''Paleolepidopterites '' is a collective genus of fossil

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s which can not be placed in any defined family. The included species were formerly placed in the leaf-roller family Tortricidae and are known from fossils found in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(specifically

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

). The collective genus contains three species: ''Paleolepidopterites destructus'', ''Paleolepidopterites florissantanus'', and ''Paleolepidopterites sadilenkoi'', formerly placed within the genera ''

Tortrix ''Tortrix'' is a genus of moths belonging to the family Tortricidae., 2005: ''World Catalogue of Insects'' vol. 5 ''Tortricidae''. Species *''Tortrix sinapina'' (Butler, 1879) *''Tortrix viridana'' Linnaeus, 1758 Species formally assigned to ' ...

'' and ''

Tortricites ''Paleolepidopterites '' is a collective genus of fossil moths which can not be placed in any defined family. The included species were formerly placed in the leaf-roller family Tortricidae and are known from fossils found in Russia and the Uni ...

'' respectively. The three species were formally redescribed and moved to the new collective genus by Heikkilä ''et al (2018).

Distribution

Paleolepidopterites_florissantanus_Cockerell_1907_UCNH-HT-no-8579

Two of the species were recovered from the

late Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "daw ...

Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the Midd ...

and Priabonian stages, Florissant Formation lake deposits near the small community of Florissant in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The holotype of ''P. destructus'' was recovered from fossiliferous outcrops on the ranch of George W. Wilson, while the ''P. florissantanus'' holotype came from outcrops at Station 14.

Species

''P. destructus''

''P. destructus'' is known only from one fossil, the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, specimen "USNM 61998", which was first described as ''Tortrix? destructus''. It is a single, mostly complete

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

of undetermined sex, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

. The type specimen is currently preserved in the paleoentomological collections housed in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

, part of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

, located in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, United States. ''P. destructus'' was first studied by Dr Theodore D. A. Cockerell of the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, with his 1917

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 ...

being published in the ''Proceedings of the United States National Museum''. Cockerell did not provide an

explanation An explanation is a set of Statement (logic), statements usually constructed to description, describe a set of facts which clarifies the causality, causes, wiktionary:context, context, and Logical consequence, consequences of those facts. It may ...

for 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 ...

''destructus''.

''P. florissantanus''

''P. florissantanus'' is also known only from the

, number "NHM-I.8429" for part side and "UCM 8579" for the counterpart side. It's a single, mostly complete

female, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained

. One side of the type specimen is currently preserved in the paleoentomological collections housed in the Natural History Museum located in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, while the other side is in the collections of the

. ''P. florissantanus'' was first studied by Dr Theodore D. A. Cockerell of the University of Colorado, with his 1907

being published in the journal '' Canadian Entomologist''. Cockerell did not provide an

for the

''florissantana''. ''P. florissantanus'' is about long with a robust thorax. The abdomen is covered by the wings which are preserved in resting position. The antenna are preserved showing minute dark spots at intervals along their length. The fore wings overall length is not specified, however the outer margin is and the lower margin is . The hind-wings are in length. Most of the fore and hind wing scales are missing eliminating most of the color patterning. The fore wings were possibly striped along the veins with a notable darkening along the apex of the hind wings. The gently curving wing margin, lacking a projection, and the arched costa indicate a member of the family Tortricidae, rather than the similar family Pyralidae.

''P. sadilenkoi''

The holotype of ''P. sadilenkoi'', Sadilenko 4, was discovered in a chunk of

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...

found in the

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

that dated back to the

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage of t ...

age.M. V. Kozlov. 1988. Paleontologiya cheshukerylykh i voprosy filogenii otrayada Papilionida. ''Melovoy Biotsenoticheskiy Krizis i Evolyutsiya Nasekomykh'' 16-69

Description

''Paleolepidopterites'' is about long with a robust thorax and an abdomen which tapers towards the tip. The slender antenna are long, with tips that curl to form almost a circle, and are reddish in coloration. Where visible the legs are either hairy or scaly. The forewings are in length with a outer margin and a lower margin. The hindwing length is not specified, the color patterning is described, with the hindwings longitudinally striped and a broad but diffuse submarginal band. ''P. destructus'' is noted to be much smaller than the other ''Paleolepidopterites'' species from Florissant, ''P. florissantana''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7827338 Fossil Lepidoptera Eocene insects Fossil taxa described in 2018 Prehistoric insects of North America Florissant Formation Baltic amber