonate mouthparts of a new, oldest known spongillafly (Neuroptera, Sisyridae) from Burmese amber imply nectarivory or hematophagy. Cretaceous Research, 65, 126–137.

Liu, X., Lu, X., & Zhang, W. 2016. New genera and species of the minute snakeflies (Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae: Nanoraphidiini) from the mid Cretaceous of Myanmar. Zootaxa, 4103(4), 301– 324.

Bechly, G. & Makarkin, V.N. 2016. A new gigantic lacewing species (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil confirms the occurrence of Kalligrammatidae in the Americas. Cretaceous Research, 58, 135–140.

Makarkin, V.N. 2016. Удивительное разнообразие меловых сетчатокрылых (Neuroptera) [The amazing diversity of Cretaceous Neuroptera]. In: Чтения памяти Алексея Ивановича Куренцова. Выпуск 27 [A.I. Kurenstov’s Annual Memorial Meetings. Issue 27], Publisher: Владивосток: Дальнаука [ Vladivostok: Dalnauka], pp.27–47.

Liu, X., Zhang, W., Winterton, S.L., Breitkreuz, L., & Engel, M.S. 2016. Early Morphological Specialization for Insect-Spider Associations in Mesozoic Lacewings. Current Biology, 26(2), 1–5.

Lu, X. , Zhang, W., & Liu, X. 2016. New long-proboscid lacewings of the mid-Cretaceous provide insights into ancient plant-pollinator interactions. Scientific Reports, 6, 25382.

Engel, M.S. & Nel, A. 2017. A replacement family-group name among fossil Neuroptera (Insecta). Novitates Paleontomologicae, 19, 1–3.

Jurassic

Lü,Y., Dong, R., & Liu, X. 2017. Review of the fossil snakefly family Mesoraphidiidae (Insecta: Raphidioptera) in the Middle Jurassic of China, with description of a new species. Alcheringa, 41(3), 1–10.

Peng, Y., Makarkin, V.N., & Dong, R. 2016. Diverse new Middle Jurassic Osmylopsychopidae (Neuroptera) from China shed light on the classification of psychopsoids. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 14(4), 261–295.

*These are all the papers that I have come across so far, and therefore may not represent an exhaustive list. Any papers missed here will be included future posts.

Posted in Fossil Mantispids | Leave a comment

Site Update: British Purbeck and Wealden Fossil Neuropterids, and described insects

Posted on April 25, 2016 by admin

I have recently added pages on the neuropterid fauna of the Lower Cretaceous Purbeck and Wealden, UK. They give a brief introduction to the geology of each deposit as well as a list of the recorded neuropterids (Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, Megaloptera). In addition to the taxa list, there is also information on where each specimen was collected: stratigraphy and locality. These lists will be continuously updated when new material is discovered. The pages will also evolve over time, adding more in-depth information about the insects and deposits.

In addition, I have also added a page listing all the taxa I have been involved in describing, which again will be updated to include newly described species.

Below is a selection of images of Purbeck and Wealden neuropterids (Top row: left: Cretapsychops corami (Wealden), right: Psychopsites rolandi (Wealden). Middle row: Mesoraphidia durlstonensis (Purbeck). Bottom row: Sophogramma wimbledoni (Purbeck)).

Fossil Neuropterid Papers rest of 2015 – April 2016

Posted on April 19, 2016 by admin

Here are the rest of the fossil Neuropterida papers from 2015 (A bit later than intended!) and the new papers from the beginning of 2016*. As usual there are many interesting papers. The vast majority deal with species from the Mesozoic (Jurassic and Cretaceous), and all but two of the papers deal with species from the order Neuroptera (lacewings). The two exceptions are on the order Megaloptera (including one paper by me). Megaloptera (alderflies, fishflies, dobsonflies) are fairly rare in the fossil record. These papers describe species from the Cretaceous (Lower and Upper).

Neuropterida Families:

Shi, C., Winterton, S.L. & Ren, D. 2015. Phylogeny of split-footed lacewings (Neuroptera, Nymphidae), with descriptions of new Cretaceous fossil species from China. Cladistics, 31, 455-490.

