''Paradoxosisyra'' is an

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 ...

genus of

lacewing The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megaloptera and Raphidioptera in t ...

in the spongefly family, Sisyridae. The genus contains a single species, ''Paradoxosisyra groehni'' and is placed into the extinct subfamily Paradoxosisyrinae. ''Paradoxosisyra'' is known from a solitary Middle Cretaceous fossil which was found in Asia.

History and classification

''Paradoxosisyra'' is known from one adult fossil, the holotype, specimen number "GPIH Typ. Kat. Nr. 4580". At the time of the genus description, the specimen was residing in the Geological-Paleontological Institute and Museum's C. Gröhn collection, part of the University of Hamburg. The described specimen is an adult female which has been preserved as an inclusion in a transparent chunk of Burmese amber. The amber specimens were recovered from deposits in

Kachin State Kachin State ( my, ကချင်ပြည်နယ်; Kachin: ), also known by the endonym Kachinland, is the northernmost state of Myanmar. It is bordered by China to the north and east (Tibet and Yunnan, specifically and respectively); Sh ...

, in Myanmar. Burmese amber has been

radiometrically dated Radiometric dating, radioactive dating or radioisotope dating is a technique which is used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares t ...

using U- Pb isotopes, yielding an age of approximately 98.79 ± 0.62 million years old, close to the

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 ...

–

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 ...

boundary, in the earliest Cenomanian. The fossil was first described by the Russian paleoentomologist Vladimir Makarkin of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Makarkin's 2016

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 ...

of the new genus and species was published in the journal ''Cretaceous Research''. The genus name ''Paradoxosisyra'' was coined as a combination of the modern genus name ''

Sisyra ''Sisyra'' is a genus of lacewings in the family Sisyridae Sisyridae, commonly known as spongeflies or spongillaflies, are a family of winged insects in the order Neuroptera. There are approximately 60 living species described, and several ext ...

'' and the Greek word "paradoxos" meaning strange, in allusion to the unique mouth-parts not seen in any other member of the family. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''groehni'' was coined as a patronym honoring the amber collector Carsten Gröhn who collected and promoted the study of Baltic amber. ''Paradoxosisyra'' is one of three Sisyridae genera described from the fossil record, the others being the Cretaceous ''

Prosisyrina ''Prosisyrina'' is an extinct genus of lacewing in the neuropteran family Sisyridae. The genus contains two described species, ''Prosisyrina sphinga'' and ''Prosisyrina sukachevae''. ''Prosisyrina'' is known from a group of Late Cretaceous foss ...

'' from

Taimyr amber Taymyr or Taimyr may refer to: Places *Taymyr Peninsula, a peninsula in Siberia *Taymyr Gulf *Taymyra, a river in the Taymyr Peninsula *Lake Taymyr *Taymyr Island, an island in the Kara Sea *Taymyr Autonomous Okrug, a former federal subject of Rus ...

and the Eocene '' Paleosisyra'' from Baltic amber. Due to the different structure of the mouthparts from other members of Sisyridae, Makarkin erected a new subfamily Paradoxosisyrinae for the genus, placing the other genera into the subfamily Sisyrinae.

Description

While the placement and structure of the gonocoxites on the females abdomen and the general wing venation are most similar to genera of Sisyridae, a number of characters distinguish ''Pa. groehni''. Most notably the mouthparts are fused and modified into an extremely elongated siphon-like tube. All the other described genera in Sisyridae have adults with mandible structured mouthparts used for chewing or biting. There are several raised dome like calluses that are covered in setae and unlike other member of Sisyridae, the pronotum sclerite is present.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q24668322 Cretaceous insects Prehistoric insect genera Neuroptera genera Fossil taxa described in 2016 Prehistoric insects of Asia Burmese amber Fossils of Myanmar