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Iberoraphidia
''Iberoraphidia'' is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from a Cretaceous, Lower Barremian, fossil found in Spain. Currently the genus is composed of a single species, ''Iberoraphidia dividua''. History and classification ''Iberoraphidia dividua'' is known only from one fossil, the part and counterpart holotype, specimen number GZG.RF.7563. which is housed in the Geo-Sciences center of the University of Göttingen in Germany. The specimen is preserved as a compression fossil in lithographic limestone, dating to the Lower Barremian age, which was recovered from outcrops of the La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation formed by deposition of carbonate mud in a brackish or freshwater lagoon. The outcrop is located in the Serra del Montsec region near the town of Santa Maria de Meia, province of Lleida. ''Iberoraphidia'' was first studied by the paleoentomologists James E. Jepson and Edmund A. Jarzembowski from the United Kingdom and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Pedrera De Rúbies Formation
The La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation is an Early Cretaceous ( late Berriasian to early Barremian geologic formation in Catalonia, Spain. The formation crops out in the area of the Montsec in the Organyà Basin. At the La Pedrera de Meià locality, the formation consists of rhythmically laminated, lithographic limestones that formed in the distal areas of a large, shallow coastal lake. It is noted for the exceptional preservation of articulated small vertebrates and insects, similar to that of the Solnhofen Limestone. Fossil content The La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation has yielded the enantiornithine bird '' Noguerornis'' and the scincogekkomorph lizard '' Pedrerasaurus'',Weishampel et al., 2004, pp. 517-607 and two species of Teiid lizard ''Meyasaurus'', ''M. fauri'' and ''M. crusafonti,'' the indeterminate avialan '' Ilerdopteryx'',Kellner, 2002 frogs '' Neusibatrachus wilferti'',Báez & Sanchiz, 2007, p.477 and '' Montsechobatrachus''. A crocodyliform ''Montsecosuchus'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesoraphidiidae
Mesoraphidiidae is an extinct family (biology), family of snakeflies in the suborder Raphidiomorpha. The family lived from the Late Jurassic through the Late Cretaceous and is known from twenty-five genera. Mesoraphidiids have been found as both compression fossils and as Inclusion (mineral), inclusions in amber. The family was first proposed in 1925 by the Russian paleoentomologist Andrey Vasilyevich Martynov based on Upper Jurassic fossils recovered in Kazakhstan. The family was expanded in 2002 by the synonym (taxonomy), synonymizing of several other proposed snakefly families. The family was divided into three subfamilies and one tribe in a 2011 paper, further clarifying the relationships of the included genera. Morphology and habitat Mesoraphidiidae are similar in overall appearance to modern snakefly species, having an elongated prothorax, giving a snake-like profile and from which the common name snakefly is derived. The family was likely tree-dwelling by nature, with lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lower Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded by the Hauterivian and followed by the Aptian Stage.See Gradstein ''et al.'' (2004) or the online geowhen database (link below) Stratigraphic definitions The original type locality for the Barremian Stage is in the vicinity of the village of Barrême, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France. Henri Coquand defined the stage and named it in 1873. The base of the Barremian is determined by the first appearance of the ammonites ''Spitidiscus hugii'' and ''Spitidiscus vandeckii''. The end of the Barremian is determined by the geomagnetic reversal at the start of the M0r chronozone, which is biologically near the first appearance of the ammonite '' Paradeshayesites oglanlensis''. Regional equivalents The Barremian falls in the Gallic epoch, a subdiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type (biology)
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage (pre-1900 in botany), a type was a taxon rather than a specimen. A taxon is a scientifically named grouping of organisms with other like organisms, a set that includes some organisms and excludes others, based on a detailed published description (for example a species description) and on the provision of type material, which is usually available to scientists for examination in a major museum research collection, or similar institution. Type specimen According to a precise set of rules laid down in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), the scientific name of every taxon is almost al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous Insects
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin ''creta'', "chalk", which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation ''Kreide''. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now- extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was ice free, and forests extended to the poles. During this time, new groups of mammals and birds appeared. During the Early Cretaceous, flowering plants appeared and began to rapidly diversify, becoming the dominant group of plants across the Earth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raphidioptera