Labandeira, C.C., Yang, Q., Santiago-Blay, J.A., Hotton, C.L., Monteiro, A., Wang, Y.-J., Goreva, Y., Shih, C.K., Siljeström, S., Rose, T.R., Dilcher, D.L. & Ren, D. 2016.
The evolutionary convergence of mid-mesozoic lacewings and cenozoic butterflies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283.

Jurassic:

Khramov, A.V. & Makarkin, V.N. 2015. New fossil Osmylopsychopidae (Neuroptera) from the Early/Middle Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. Zootaxa, 4059, 115-132.

Peng, Y., Makarkin, V.N., Ren, D. 2016. Diverse new Middle Jurassic Osmylopsychopidae (Neuroptera) from China shed light on the classification of psychopsoids Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 14, 261-295.

Cretaceous:

Jepson, J.E. & Heads, S.W. 2016. Fossil Megaloptera (Insecta: Neuropterida) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil. Zootaxa, 4098, 134-144.

Bechley, G. & Makarkin, V.N. 2016. A new gigantic lacewing species (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil confirms the occurrence of Kalligrammatidae in the Americas. Cretaceous Research, 58, 135-140.

Myskowiak, J., Huang, D., Azr, D., Cai, C., Garrouste, R. & Nel, A. 2016. New lacewings (Insecta, Neuroptera, Osmylidae, Nymphidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Burmese amber and Crato Formation in Brazil. Cretaceous Research, 59, 214-227.

Myskowiak, J. & Nel. A. 2016. New antlion species (Insecta, Neuroptera, Palaeoleontidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation in northeastern Brazil. Cretaceous Research, 59, 278-284.

Huang, D., Azar, D., Engel, M.S., Garrouste, R., Cai, C. & Nel, A. 2016. The first araripeneurine antlion in Burmese amber (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae). Cretaceous Research, 63, 1-6.

Makarkin, V.N. & Perkovsky, E.E. 2016. An interesting new species of Sisyridae (Neuroptera) from the Upper Cretaceous Taimyr amber. Cretaceous Research, 63, 170-176.

Huang, D., Azar, D., Engel, M.S., Cai, C., Garrouste, R., & Nel, A. 2016. A new genus of alderflies (Megaloptera: Sialidae) in Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber. Cretaceous Research, 64, 7-11.

Pérez-de la Fuente, R., Delclòs, X., Peñalver, E. & Engel, M.S. 2016. A defensive behavior and plant-insect interaction in Early Cretaceous amber – The case of the immature lacewing Hallucinochrysa diogenesi. Arthropod Structure and Development, 45, 133-139.

Eocene:

Archibald, S.B. & Makarkin, V.N. 2015. A new species of Archaeochrysa Adams (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) from the early Eocene of Driftwood Canyon, British Columbia, Canada. Canadian Entomologist, 147, 359-369.

*These are all the papers that I have come across so far, and therefore may not represent an exhaustive list. Any papers missed here will be included future posts.

Posted in Fossil Neuropterida papers 2015 | Tagged Fossil Insects, Fossil Neuropterida, Fossil Neuropterida papers 2016, Fossil Neuropterida Research, Megaloptera, Neuroptera, New paper | Leave a comment

Fossil Neuropterid Papers Jan-Aug 2015

Posted on September 8, 2015 by admin

The first half of 2015 has seen many interesting papers on fossil Neuropterida (Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, Megaloptera) published*. These papers include studies on neuropterid families: phylogenies (including both extant and fossil taxa) of Sialidae (Megaloptera) and Mantispidae (Neuroptera), and a review of the fossil record of Mantispidae. The majority of the published papers deal with descriptions of new taxa. New fossil neuropterids are described from the Permian, Jurassic, many from the Cretaceous, and Eocene.

Below is a list of these papers, divided into sections of Neuropterida families and geological ages of the described specimens.

