Search

The Khasurty locality (Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia, Russia) is one of the largest fossil insect sites in the region. Over the entire period of study, more than 6000 insect imprints have been collected here, representing 16 orders and 130 families. Dipterans, aphids and hymenopterans are the most common forms here, the most diverse taxa are Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera and Trichoptera. In addition to insects, remains of crustaceans, mosses, liverworts and vascular plants were found in Khasurty, as well as occasional finds of arachnids, bird feathers and fish scales. Two new families, 17 new genera and 21 new species of Trichoptera, two new species of Orthoptera, one new genus and species of Phasmatoptera, one new species of Reculida, three new genera and species of Hemiptera, a new genus and species of Thysanoptera, a new genus and species of Hymenoptera, a new subfamily, two new genera and six new species of Lepidoptera, three new genera and four new species of Neuroptera, as well as a new genus and species of liverworts are described. In terms of the composition of the fauna and flora, the Khasurty locality is very peculiar, it includes both Jurassic and Cretaceous taxa, but in general it can be attributed to the Jehol biota.

Kopylov, D.S., Rasnitsyn, A.P., Zhang, H. & Zhang, Q., 21 January 2020. Anaxyelidae of Daohugou: oldest occurrences of the relict family in the fossil record. Part 1: Daosyntexis and Brachysyntexis...

A new genus and species of Labenopimplinae (Ichneumonidae), Heteropimpla megista Li, Shih, Kopylov & Ren gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on a specimen in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar (Burmese) amber. ...

Motivation for this comment Recently, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) has sent around a letter, dated 21st April, 2020 to more than 300 palaeontological journals, signed by the President, Vice President and a former President of the society (Rayfield et al. 2020). The signatories of this letter request significant changes to the common practices in palaeontology. With our present, multi-authored comment, we aim to argue why these suggestions will not lead to improvement of both practice and ethics of palaeontological research but, conversely, hamper its further development. Although we disagree with most contents of the SVP letter, we appreciate this initiative to discuss scientific practices and the underlying ethics. Here, we consider different aspects of the suggestions by Rayfield et al. (2020) in which we see weaknesses and dangers. It is our intent to compile views from many different fields of palaeontology, as our discipline is (and should remain) pluralistic. This contribution deals with the aspects concerning Myanmar amber. Reference is made to Haug et al. (2020a) for another comment on aspects concerning amateur palaeontologists/ citizen scientists/private collectors.

International audience

While fossils of myriapods are well-known from the Devonian and Carboniferous, until recently sediments from the Permian have been largely devoid of the remains of this important group of terrestrial arthropods. Only one locality reported to yield fossils of a single species of millipede has been cited for the Permian, and that through a reevaluation of strata previously thought to be Triassic. We report fossils of two new genera and species of scolopendromorph centipede (Chilopoda), Permocrassacus novokshonovi gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Permian of Tshekarda (the Urals, Russia) and Permocryptops shelleyi gen. et sp. nov., from the upper Permian of Isady (North European Russia). These are the first centipedes to be reported and the second and third myriapods to be formally named from the Permian Period. They are compared to previously described scolopendromorphs from the Carboniferous and Cretaceous. The new species possess enlarged ultimate legs, which probably were used as means of anchoring themselves to the substrate, or to aid in defense and prey capture.

A new species of Ichneumonidae, Amplicella minor sp. nov., is described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia (Khasurty locality). The diagnosis of Amplicella mininae Kopylov, 2011 is amended. Ichneumonids from Khasurty are only represented by two genera, Amplicella and Khasurtella, both belonging to the subfamily Tanychorinae. This assemblage seems to be the most basal ichneumonid assemblage ever known.

The Jurassic–Cretaceous genus Saldonia Yu. Popov, 1973 is revised. Its species are divided into three groups. A new genus Quacsa gen. nov. with one species Q. ignota (Popov, 1988) comb. nov. is described.

