Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T06:00:55.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

New palaeodictyopterans from the Late Carboniferous of the UK (Insecta: Palaeodictyopterida)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2018

Jakub Prokop*
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44, Praha 2, Czech Republic. Emails: jprokop@natur.cuni.cz; pecharom@natur.cuni.cz
Martina Pecharová
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44, Praha 2, Czech Republic. Emails: jprokop@natur.cuni.cz; pecharom@natur.cuni.cz
Edmund A. Jarzembowski
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China. Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. Email: jarzembowski2@live.co.uk
Andrew J. Ross
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Sciences, National Museums Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK. Email: a.ross@nms.ac.uk Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. Email: jarzembowski2@live.co.uk
*
*Corresponding author

Abstract

New palaeodictyopterans, Vernooijia sassoonae gen. et sp. nov. (Breyeriidae) and Mazonopterumcooperi sp. nov. (Homoiopteridae) are described from the Middle Pennsylvanian (Westphalian D/Late Asturian) of Writhlington, near Radstock (UK). Based on the re-examination of venation in Breyeriaharlemensis, we propose the transfer of this species to the genus Vernooijia as V.harlemensis (Brauckmann & Gröning, 1996) comb. nov. We report the first record of Homaloneura sp. (Spilapteridae) from the Langsettian to Duckmantian of Coseley, Staffordshire. Additionally, we report a fragmentary wing from the Middle Pennsylvanian (late Westphalian D/early Cantabrian) of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, tentatively belonging to the Lycocercidae. Our re-examination of a putative blattodean nymph described by Rolfe (1967) allows re-assignment to Palaeodictyoptera, as it has well-developed wing pads with a corrugated pattern of probably original tracheation and lacunal channels, identified as presumably nymphal exuvia of Idoptilus sp. Surprisingly, our study reveals the presence of three triangular caudal appendages bearing prominent lateral lamellae emerging from the terminal abdominal segment, previously unknown in other nymphs of Palaeodictyoptera. We assume that these lamellae were originally covered with dense setae and possibly represent modified caudal appendages in the form of tracheal gills, as known in the nymphs of damselflies (Odonata: Zygoptera). Thus, the scenario of a possible aquatic lifestyle for nymphs of at least some members of Palaeodictyoptera, as considered by Brongniart (1885, 1893) and Handlirsch (1906), cannot be definitely excluded.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Society of Edinburgh 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