Neuropterida families:

Liu, X., Hayashi, F., & Yang, D. 2015. Phylogeny of the family Sialidae (Insecta: Megaloptera) inferred from morphological data, with implications for generic classification and historical biogeography. Cladisitics, 31, 18-49.

Liu, X., Winterton, S.L., Wu, C., Piper, R., & Ohl, M. 2015. A new genus of mantidflies discovered in the Oriental region, with a higher‐level phylogeny of Mantispidae (Neuroptera) using DNA sequences and morphology. Systematic Entomology, 40, 183-206.

Jepson, J.E. 2015. A review of the current state of knowledge of fossil Mantispidae (Insecta: Neuroptera). Zootaxa, 3964, 419-432.

Permian:

Prokop, J., Fernandes, F.R., Lapeyrie, J., & Nel, A., 2015. Discovery of the first lacewings (Neuroptera: Permithonidae) from the Guadalupian of the Lodève Basin (Southern France). Geobios, 48, 263-270.

Jurassic:

Khramov, A.V. 2015. Jurassic beaded lacewings (Insecta: Neuroptera: Berothidae) from Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Paleontological Journal, 49, 26-35.

Liu, Q., Khramov, A.V., & Zhang, H. 2015. A new species of Kalligramma Walther, 1904 (Insecta, Neuroptera, Kalligrammatidae) from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Alcheringa, 39. 438-442.

Lü, Y., Liu, X., & Ren, D. First record of the fossil snakefly genus Mesoraphidia (Insecta: Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from the Middle Jurassic of China, with description of a new species. Zootaxa 3999,560-570.

Cretaceous:

Huang, D., Azar, D., Cai, C., Garrouste, R., & Nel., A. 2015. The first Mesozoic pleasing lacewing (Neuroptera: Dilaridae). Cretaceous Research, 56, 274-277.

Makarkin, V.N. 2015. A new genus of the mantispid-like Paraberothinae (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from Burmese amber, with special consideration of its probasitarsus spine-like setation. Zootaxa, 4007, 327-342.

Makarkin, V.N., & Khramov, A.V. 2015. A new fossil species of snakeflies (Raphidioptera: Mesoraphidiidae) from the Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan, with notes on Turonian Neuropterida. Cretaceous Research, 52, 407-415.

Myskowiak, J., Escuille, F., & Nel, A. 2015. A new Osmylidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation in Brazil. Cretaceous Research, 54, 27-33.

Shi, C., Ohl, M., Wunderlich, J., & Ren, D. 2015. A remarkable new genus of Mantispidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) from Cretaceous amber of Myanmar and its implications on raptorial foreleg evolution in Mantispidae. Cretaceous Research, 52, 416-422.

Makarkin, V.N. 2015. A remarkable new genus of Mantispidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) from Cretaceous amber of Myanmar and its implications on raptorial foreleg evolution in Mantispidae: A comment. Cretaceous Research, 52, 416-422
Shi, C., Ohl, M., Wunderlich, J., & Ren, D. 2015. A remarkable new genus of Mantispidae (Insecta, Neuroptera) from Cretaceous amber of Myanmar and its implications on raptorial foreleg evolution in Mantispidae: Reply to the comment. Cretaceous Research, 52, 425-426.

Perkovsky, E.E., & Makarkin, V.N. 2015. First confirmation of spongillaflies (Neuroptera: Sisyridae) from the Cretaceous. Cretaceous Research, 56, 363-371.

Yang, Q, Makarkin, V.N., Shih, C., & Ren, D. 2015. New Aetheogrammatidae (Insecta: Neuroptera) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation, China. Cretaceous Research, 55, 25-31.

Eocene:

Makarkin, V.N., & Ohl, M. 2015. An important new fossil genus of Berothinae (Neuroptera: Berothidae) from Baltic amber. Zootaxa, 3946, 401-415.

*These are all the papers that I have come across so far this year, and therefore may not represent an exhaustive list. Any papers missed here will be included in the “Fossil Neuropterid Papers Sep-Dec 2015” blog post.