Five new species of sepulcids (Hymenoptera: Sepulcidae) are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia and Mongolia (localities Khasurty, Baissa, and Bon-Tsagan). The new species belong to the subfamilies Ghilarellinae and Trematothoracinae: Ghilarella alexialis sp. nov., G. masculina sp. nov., Trematothorax zhangi sp. nov., T. brachyurus sp. nov., and T. extravenosus sp. nov. The genus Trematothoracoides Zhang et al., 2001 (syn. nov.) is synonymized with Trematothorax Rasnitsyn, 1988. A complete list of species of Sepulcidae is provided.

Three new species of sepulcids (Hymenoptera: Sepulcidae) are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Khasurty, Transbaikalia: Pamparaphilius khasurtensis sp. nov., Micramphilius mirabilipennis sp. nov., and Onokhoius venustus sp. nov. The new species reveal the previously unknown structure of the hindwings in the subfamily Xyelulinae and the genus Micramphilius. A new method of preparation for stone fossils is also described.

Four new genera and five new species of anaxyelids are described from the Cretaceous of Asia: Mangus magnus gen. et sp. nov. from the Aptian of Mongolia (Bon-Tsagan), Urosyntexis undosa sp. nov., Parasyntexis khasurtensis gen. et sp. nov., both from the Early Cretaceous of Transbaikalia (Khasurty), Dolichosyntexis transbaikalicus gen. et sp. nov. from the Hauterivian–Barremian of Transbaikalia (Baissa), and Curiosyntexis magadanicus gen. et sp. nov. from the mid-Upper Cretaceous of NE Siberia (Obeshchayushchiy). Early Cretaceous is the time of the highest diversity of Anaxyelidae. In this epoch these sawflies are represented with all four subfamilies comprising the group. In Late Cretaceous anaxyelid diversity and abundance rapidly decrease and they are represented with the only subfamily Syntexinae. The anaxyelid collection of Palaeontological Institute (Moscow), the most representative collection of fossil anaxyelids in the world, has been completely revised, identified and described. The list of identifications is provided.

Three new species of Anaxyelidae from the Middle–Upper Jurassic of Karatau (Kazakhstan) are described: Brachysyntexis tenebrosa sp. nov., B. tigris sp. nov., and Kulbastavia grandis sp. nov. By the size of the body, B. tenebrosa and K. grandis are the largest Jurassic species of the family. In the Jurassic period, the Anaxyelidae were represented only by the subfamily Anaxyelinae. They were found in three localities: Daohugou (China, 17 specimens), Karatau (Kazakhstan, 27 specimens) and Khoutiyn-Khotgor (Mongolia, 1 specimen). A list of all known Jurassic findings of Anaxyelidae from the collections of the Palaeontological Institute (Moscow) is given.

Сomparative analysis of arthropod assemblages found in Cretaceous fossil resins is provided. Arthropod-bearing Cretaceous resin sites are reviewed, and a list of arthropod records (identified to the family level) published up to 2015 is provided. Also, new records of mites, and new arthropod records from the Siberian resins are given. An efficient method for extracting amber from loose sediments in situations of limited infrastructure but easy access to water is described as well. The sequence of arthropod assemblages in Cretaceous resins according to their evolutionary aspect does not match their geological sequence. This can be only partly explained by taphonomic constraints and inadequacy of the material: there is a deeper difference between somewhat contemporary assemblages than was characteristic of Permian assemblages studied in a similar way in previous studies. Our results confirm the earlier hypothesis that the Palaeozoic–Mesozoic biotic crisis was not so much a mass extinction as a biotic reorganisation that opened the way to diversification. These results might indicate a peculiar feature of the immediate effects of such reorganisations, namely that Mesozoic–Cenozoic communities became differentiated in their compositions much deeper than Palaeozoic ones (i.e., that their constituent groups acquired the ability to evolve much deeper changes while adapting to the ecological specifics of their environments). A transformation of organisms and/or their communities took place, comparable in scope to the rise of skeletal fauna in the Cambrian. The difference between these two transformations is that the later one resulted not from a particular adaptation (the skeleton) but from the ability to specialize more deeply than was possible in the Palaeozoic.

