''Dinokanaga'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

scorpionfly Mecoptera (from the Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an order of insects in the superorder Endopterygota with about six hundred species in nine families worldwide. Mecopterans are sometimes called scorpionflies after their la ...

belonging to the

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

family

Dinopanorpidae Dinopanorpidae is a small family of extinct insects in the order Mecoptera (scorpionflies) that contains two genus, genera and seven species. The name is a combination of the Greek language, Greek ''deino'' meaning "terrible" or "monstrous" and ...

. The six species ''D. andersoni'', ''D. dowsonae'', ''D. hillsi'', ''D. sternbergi'', ''D. webbi'', and ''D. wilsoni'' have all been recovered from Eocene fossil sites in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, and

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, United States. ''Dinokanaga'' is a combination of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ''deino'' meaning "terrible" or "monstrous" and ''okanaga'' in reference to the

Eocene Okanagan Highlands The Eocene Okanagan Highlands or Eocene Okanogan Highlands are a series of Early Eocene geological formations which span a transect of British Columbia, Canada, and Washington state, United States. Known for a highly diverse and detailed Paleoflo ...

fossil sites where the specimens have been recovered. The

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

of the genus was first published in 2005 by Dr. Bruce Archibald in the ''Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences''. Description of the new genus was based on the study of over 20

compression fossil A compression fossil is a fossil preserved in sedimentary rock that has undergone physical compression. While it is uncommon to find animals preserved as good compression fossils, it is very common to find plants preserved this way. The reason fo ...

specimens from five fossil producing locations in the highlands. ''Dinokanaga'' and '' Dinopanorpa'', currently the only known genera in the family Dinopanorpidae, are distinguished by a number of wing vein characters including lack of fine reticulated crossveins in ''Dinopanorpa'', and the "Rs" vein branched 3-5 times in ''Dinokanaga''. The fossil specimens of high preservation quality sometimes show the original color patterning, being mostly dark with light to clear areas. Within the genus wing characters are key to separating the species.

Description

''Dinokanaga hillsi''

''Dinokanaga hillsi'', the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, is identified by its subtriangular shaped wing which is widest at the middle, color pattern of three distinct dots, and an apical wing margin which is smoothly curved. ''D. hillsi'' along with ''D. dowsonae'' are the only two species in which part of the insects body is known, rather than just isolated wings. Though known from a number of specimens ''D. hillsi'' has only been found at the

McAbee Fossil Beds The McAbee Fossil Beds is a Heritage Site that protects an Eocene Epoch fossil locality east of Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada, just north of and visible from Provincial Highway 97 / the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1). The McAbee Fo ...

near

Cache Creek, British Columbia Cache Creek is a historic transportation junction and incorporated village northeast of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is on the Trans-Canada Highway in the province of British Columbia at a junction with Highway 97. The same in ...

, and is named for Dr. Len Hills.

''Dinokanaga dowsonae''

''D. dowsonae'' is identified by the penniform shape of the wings, and by the size which is larger than similar shaped wings in the other species. ''D. dowsonae'' is he most wide spread of the species, occurring at three different fossil sites in the Okanagan Highlands while the five other species are restricted to a single site each. This species is named in honor of Shelley Dowson, collector of one of the specimen

paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). Of ...

''Dinokanaga andersoni''

''D. andersoni'' is known from only the holotype specimen, collected and housed at the

Stonerose Interpretive Center The Stonerose Interpretive center & Eocene Fossil Site is a 501c(3) non-profit public museum and fossil dig located in Republic, Washington. The center was established in 1989 and houses fossils that have been featured in ''National Geographic M ...

Republic, Washington Republic is a city in Ferry County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,073 at the 2010 census, a 12.5% increase over the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ferry County. It was the largest mining camp in the Republic Mining Distr ...

. The species is notably narrower in the preserved areas of the holotype wing then other species. The species was named in honor of Eric Anderson who first collected the type specimen in 2001.

''Dinokanaga sternbergi''

The third species found in Republic is ''D. sternbergi'', known from a long wing collected by Michael Sternberg in 1995, and for whom the species is named. The species is distinguished by the short length of the "Sc" vein and small size, ''D. webbi'' being the only species smaller in wing size.

''Dinokanaga wilsoni''

Only a single poorly preserved ''D. wilsoni'' hindwing has been found, but the shape is distinct enough to separate it from the other ''Dinokanaga'' species, being broadly a rounded oval. The sole specimen was found the Whipsaw Creek locality of the

Allenby Formation The Allenby formation is a sedimentary rock formation in British Columbia which was deposited during the Ypresian stage of the Early Eocene. It consists of conglomerates, sandstones with interbedded shales and coal. The shales contain an abun ...

near

Princeton, British Columbia Princeton (originally Vermilion Forks) is a town in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia, Canada."The rich history of Princeton or how Vermilion Forks made it on the map...", Princeton 2008 Visitors Guide, p. 4. It lies just east o ...

, and named for Dr. Mark Wilson of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

''Dinokanaga webbi''

Easily distinguished from the other species, ''D. webbi'' is the smallest species of ''Dinokanaga'' with a

hindwing 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 hindwi ...

only long and having numerous simple crossveins with only patches developing into a reticulated patterning. The type specimen was found in " Horsefly shale" outcrops along the

Horsefly River The Horsefly River is a river in the Cariboo district of British Columbia, Canada. Originating near the Wells Gray Provincial Park, it flows into Quesnel Lake, the source of the Quesnel River which in turn is a major tributary of the Fraser Rive ...

near

Horsefly, British Columbia Horsefly is an unincorporated community on the northwest shore of the Horsefly River, in the Cariboo region of central British Columbia. The location, via BC Highway 97, Likely Rd, and Horsefly Rd, is about northeast of Williams Lake, and by ro ...

, and the species named in honor of Robin Webb of British Columbia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5278586 Mecoptera Fossil taxa described in 2005 Insects described in 2005 Fossils of British Columbia Ypresian insects Prehistoric insects of North America Allenby Formation Horsefly Shales Klondike Mountain Formation Tranquille Formation