Posted in Fossil Neuropterida papers 2015 | Tagged 2015, Alderflies, Fossil Insects, Fossil Neuropterida, Fossil Neuropterida Research, Lacewings, Megaloptera, Neuroptera, Raphidioptera, Scientific papers, Snakeflies | Leave a comment

Mantispids in the fossil record

Posted on June 15, 2015 by admin

Recently my paper on fossil Mantispidae was published:

Jepson, J.E. 2015. A review of the current state of knowledge of fossil Mantispidae (Insecta: Neuroptera). Zootaxa, 3964 (4): 419-432

This is the first paper resulting from my Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. It reviews the fossil record of mantispids and brings together all the current known knowledge. In this blog post I’ll give a quick introduction to their fossil record.

A brief recap as to what Mantispidae are

Mantispidae are a specialized family of Neuroptera (Lacewings), which have raptorial forelegs (similar to praying mantises). There are approximately 410 valid extant species-group taxa and 19 fossil species, placed in five subfamilies (four extant and one extinct). For more information on what Mantispidae are see my older blog post.

Where did Mantispidae come from?

The geological timescale

From the fossil record it has been interpreted that Mantispidae evolved in either Europe or Asia, in the Lower Jurassic or latest Triassic (see the geological timescale below for dates of periods). They are thought to have diversified in the Jurassic when all the continents were together, forming the supercontinent Pangea.

There are two potential candidates for ancestral mantispids: Prohemerobiidae from Europe and Permithonidae from Asia. These families have a similar wing venation pattern to Mantispidae, but more primitive. There is a problem however, these families, especially Prohemerobiidae are in need of revision (e.g. the fossils assigned need to be double checked to make sure they belong in the family). Until these families are revised it will be difficult to say for sure if they represent the ancestors of Mantispidae.

How many fossil mantsipids are there?

In the published literature 32 specimens of mantispids have been recorded, these range in age from the Lower Jurassic to the Miocene. From the 32 specimens, 19 species have been described and placed within 16 genera, and some are unnamed or not yet described. The fossils have been placed within the extant subfamilies Drepanicinae (4 specimens), Symphrasinae (1), Mantispinae (10) and the extinct subfamily Mesomantispinae (16). The table below gives an overview of the fossil record.

Table listing the known fossil mantispid specimens (modified from Jepson, 2015)

The oldest true fossil mantispid is from the Lower Jurassic of Germany, this is Liassochrysa stigmatica represented by an isolated forewing, and placed within the extant subfamily Drepanicinae – making this a very old subfamily. Other Jurassic mantispids are found from China and Kazakhstan. The Chinese specimen Clavifemora rotundata is the first member of the extinct family Mesomantispinae and the oldest mantispid with body parts, including the raptorial forelegs. Some of the younger Jurassic specimens from Kazakhstan also possess body parts.

Liassochrysa stigmatica the oldest fossil mantispid, from the Lower Jurassic of Germany. Image modified from Ansorge and Schlüter, 1990

Clavifemora rotundata from the Middle Jurassic of China.

The Lower Cretaceous mantispids are all from the subfamily Mesomantispinae, these are mostly known from the Yixian Formation of China, with many beautifully preserved specimens with body parts. Another species is known from Russia, this is preserved as an isolated forewing. In the Upper Cretaceous a species is known from Kazakhstan, which is placed into the extant genus Gerstaeckerella. The genus Gerstaeckerella today is only known in the Neotropical region (South and Central America), so finding a fossil specimen in Kazakhstan suggests it was a much more widepsread genus in the past. Also in the Upper Cretaceous mantispids are found in amber: two beautifully preserved adults from Burmese amber. However, one of these species, Micromantispa cristata, should most likely be excluded from Mantispidae due to its differing body morphology and wing venation.