A new sawfly, Sclerosyntexis hirsuta gen. et sp. nov., in the subfamily Syntexinae of the Anaxyelidae is described from the mid-Cretaceous Myanmar (Burmese) amber. The new taxa is established primarily based on the following characters, i.e. body fusiform with a large head; antenna with pedicel almost twice as long as the first flagellomere; mesonotum with longitudinal, scuto-scutellar sulci; forewing with pterostigma completely sclerotized; Sc and 1r-rs absent; hind wing with cell r open distally; 1r-m longer than 1-Rs and 1-M; m-cu lost; free ending of Cu lost, 1-Cu and cu-a straight. Sclerosyntexis hirsuta gen. et sp. nov. has a short and oval body shape, which is unique in Anaxyelidae, since the bodies of most xylophagous anaxyelids are long and subcylindrical. The finding is the first record of Anaxyelidae in Myanmar amber hitherto, providing important morphological characters to enhance our understanding of the Anaxyelidae.

Four new genera and species of long-proboscid Paradoxosisyrinae (Neuroptera: Sisyridae) are described from the Upper Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar: Buratina truncata gen. et sp. nov., Sidorchukatia gracilis gen. et sp. nov., Protosiphoniella anthophila gen. et sp. nov. and Khobotun elephantinus gen. et sp. nov. Presence of an elongated labrum is confirmed for Paradoxosisyrinae for the first time. 3D modelling was used to demonstrate how the mouthparts of B. truncata were assembled together during feeding. We show that there is considerable diversity in the morphology of mouthparts, wing venation and wing patterns of Paradoxosisyrinae. Nectar-feeding habits are suggested for Paradoxosisyrinae on the basis of microscopic examination of their stylet-like mouthpart structures. Possible reasons for evolutionary failure of long-proboscid Neuroptera are discussed.

Ichneumonidae constitute one of the largest families of organisms, but their fossil record is severely understudied, which precludes inferences about their early evolutionary history. We here describe a new genus and two new species of ichneumonids from the Early Eocene Tadushi Formation (Russian Far East). The new taxa are Crusopimpla tadushensis gen. et sp. nov. and Dolichomitus? saxeus sp. nov. Pimpla rediviva (Brues) is redescribed and placed in the genus Crusopimpla. This new genus is unique within Pimplinae in having a completely developed propodeal carination and probably represents one of its most basal lineages. Using a phylogenetic hypothesis of the subfamily, we discuss potential pathways of morphological evolution in the group, which will provide a basis for future placement of pimpline fossil taxa.

One new genus and seven new species of Ichneumonidae are described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Huangbanjigou in Beipiao, western Liaoning Province, China. They are: Amplicella flagellata sp. nov., A. exquisitissima sp. nov., A. townesi sp. nov., Tanychora liaoningensis sp. nov., T. rasnitsyni sp. nov., Khasurtella zhangi sp. nov. and Sinochora distorta gen. et sp. nov. The Early Cretaceous ichneumonids in China are known from three assemblages: the Huangbanjigou Assemblage (from Huangbanjigou locality, Liaoning; Yixian Formation), the Sichakou Assemblage (from Sichakou locality, Hebei; Dabeigou Formation) and the Laiyang Assemblage (from Nanligezhuang locality in Laiyang, Shandong; Laiyang Formation) of which the Huangbanjigou one is the most diverse of all known Early Cretaceous localities. Amplicella Kopylov from the Dabeigou Formation includes three species: A. exquisita (Zhang et Rasnitsyn, 2003), A. beipiaoensis (Zhang et Rasnitsyn, 2003) and A. shcherbakovi Kopylov, 2011, and their diagnoses have been revised. Their presence in the Yixian Formation and deposits at the Khasurty locality (Transbaikalia) suggests that the deposits at Khasurty may be not so old as previously thought. All known Early Cretaceous ichneumonids from China belong to Tanychorinae and the absence of more advanced subfamilies (such as Palaeoichneumoninae) indicates a more archaic aspect to these Chinese assemblages as compared with Baissa, Zaza and Romanovka (Transbaikalia) and Bon-Tsagan (Mongolia).