5. References

Anderson, L. I., Dunlop, J. A., Eagar, R. M. C., Horrocks, C. A. & Wilson, H. M. 1999. Soft-bodied fossils from the roof shales of the Wigan Four Foot Coal Seam, Westhoughton, Lancashire, UK. Geological Magazine 135, 321–29.Google Scholar
Beckemeyer, R. J. & Engel, M. S. 2011. Upper Carboniferous insects from the Pottsville Formation of Northern Alabama (Insecta: Ephemeropterida, Palaeodictyopterida, Odonatoptera). Scientific Papers, Natural History Museum, The University of Kansas 44, 119.Google Scholar
Bodine, J. H. 1918. The rectal tracheation and rectal respiration of the larva of the Odonata Zygoptera. 4. Experimental results in Ishnura and Enallagma. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences 70, 103–13.Google Scholar
Bolton, H. 1921. A monograph of the fossil insects of the British Coal Measures. Part I. Palaeontographical Society Monograph 73, 180.10.1080/02693445.1921.12035583Google Scholar
Bolton, H. 1922. A monograph of the fossil insects of the British Coal Measures. Part II. Palaeontographical Society Monograph 74, 81156.Google Scholar
Borre, A. P. 1875. Complément de la note sur des empreintes d'insectes fossiles. Seconde note. Annales de la Société entomologique de Belgique 18, 5666.Google Scholar
Brauckmann, C. 1995. Neue Insekten-Funde (Palaeodictyoptera, Breyeriidae) aus dem Ober-karbon von Osnabruck (Deutschland). Osnasbrucker Naturwissenschaften Mitteilungen 20–21, 157–66.Google Scholar
Brauckmann, C., Koch, L. & Kemper, M. 1985. Spinnentiere (Arachnida) und Insekten aus den Vorhalle-Schichten (Namurium B; Ober-Karbon) von Hagen-Vorhalle (West-Deutschland). Geologie und Paläontologie in Westfalen, Westfälisches Museum für Naturkunde 3, 1132.Google Scholar
Brauckmann, C., Herd, J. K. & Leipner, A. 2015. The Late Carboniferous Mazonopterum (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera: Homoiopteridae) in Central Europe. Clausthaler Geowissenschaften 10, 110.Google Scholar
Brauckmann, C. & Gröning, E. 1996. A new Upper Carboniferous insect wing from South Limburg (Palaeodictyoptera, Breyeriidae, Westphalian, The Netherlands). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monashefte 1996(2), 7282.Google Scholar
Brongniart, C. 1885. Les insectes fossiles des terrains primaires. Coup d'oeil rapide sur la faune entomologique des terrains paléozoïques. Bulletin de la Société des Amis des Sciences Naturelles de Rouen 3, 5068.Google Scholar
Brongniart, C. 1893. Recherches pour servir à l'histoire des insectes fossiles des temps primaires précédées d'une étude sur la nervation des ailes des insectes. Bulletin de la Société d'Industrie Minérale de Saint-Etienne 3, 7, 1–491.Google Scholar
Brongniart, C. 1894. Les insectes de l'époque carbonifère. Comptes-Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences 118, 1128–30.Google Scholar
Carpenter, F. M. 1992. Superclass Hexapoda. In Moore, R. C. & Kaesler, R. L. (eds) Treatise on invertebrate paleontology, Arthropoda 4 (3/4). Boulder, Colorado & Lawrence, Kansas: Geological Society of America and University of Kansas Press. 655 pp.Google Scholar
Engel, M. S., Davis, S. R. & Prokop, J. 2013. Chapter XII: Insect wings: The evolutionary development of Nature's first flyers. In Minelli, A., Boxshall, G. & Fusco, G. (eds) Arthropod Biology and Evolution – Molecules, Development, Morphology, 269–98. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.10.1007/978-3-662-45798-6_12Google Scholar
Goldenberg, F. 1877. Die fossilen Thiere aus der Steinkohlenformation von Saarbrücken. Fauna Saraepontana Fossilis 2. Saarbrücken: Mollinger. 154.Google Scholar
Handlirsch, A. 1906–1908. Die fossilen Insekten und die Phylogenie der rezenten Formen. In Englemann, W. (ed.) Ein Handbuch für Paläontologen und Zoologen. Leipzig: Engelman. 1430 pp.Google Scholar
Handlirsch, A. 1911. New Paleozoic insects from the vicinity of Mazon Creek, Illinois. American Journal of Science Series 4 31, 297326, 353–77.Google Scholar
Jarzembowski, E. A. 1989. Writhlington Geological Nature Reserve. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 100, 219–34.Google Scholar
Jarzembowski, E. A. 2004. Atlas of animals from the late Westphalian of Writhlington, United Kingdom. Geologica Balkanica 34(1–2), 4750.Google Scholar
Kukalová, J. 1960. New Palaeodictyoptera from the Carboniferous and Permian of Czechoslovakia. Sborník Ustředního Ústavu Geologického, oddíl geologický 25, 239–51.Google Scholar
Kukalová, J. 1969a. Revisional study of the order Palaeodictyoptera in the Upper Carboniferous shales of Commentry, France. Part 1. Psyche 76, 163215.Google Scholar
Kukalová, J. 1969b. Revisional study of the order Palaeodictyoptera in the Upper Carboniferous shales of Commentry, France. Part 2. Psyche 76, 439–86.Google Scholar
Kukalová-Peck, J. 1991. Fossil history and the evolution of hexapod structures. In CSIRO (Naumann, I. D., Ed-in-Chief) The insects of Australia 2nd edition, Vol 1, 141–79. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.Google Scholar
Kukalová-Peck, J. & Richardson, E. S. Jr. 1983. New Homoiopteridae (Insecta: Paleodictyoptera) with wing articulation from Upper Carboniferous strata of Mazon Creek, Illinois. Canadian Journal of Zoology 61, 1670–87.Google Scholar