Archaeodrepanicus nuddsi from the Yixian Formation of China

In the Palaeogene fossil mantispids are found in Europe (Baltic amber, Germany, England, and France). In Baltic amber four larvae are known. Being in amber means that the preservation is excellent, with almost complete specimens with minute detail. One of the larvae is of note as it is attached to a spider. It shows the characteristic spider boarding behaviour that extant Mantispinae have. These mantispids are parasites of spider egg sacs, and to enable them to easily find the egg sacs, the larvae attaches to the spider, which unwittingly takes it to them. The specimens from Germany, England, and France are represented by isolated wings in rock. The German species Symphrasites eocenicus is the only fossil representative of the extant subfamily Symphrasinae. Moving into the Neogene, all the mantispids here are represented by fossils in amber. They are found in Dominican amber and Mexican amber, two of these (one from Dominican and the Mexican specimen) are placed in the extant genus Dicromantispa, and the other Dominican fossil is placed in its own genus Feroseta. All these are beautifully preserved adults.

Spider boarding larva from Baltic amber. Image from M. Ohl.

Feroseta prisca from Dominican amber. Image from G. Poinar

How are they related to each other?

Few attempts have been made to try and work out the relationships of both fossil and extant Mantispidae. The most recent is by Xingyue Liu and colleagues in 2015, this analysis included some but not all fossil specimens. Using their phylogeny (evolutionary tree) as a base, I inserted all the fossil taxa into their subfamilies and included their geological ranges. This shows what is currently known about the relationships of the fossils and extant taxa – I will try to resolve this more fully during my research.

Relationships of Mantispids fossil and extant. From Jepson 2015, based on Liu et al. 2015

References cited:

Ansorge, J. & Schlüter, T. 1990. The earliest chrysopid: Liassochrysa stigmatica n. g., n. sp. from the Lower Jurassic of Dobbertin, Germany. Neuroptera International, 6: 87–93.

Jepson, J.E. 2015. A review of the current state of knowledge of fossil Mantispidae (Insecta: Neuroptera). Zootaxa, 3964 (4): 419-432.

Liu, X., Winterton, S.L., Wu, C., Piper, R. & Ohl, M. 2015. A new genus of mantidflies discovered in the Oriental region, with a higher-level phylogeny of Mantispidae (Neuroptera) using DNA sequences and morphology. Systematic Entomology, 40: 183–206

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Fossil Insects, Fossil Mantispidae, Lacewings, Mantidflies, Mantisflies, Mantispidae, Mantispids, Neuroptera, Neuropterida, New paper | Leave a comment

Three Days in Los Tuxtlas

Posted on June 8, 2015 by admin

On the 16^th of May, the day after the International Symposium on Neuropterology had finished (see my previous post for a review of the symposium), many of the symposium attendees boarded a coach for the journey to the Instituto de Biología’s Los Tuxtlas field station, for the post symposium field trip. The field station, which contains dormitories, dining room, library, and scientific collections, is located within the rainforest in the Biosphere Reserve Los Tuxtlas, southern Veracruz. I have always wanted to visit a rainforest, so this was a dream come true.

The Los Tuxtlas Field Station: station sign and dormitories

After disembarking from the coach, I was hit by the hot temperature, humidity, the fresh air (which was nice after staying in Mexico City), and also the unbelievable, loud, constant sound coming from the rainforest, made by cicadas, birds and other wildlife. We were allocated our rooms, which had ceiling fans (these were much appreciated) and mosquito screens, the room I was in was fortunate not to have any noticeable spiders in – however on the last night a scorpion was found walking around. The rooms themselves were basic but quite comfortable.

Spider at the field station

In the evening, we were briefed about the potential dangers of the rainforest, in particular, a dangerous snake that isn’t afraid of humans and is difficult to spot due to its perfect camouflage with the leaf litter. Also, the light traps were set up at various places across the field station site: near streams and on the forest edge. The traps were made up of a white sheet hung up or fixed to a frame with a light source. When dark, insects are attracted to the light, and being in a rainforest, a good diversity of insects were observed, including many moths, preying mantises, cicadas, beetles, some neuropterans (including mantispids), and megalopterans.

Light trap insects

The next morning, after being woken early by the sound of Howler monkeys, doing as their name suggests, we had breakfast (including vegan food – a vegan option was offered every day for every meal, which was splendid), applied sun cream, insect repellent (always seems a strange thing for entomologists to put on), and set off for a walk through the forest, to see what insects (and other wildlife) could be found.