Snakeflies are a group of predatory insects comprising the order Raphidioptera with two extant families: Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae, consisting of roughly 260 species. In the past, the group had a much wider distribution than it does now; snakeflies are found in temperate regions worldwide but are absent from the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere. Recognisable representatives of the group first appeared during the Early Jurassic. They are a relict group, having reached their apex of diversity during the Cretaceous before undergoing substantial decline. An adult snakefly resembles a lacewing in appearance but has a notably elongated thorax which, together with the mobile head, gives the group their common name. The body is long and slender and the two pairs of long, membranous wings are prominently veined. Females have a large and sturdy ovipositor which is used to deposit eggs in some concealed location. They are holometabolous insects with a four-stage life cycle consist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ororaphidia
''Ororaphidia'' is an extinct genus of snakefly containing two species: the type species ''Ororaphidia megalocephala'' and ''Ororaphidia bifurcata''. History and classification Doctors Michael S. Engel and Dong Ren first studied and described ''Ororaphidia'' and the co-occurring ''Styporaphidia'' and in 2008, publishing a formal description in the '' Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society'' volume 81. The genus name comes from the Greek ''oros'' meaning "mountain" and ''Raphidia'', the type genus for, and most often used as, a stem for generic names in the order Raphidioptera. The species name is a combination of the Greek words ''megalose'' meaning "very large" and ''kephale'' meaning "head" and is in reference to the notably large size of the head capsule compared to other raphidiopterans. Description The genus is known from only the holotype, a single female specimen, deposited in the Department of Biology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China as specimen number ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing (insect)
Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwings, respectively, though a few insects lack hindwings, even rudiments. The wings are strengthened by a number of longitudinal veins, which often have cross-connections that form closed "cells" in the membrane (extreme examples include the dragonflies and lacewings). The patterns resulting from the fusion and cross-connection of the wing veins are often diagnostic for different evolutionary lineages and can be used for identification to the family or even genus level in many orders of insects. Physically, some insects move their flight muscles directly, others indirectly. In insects with direct flight, the wing muscles directly attach to the wing base, so that a small downward movement of the wing base lifts the wing itself upward. Those ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Morphology
Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insects from other arthropods: they have a body divided into three regions (called tagmata) (head, thorax, and abdomen), have three pairs of legs, and mouthparts located ''outside'' of the head capsule. It is this position of the mouthparts which divides them from their closest relatives, the non-insect hexapods, which includes Protura, Diplura, and Collembola. There is enormous variation in body structure amongst insect species. Individuals can range from 0.3 mm (fairyflies) to 30 cm across ( great owlet moth); have no eyes or many; well-developed wings or none; and legs modified for running, jumping, swimming, or even digging. These modifications allow insects to occupy almost every ecological niche on the planet, except the deep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forewing
Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwings, respectively, though a few insects lack hindwings, even rudiments. The wings are strengthened by a number of longitudinal veins, which often have cross-connections that form closed "cells" in the membrane (extreme examples include the dragonflies and lacewings). The patterns resulting from the fusion and cross-connection of the wing veins are often diagnostic for different evolutionary lineages and can be used for identification to the family or even genus level in many orders of insects. Physically, some insects move their flight muscles directly, others indirectly. In insects with direct flight, the wing muscles directly attach to the wing base, so that a small downward movement of the wing base lifts the wing itself upward. Those i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pterostigma
The pterostigma (plural: pterostigmata) is a group of specialized cells in the outer insect wing, wings of insects, which are often thickened or coloured, and thus stand out from other cells. It is particularly noticeable in dragonfly, dragonflies, but present also in other insect groups, such as snakefly, snakeflies, hymenopterans, and megalopterans. Purpose The pterostigma, a heavier section of the wing than nearby sections, assists in gliding. Without the pterostigmata, self-exciting vibrations known as aeroelastic flutter, flutter would set in on the wing above a certain critical speed, making gliding impossible. Tests show that with the pterostigmata, the critical gliding speed is increased 10–25% on one species of dragonfly. Pseudopterostigma Some female damselfly, damselflies in the family Calopterygidae possess a ''pseudopterostigma''. This is similar in location on the wing to a true pterostigma but is crossed by veins and is only defined by its paler colour compared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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