Labandeira, C. C. & Phillips, T. L. 1996. Insect fluid-feeding on Upper Pennsylvanian tree ferns (Palaeodictyoptera, Marattiales) and the early history of the piercing and sucking functional feeding group. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 89 2, 157–83.10.1093/aesa/89.2.157Google Scholar
Li, Y., Ren, D., Pecharová, M. & Prokop, J. 2013. A new palaeodictyopterid (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera: Spilapteridae) from the Upper Carboniferous of China supports a close relationship between insect faunas of Quilianshian (northern China) and Laurussia. Alcheringa 37, 487–95Google Scholar
Liu, X., Béthoux, O., Yin, X. & Ren, D. 2015. The smallest Palaeodictyoptera (Insecta) discovered at Xiaheyan (Late Carboniferous, China). Comptes Rendus Palevol 14, 346–52.Google Scholar
Martin, R. 1901. Les Odonates du continent africain. Mémoires de la Société Zoologique de France 14, 220–48.Google Scholar
Peach, B. N. 1914. On some Carboniferous arthropods, with descriptions of a new genus of myriapod. Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh 19(6), 142–48.Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Smith, R., Jarzembowski, E. & Nel, A. 2006. New homoiopterids from the Late Carboniferous of England (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera). Comptes Rendus Palevol 5, 867–73.Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Nel, A. & Tenny, A. 2010. On the phylogenetic position of the palaeopteran Syntonopteroidea (Insecta: Ephemeroptera), with a new species from the Upper Carboniferous of England. Organisms Diversity & Evolution 10, 331–40.10.1007/s13127-010-0022-2Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Tippeltová, Z., Roques, P. & Nel, A. 2013. A new genus and species of Breyeriidae and wings of immature stages from the Upper Carboniferous, Nord Pas-de-Calais, France (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera). Insect Systematics & Evolution 44, 117–28.Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Roques, P. & Nel, A. 2014. New non-holometabolous insects from the Pennsylvanian of the Avion locality in Pas-de-Calais, France (Insecta: ‘Exopterygota'). Alcheringa 38, 155–69.Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Nel, A., Engel, M. S., Pecharová, M. & Hörnschemeyer, T. 2016a. New Carboniferous fossils of Spilapteridae enlighten postembryonic wing development in Palaeodictyoptera. Systematic Entomology 41, 178–90.Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Pecharová, M. & Ren, D. 2016b. Hidden surface microstructures on Carboniferous insect Brodioptera sinensis (Megasecoptera) enlighten functional morphology and sensorial perception. Scientific Reports 6, 28316; doi: 10.1038/srep28316Google Scholar
Prokop, J., Pecharová, M., Nel, A., Hörnschemeyer, T., Krzemińska, E., Krzemiński, W. & Engel, M. S. 2017. Paleozoic nymphal wing pads support dual model of insect wing origins. Current Biology 27, 263–69.10.1016/j.cub.2016.11.021Google Scholar
Prokop, J. & Nel, A. 2004. A new genus and species of Homoiopteridae from the Upper Carboniferous of the Intra-Sudetic Basin, Czech Republic (Insecta: Palaeodictyoptera). European Journal of Entomology 101, 583–89.Google Scholar
Prokop, J. & Ren, D. 2007. New significant fossil insects from the Upper Carboniferous of Ningxia in northern China (Palaeodictyoptera, Archaeorthoptera). European Journal of Entomology 104, 267–75.10.14411/eje.2007.041Google Scholar
Rolfe, W. D. I. 1967. Rochdalia, a Carboniferous insect nymph (Palaeodictyoptera). Palaeontology 10, 307–13.Google Scholar
Ross, A. J. 2010. A review of the Carboniferous fossil insects from Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology 46, 157–68.Google Scholar
Scudder, S. H. 1881. Two new British Carboniferous insects, with remarks on those already known. Geological Magazine, Series 2 8, 293300.Google Scholar
Scudder, S. H. 1883. The Carboniferous hexapod insects of Great Britain. Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History 3(7), 213–24.Google Scholar
Scudder, S. H. 1885. Two more English Carboniferous insects. Geological Magazine 22, 265–66.Google Scholar
Shear, W. A. & Kukalová-Peck, J. 1989. The ecology of Paleozoic terrestrial arthropods: the fossil evidence. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68, 1807–34.10.1139/z90-262Google Scholar
Sinitshenkova, N. D. 2002. Superorder Dictyoneurida Handlirsch, 1906 (= Palaeodictyopteroidea). In Rasnitsyn, A. P. & Quicke, D. L. J. (eds) History of Insects, 115–24. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. 517 pp.Google Scholar
Strand, E. 1929. Zoological and palaeontological nomenc1atorial notes. Acta Universitatis Latviensis 20 29, 129.Google Scholar
Tillyard, R. J. 1917. On the morphology of the caudal gills of the larvae of zygopterid dragonflies. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 42, 31111, 606–32.10.5962/bhl.part.4864Google Scholar
Woodward, H. 1876. On a remarkable fossil orthopterous insect from the Coal Measures of Scotland. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 32, 6065.Google Scholar
Woodward, H. 1887. On the discovery of the larval stage of a cockroach, Etoblattina peachii, H. Woodw., from the Coal-Measures of Kilmaurs, Ayrshire. Geological Magazine Series 3 4, 433–35.Google Scholar
Wootton, R. J. 1972. Nymphs of Palaeodictyoptera (Insecta) from the Westphalian of England. Palaeontology 15, 662–75.Google Scholar