Light Trap

Howler monkeys in the trees around the field station

The forest was spectacular, with a great variety of plants and wildlife. In parts, the foliage of the trees and plants were quite dense with little light getting through, there were also lots of vines reaching down to the floor from many of the trees. The scenery was also fantastic, at a high point on the trail we even had a view of the sea (we were 5km from the Gulf of Mexico). Many insects were found, including a few neuropterans, many beetles, leaf cutter ants, and butterflies were seen flying past, including the very large morpho butterfly and many smaller colourful species.

Along the forest trail

A view into the forest

View of the lake

Lacewing Eggs

Leaf Cutter Ants

On the second day we hiked through a different part of the forest, up a steep hill; this was indeed an experience, with the high heat and humidity. Here the forest was denser than the previous day, with narrower trails. A large leaf cutter ant nest was found, with their cleared trails leading to it (almost like little motorways, with a steady stream of traffic). Other insects were also found from sweeping the vegetation with nets, including a few neuropterans. A pheromone trap was set up, which managed to attract some orchid bees. Howler monkeys were also present high in the trees looking down at us, however only a few birds were seen due to the dense foliage. The steep path eventually opened up into a clearing giving spectacular views over a lake with Great Frigate Birds and Black Vultures flying over, the Gulf of Mexico could also be seen. On the way back we had a rather long scenic diversion through dense rainforest, but we did manage to get back safely to the station for a late lunch.

The final day was a trip to a cloud forest (a moist tropical or

Another Howler Monkey

subtropical forest that is characterized by persistent low-level cloud) around an hour drive from the field station, which at this time of year unfortunately didn’t have any cloud. The first locality was along a gravel road (the gravel was made of basaltic rocks) with forest on

The dense forest

either side, the trees were covered in epiphytes (a plant that grows harmlessly on another plant); this is due to the forest’s high moisture content being a perfect environment for these plants. Lots of hoverflies were seen and heard making a loud buzzing sound in places where the sun managed to break through, other insects were also found including beetles, wasps, and stick insects. Birds again were difficult to see due to the dense foliage and also the epiphytes on every branch. The second locality in the cloud forest was on a wide trail leading into the forest, here mosquitoes were very numerous, and from sweeping the vegetation with nets, many insects were found including a few neuropterans. In the evening, back at the field station, after dinner, the light traps were taken down and everything was packed for our return to Mexico City on the next day.

Cloud forest epiphytes in the trees

Insects from the cloud forest

During the symposium in Mexico City and in the rainforest I managed to sporadically indulge my love of birdwatching. I managed to see 28 species, the vast majority were completely new to me. Some of the highlights include the Keel-billed Toucan, Montezuma Oropendula (and their strange long pendulum-like nests), Red-legged Honeycreeper, Violaceous Trogon, Blue Crowned Mot-Mot, Collared Aracari, and many hummingbirds.

Keel-billed Toucan

A montage of birds from Los Tuxtlas. top left: Red-legged Honeycreeper, top right: Inca Doves, bottom left: Montezuma Oropendula with nests, bottom right: Great Frigate Bird

More Los Tuxtlas Birds. top left: Clay-coloured Thrush, top right: Violaceous Trogon, bottom left: Golden-fronted Woodpecker, bottom right: Great Kiskadee

This was a really enjoyable trip – it was great to be in a rainforest seeing all the diverse wildlife and plants, which I had previously only seen in books or on wildlife documentaries. I also learned a lot about how insects are collected in the field, being a palaeoentomologist, I have not had much exposure to this. The organizers of the trip (Atilano Contreras-Ramos and his team) and the field station staff were brilliant, and did an excellent job, making the trip interesting, comfortable, and very enjoyable.

