Aneuretopsychidae is an extinct family of

scorpionflies Mecoptera (from the Greek language, Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an Order (biology), order of insects in the superorder Endopterygota with about six hundred species in nine Family (biology), families worldwide. Mecopterans ...

known from the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

. Fossils are known from the Jurassic (

Callovian In the geologic timescale, the Callovian is an age and stage in the Middle Jurassic, lasting between 166.1 ± 4.0 Ma (million years ago) and 163.5 ± 4.0 Ma. It is the last stage of the Middle Jurassic, following the Bathonian and preceding the ...

- Oxfordian) to the early Late Cretaceous (

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

). It is part of Mesopsychoidea, a group of scorpionflies with

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

ate

proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...

. They are suggested to have been nectarivores, feeding off the liquid pollination drops of and acting as pollinators for now extinct

insect pollinated Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertise themselves with bright colours, som ...

gymnosperms The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

such as

Bennettitales Bennettitales (also known as cycadeoids) is an extinct order of seed plants that first appeared in the Permian period and became extinct in most areas toward the end of the Cretaceous. Bennettitales are among the most common Mesozoic seed plants ...

Systematics

Diagnostic characters include the "presence of pseudo-loop in the anal area of the forewing, and the well-developed jugum of the hind wing" It has been proposed that the family are the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

fleas Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, ar ...

, however a detailed analysis of the mouthparts of well preserved amber specimens found that they were homologous to those found in the

Pseudopolycentropodidae Pseudopolycentropodidae is an extinct family of scorpionflies known from the Mesozoic. Fossils are known from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) to the early Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian). It is part of Mesopsychoidea, a group of scorpionflies with ...

and dissimilar to those of fleas. *'' Aneuretopsyche'' Rasnitsyn and Kozlov 1990 **''A. minima'' Rasnitsyn and Kozlov 1990

Karabastau Formation The Karabastau Formation ( kk, Qarabastaý svıtasy) is a geological formation and lagerstätte in the Karatau Mountains of southern Kazakhstan whose strata date to the Middle to Late Jurassic. It is an important locality for insect fossils that ...

, Kazakhstan, Callovian/Oxfordian **''A. rostrata'' Rasnitsyn and Kozlov 1990 Karabastau Formation, Kazakhstan, Callovian/Oxfordian **''A. vitimensis'' Rasnitsyn and Kozlov 1990

Zaza Formation The Zaza Formation is a geological formation located in Buryatia (Russia). It dates to the Lower Cretaceous period. It is Aptian in age and consists of sandstones, siltstones, marls and bituminous shales, deposited in a stratified lake. It is s ...

, Russia,

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

*'' Burmopsyche'' Zhao et al. 2020 **''B. bella'' Zhao et al. 2020

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. The ...

, Myanmar, Cenomanian **''B. xiai'' Zhao et al. 2020 Burmese amber, Myanmar, Cenomanian * '' Jeholopsyche'' Ren, Shih and Labandeira, 2009, 2011 ** ''J. bella'' Qiao et al. 2012

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its ex ...

, China, Aptian **''J. completa'' Qiao et al. 2012 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian **''J. liaoningensis'' Ren, Shih and Labandeira, 2009, 2011 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian **''J. maxima'' Qiao et al. 2012 Yixian Formation, China, Aptian

Gallery

File:Jeholopsyche liaoningensis dorsal.jpg, ''Jeholopsyche liaoningensis'' dorsal File:Jeholopsyche liaoningensis ventral.jpg, ''Jeholopsyche liaoningensis'' ventral, showing proboscis

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21359752 Mecoptera Prehistoric insect families Jurassic first appearances