Two new genera and seven new species of Madygellinae (Xyelidae) from the Middle-Upper Triassic of Kyrgyzstan (Madygen Formation, Dzhailoucho locality): Madygella levivenosa sp. nov., M. kurochkini sp. nov., M. aristovi sp. nov., M. bashkuevi sp. nov., S. ryzhkovae gen. et sp. nov., S. shmakovi sp. nov., Chubakka madygensis gen. et sp. nov. Improved diagnoses of the subfamily Madygellinae and genus Madygella and improved redescription of the species Madygella analoga Rasnitsyn, 1969 are given. The taxonomic position of madygellines within Hymenoptera and their relationships with Sepulcidae (Cephoidea) are discussed.

A new genus and three new species of parasitic hymenopterans of the family Archaeocynipidae are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia: Khasips alisectus gen. et sp. nov., K. sculptus sp. nov., and K. kovalevi sp. nov. The placement of archaeocynipids in the system of Cynipoidea is discussed.

Two species of Trematothoracinae, Trematothorax kasparyani sp. n. and T. demeter sp. n., are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia. The morphological features of Trematothoracinae, namely structure of mesonotum, size of metanotum, and "double" costal vein, are discussed.

Fossil insects of European Russia from the Urzhumian to Vyatkian stages are reviewed, new taxa are described, and dynamics of insect taxonomic diversity around the Permian-Triassic boundary in light of the Paleozoic-Mesozoic boundary global extinction problem is analyzed. Traces of interactions between arthropods and plants are analyzed. Insect-bearing deposits of the Late Paleozoic found in the northern and eastern areas of the East European Platform are unique on the global scale in their completeness and continuity, allowing us to trace especially comprehensively the biotic processes that occurred around the boundary described as the time of the greatest biotic catastrophe of the Phanerozoic. A total of 28 genera and 111 species are newly described. Within the range from the Urzhumian to the Permo-Triassic boundary, 15 representative successive assemblages, including 112 families, are recognized (seven in the area in question and eight in other regions of Asia, Australia, and Africa). New tools are developed for the analysis of the dynamics of diversity. These tools show an approximately equilibrium (slightly positive) dynamics in the Urzhumian and Severodvinian and a drop in diversity during the Vyatkian Age. It is shown that Permian insect assemblages acquired a substantially post-Paleozoic pattern much earlier than the end of the Paleozoic. The character of changes that took place in the Induan and Olenekian remains uncertain, but a large-scale extinction event did not occur here: most families that have not been recorded at the beginning of the Triassic are recorded again in the Middle and Upper Triassic. Nevertheless, a biotic crisis probably actually took place, but was reduced to reorganization of the biota’s structure, which provided enormous growth of biodiversity over subsequent hundreds of millions of years, rather than resulted in catastrophic extinction. This study is intended for entomologists, stratigraphers, and all readers interested in the biotic events that took place around the Permian-Triassic boundary.

Three new species and two new genera are described within the wasp family Ichneumonidae from Late Cretaceous (Campanian) amber collected at the Grassy Lake locality in Alberta, Canada. New taxa include Pareubaeus rasnitsyni n. gen. et sp. and P. incertus n. sp. within the subfamily Labenopimplinae, and Albertocryptus dossenus n. gen. et sp. within the subfamily Labeninae. The presence of a labenopimpline genus closely related to Eubaeus Townes within Canadian amber further supports faunal similarity between the Canadian assemblage and that recovered from Siberian amber. The records of Labeninae are the first from Mesozoic amber, and demonstrate that the subfamily was present in the Northern Hemisphere in the Late Cretaceous, as opposed to their modern, predominantly austral distribution. doi:10.1002/mmng.201300011

Two new genera and four new species of Ichneumonidae are described from the Upper Cretaceous ambers of the Taimyr Peninsula: Agapia sukatchevae gen. et sp. nov., Agapteron popovi gen. et sp. nov., Eubaeus abdominalis sp. nov., and Urotryphon baikurensis sp. nov. New detailed diagnoses are provided for the genera Urotryphon and Eubaeus. The genera Catachora, Urotryphon, and Eubaeus, previously placed in the subfamily Tryphoninae, are transferred to the subfamily Labenopimplinae, as well as the new genera Agapia and Agapteron. Possible causes of the miniaturization in ichneumonid wasps in the Cretaceous are discussed.