Posted in Los Tuxtlas post symposium field trip - International Symposium on Neuropterology | Tagged Birds, Cloud Forest, Insects, International Symposium on Neuropterology, Lacewings, Los Tuxtlas, Megaloptera, Mexico, Rainforest | Leave a comment

Back from Mexico

Posted on June 1, 2015 by admin

I am now back in Berlin from my trip to Mexico, where I had a delightfully splendid time at the International Symposium on Neuropterology in Mexico City, Mexico. The symposium was thoroughly enjoyable; it was a pleasure to meet so many friendly and interesting people who work on Neuropterida, some of them for the first time, and some with whom I have only previously communicated via email. I was particularly delighted to find out that a few fellow palaeoentomologists had come over for the symposium, to present their work on fossil neuropterans, in total there were four of us: me, Alexander Khramov, Yongjie Wang, and Dong Ren.

Jardín Botánico.

The symposium was from the 12 -15th of May at the Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. The talks were held throughout the first three days, and the third day also had a poster session. The topics covered a wide spectrum of neuropterological research including: big data and today’s systematics (the key note lecture by Karl M. Kjer), the development of a global monograph of the Neuropterida, phylogenies of different families using molecular and morphological data, diversity of different neuropterid families, faunas of different countries, the fossil record, ecology, and applied studies. All the presentations at the symposium, both oral and poster, were of a very high quality and thoroughly interesting. The social aspect of the symposium was also excellent with an icebreaker on the first night at the hotel to get to know each other. Also, on the subsequent evenings, trips to different parts of Mexico City (Coyoacán and Tlalpan) for dinner, allowing us to sample the Mexican food (or if you’re me – trying to find some kind of vegan food, which is not easy!) and drink.

Me presenting at the symposium (photograph by Caroline Ring)

The poster session

On the final day of the conference, there was a short excursion to the UNESCO heritage site of Teotihuacán, north of Mexico City. This was a pre-Colombian Mesoamerican city established around 100 BC, at its peak (possibly in the first half of the first millennium AD) it covered 36 square kilometers and had a very large population, making it a one of the most important cities in the pre-Colombian Americas. The main highlights of this archaeological site are the two pyramids, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun. These are considered the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids, and they were very impressive. It was an absolute pleasure for me to visit Teotihuacán, as I have always wanted to visit an archaeological site like this, especially with pyramids, since reading about them when I was child.

Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Moon

View of the Avenue of the Dead from the Pyramid of the Moon

Painting of a Jaguar

After visiting the pyramids, the conference concluded with the symposium dinner at the Hacienda de Tlalpan, a rather posh restaurant in a nice old building, which had a garden containing white peacocks, a mute swan, and crowned cranes. The food (including a vegan option) and drinks were excellent, and there was also a surprise with a Mexican band and even dancing.

The morning after the meal, we set off on a coach journey for the post symposium field excursion to the rainforest at Los Tuxtlas (more on this in the next blog post).

The symposium was really enjoyable, it was good to meet other neuropterologists, learn about other aspects of neuropterology, and exchange ideas. The organisers, Atilano Contreras-Ramos and his team, including Roberto López-García and Valeria Cuellar-Sánchez (who were a great help – especially in helping me track down some vegan food) did an absolutely fantastic job, making it a really excellent, friendly symposium.

A lizard on basalt in the Jardín Botánico

Posted in International Symposium on Neuropterology | Tagged Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Fossil Insects, Fossil Mantispidae, Insects, Lacewings, Megaloptera, Mexico, Neuroptera, Neuropterida, Teotihuacán | Leave a comment

Off to Mexico!

Posted on May 11, 2015 by admin

Today, I am very excited to be on my way to Mexico for the International Symposium on Neuropterology. This is my first major conference of my fellowship and my first time outside of Europe!

ISN 2015 logo, image from http://neuropterology.unam.mx/

I will be giving a talk on my current research on fossil Mantispidae: “Fossil Mantispidae: current knowledge, new specimens, and future research”. As well as the conference, there is a field trip to Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, which I’m very much looking forward to. When I return in a couple of weeks, I shall update you with the highlights and activities of the conference and field trip.

Posted in Conferences, International Symposium on Neuropterology | Tagged Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Fossil Insects, Fossil Mantispidae, Mantidflies, Mantisflies, Mantispidae, Mantispids, Mexico, Neuroptera | Leave a comment

Welcome to my research blog!

Posted on May 9, 2015 by admin

Welcome

Hello, my name is James Jepson, I am a palaeoentomologist (fossil insect researcher), who is particularly interested in fossil Neuroptera (lacewings, antlions and allies), Raphidioptera (snakeflies), and Megaloptera (alderflies, fishflies and dobsonflies). Starting last October (2014), I began a two year Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. The fellowship is focused on the evolutionary history of Mantispidae, a fascinating family of Neuroptera. I will be studying their fossil record, revising previously described species that need to be revised, describing new specimens, and working out the relationships of the fossil mantispids to each other, and to their extant (alive today) representatives.

This blog will document my research on Mantispidae, as well as my other projects on fossil Neuropterida, and other fossil insects. Other than my own research, I will be highlighting interesting papers on fossil Neuropterida and palaeoentomology, as well as some random commentary on my life and being an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Posts will be published on a fairly regular basis and will be at a level that is understandable to non-specilaists.

First things first – what is Mantispidae?

Mantispidae, commonly known as mantisflies, mantidflies and mantispids, are a member of the order Neuroptera (lacewings). They are easily recognized by a couple of basic features: Raptorial forelegs (very similar to praying mantises (Mantodea)), and a long pronotum (body part behind the head) that is elongated behind the attachment of the forelegs – this is a very important character in identifying the family, which separates it from other closely related neuropterans with raptorial forelegs (see images below). Other identifying features include characters in the wing venation and other morphological characters, which will be discussed in future blog posts. The adult mantispids are predators, highlighted by their raptorial forelegs that are used to catch prey. The larvae of many mantispids are parasites of wasp nests or spider egg sacs. Some of the adult mantispids even mimic (for example, the body colour pattern) the host wasp species giving them protection against predation.

A mantispid with the basic defining characters labelled. Photograph by T. Schulze and S. Materna.

A fossil mantispid with the basic defining characters labelled.

Mantispidae factfile

Order: Neuroptera

Family: Mantispidae

Subfamilies: Symphrasinae, Drepanicinae, Calomantispinae, Mantispinae

Extinct subfamily: Mesomantispinae

There are approximately 410 valid species-group taxa of extant mantispids, and 19 species of fossil mantispids.

Mantispinae is the most diverse subfamily with over 30 genera and over 300 species*, fossil record 5 genera and 6 species.

Followed by:

Drepanicinae: 4 genera and over 35 species*, fossil record: 4 genera and 4 species

Symphrasinae: 3 genera and over 30 species*, fossil record 1 genus and 1 species

Mesomantispinae: fossil record 5 genera and 7 species

Calomantsipinae: 2 genera and 10 species*, fossil record unknown

*approximate numbers tallied from Ohl, 2004

Where are mantispids found?

A simplified version of the zoogeographic regions.

Mantsipids are globally distributed; however, some of the subfamilies have a more restricted distribution than others. The most cosmopolitan subfamily is Mantispinae found in Oriental, Australasian, Palaearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, and Nearctic regions. Fossil Mantispinae are recorded from Dominican Republic, Mexico, France, Baltic region and the UK. The more restricted subfamilies are Symphrasinae found in the Nearctic and Neotropical areas, with a single fossil from Germany. Drepanicinae is recorded in the Neotropics and Australian, with fossils known from Germany, Kazakhstan and Burma. Calomantispinae, which is known from the Nearctic, Neotropical and Australian areas, with no fossils recorded. The extinct Mesomantispinae is known from Russia, Kazakhstan, and China.

This is just a very quick introduction to Mantispidae. In future posts I will delve much deeper into each of the subfamilies and of course into the fossil record of this delightful family of neuropterans.

Reference:

Ohl, M. (2004) Annotated catalog of the Mantispidae of the world (Neuroptera). Contribution on Entomology, International, 5, 133–242.

Posted in Research Blog | Tagged Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Fossil Insects, Fossil Mantispidae, Insects, Lacewings, Mantidflies, Mantisflies, Mantispidae, Mantispids, Neuroptera | Leave a comment