Three new species of the fossil Lower Cretaceous family Praeichneumonidae are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia (Russia, Buryatia, Khasurty locality): Praeichneumon dzhidensis sp. nov., P. khamardabanicus sp. nov., and P. zakhaaminicus sp. nov. One poorly preserved specimen, Praeichneumon sp., is described. Rudiments of the second anal vein A2 and internal vein a1–a2 and bullae in crossveins of the fore- and hindwing are described in Praeichneumonidae for the first time.

One new genus and four new species of ichneumon wasps are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Buryatia (Khasurty locality): Amplicella mininae, sp. nov., A. shcherbakovi, sp. nov., A. bashkuyevi, sp. nov., Khasurtella buriatica, gen. et sp. nov. The species Tanychora sinensis Zhang, 1991 is transferred to the new genus Khasurtella. Similarity of the ichneumonid faunas of Khasurty and the Chinese localities Yixian and Laiyang indicates the age similarity between these localities. Identification key to genera and species of Tanychorinae is given.

This article describes how analytical techniques can act as a modern tool that allows for the accumulation, aggregation, and analysis of complex regional dispensary monitoring data from regional healthcare institutions.

A new subfamily of ichneumon wasps, Labenopimplinae subfam. nov. (Ichneumonidae), is described from the Cenomanian Ola Formation of the locality Obeshchayushchiy, Magadan Region, Russian Far East. The subfamily is highly diverse morphologically and combines characters of the Labeninae and Pimplinae. It includes 11 new species described in five new genera: Labenopimpla rasnitsyni gen. et sp. nov., L. kasparyani sp. nov., Armanopimpla zherikhini gen. et sp. nov, Ramulimonstrum intermedium gen. et sp. nov., Rugopimpla vulgaris gen. et sp. nov., R. fallax sp. nov., R. angusticella sp. nov., R. macra sp. nov., R. matrona sp. nov., Micropimpla lucida gen. et sp. nov., and M. obscura sp. nov. Also described is a new monotypic genus, Tryphopimpla xoridoptera gen. et sp. nov., which combines characters of the Tryphoninae, Pimplinae, and Xoridinae and cannot be currently placed into any of the known subfamilies. The population of fossil ichneumon wasps at this locality is distinctly dominated by females.

A new species, Tanychora loki, sp. nov., and a new genus and species, Megachora sibirica gen. et sp. nov., are described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia and Mongolia. The genus Tanychora Townes, 1973 is divided into two genera: Tanychora s. str., composed of T. petiolata Townes, 1973 (type species), T. sinensis Zhang, 1991, and T. loki sp. nov., and Amplicella, gen. nov., composed of A. sessilis (Townes, 1973) (type species), A. exquisite (Zhang et Rasnitsyn, 2003), A. beipiaoensis (Zhang et Rasnitsyn, 2003), and A. spinata (Zhang et Rasnitsyn, 2003). The frequency of occurrence of ichneumonids in the principal Cretaceous localities of central and northern Asia is calculated.

A new subfamily of ichneumonids, Palaeoichneumoninae, is described from the Lower Cretaceous of Transbaikalia (Baisa locality) and Mongolia (Bon Tsagan and Kholbotu Gol localities). The new subfamily is intermediate between the archaic subfamily Tanychorinae and the Recent Ichneumonidae. It includes 12 new species, described in three new genera: Palaeoichneumon freja gen. et sp. nov., P. ornatus sp. nov., P. danu sp. nov., P. micron sp. nov., P. mirabilis sp. nov., P. tenebrosus sp. nov., P. townesi sp. nov., Rudimentifera mora gen. et sp. nov., R. suspecta sp. nov., Dischysma maculata gen. et sp. nov., D. similis sp. nov., and D. ramulata sp. nov.

Two new species of Labenopimplinae, Labenopimpla orapa sp. n. and Rugopimpla botswana sp. n., are described from the Upper Cretaceous (Turanian) deposits of Orapa in Botswana. These are the first and only known Cretaceous Ichneumonidae from the southern hemisphere. The new species seem to be very similar to their relatives from the Cenomanian of the Russian Far East. This indicates a wide distribution of Ichneumonidae by the early Late Cretaceous at least.