Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:58:40.218Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Recognition of the first fossil Lestoid damselfly in South America (Insecta: Zygoptera): Biogeographic and phylogenetic remarks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Julián F. Petrulevičius
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d'Entomologie, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 45, rue de Buffon, Paris 75005, France
André Nel
Affiliation:
1CONICET, Argentina,

Extract

The specimen studied here represents the first fossil Euzygoptera Bechly, 1996 described in South America. The lack of fossil damselflies from this subcontinent is probably an artifact related to the scarcity of fossil insect collections. Differences in the world fossil record of these insects (as many others) could be correlated to the level of activity of researchers in the different continents. Thus the fossil Lestinoidea Calvert, 1901 (sensu Bechly, 1996) are mainly known from Europe (Nel and Paicheler, 1994) where a long history of paleoentomology (and paleontology of Odonata) took place. From North America there is only one record in the Eocene of the USA (Cockerell, 1940), despite an ancient and long activity in this field. From Asia the group is known from the Oligo-Miocene of Turkey (Nel and Paicheler, 1994) and from the Miocene of Japan (Fujiyama, 1985). What does not fit in this hypothesis is the curious lack of records from Asia, despite the high number of paleoentomologists of the Russian school. The possible explanation of this could be that Russian researchers have preferred historically to study Paleozoic and Mesozoic rather than Cenozoic insects. Thus, due to the recent increasing number of paleoentomologists, new discoveries similar to the present one shall probably modify the present fragmentary fossil record of Lestinoidea.

Type
Paleontological Notes
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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

Asahina, S. 1956. Dragonflies from West Tien-Mu-Shan, Central China. Entomologiske Meddelelser, 27:204208.Google Scholar
Asahina, S. 1997. Records of the northern Vietnamese Odonata taken by the expedition members from the National Science Museum, Tokyo, 6. Platystictidae, Megapodagrionidae, Lestidae and Synlestidae. Bulletin of the National Science Museum, series A (Zoology), 23:107113.Google Scholar
Bechly, G. 1996. Morphologische Untersuchungen am Flügelgeäder der rezenten Libellen und deren Stammgruppenvertreter (Insecta; Pterygota; Odonata), unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Phylogenetischen Systematik und des Grundplanes der Odonata. Petalura, Böblingen, Special Volume 2, 402 p.Google Scholar
Calvert, P. P. 1901–1908. Neuroptera (Odonata), p. 1772. In Porter, R. H. (ed.), Biologia Centrali-Americana. Vol. 50. Dulau, London.Google Scholar
Chao, H. F. 1947. On the systematic position, nymphal characters and new species of the genera Megalestes and Synolestes (Odonata). Biological Bulletin of the Fukien Christian University, 6:1525.Google Scholar
Chen, C. W. 1947. On a new damselfly from Formosa (Odonata: Synlestidae). Biological Bulletin of the Fukien Christian University, 6:2731.Google Scholar
Cockerell, T. D. A. 1915. British fossil insects. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 49:469499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cockerell, T. D. A. 1940. A dragon-fly from the Eocene of Colorado (Odonata, Agrionidae). Entomological News, 51:103105.Google Scholar
Fabricius, J. C. 1793. Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Hafniae, 3:1487, 1–349.Google Scholar
Fraser, F. C. 1926. Two new species of dragonflies from the Darjeeling district. Journal of the Darjeeling Natural History Society, 1:3133.Google Scholar
Fraser, F. C. 1951. Outline of a reclassification for the legion Lestes Selys (order Odonata). Entomological News, 62:6169.Google Scholar
Fraser, F. C. 1957. A reclassification of the order Odonata, based on some new interpretations of the venation of the dragonfly wing. Handbook of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 12:1133.Google Scholar
Fujiyama, I. 1985. Early Miocene insect fauna of Seki, Sado Island, Japan, with notes on the occurrence of Cenozoic fossil insects from Sado to San-In district. Memoirs of the National Science Museum of Tokyo, 18:3556.Google Scholar
Jarzembowski, E. A., Martinez-Declos, X., Bechly, G., Nel, A., Coram, R., and Escullié, F. 1998. The Mesozoic non-calopterygoid Zygoptera: description of new genera and species from the Lower Cretaceous of England and Brazil and their phylogenetic significance (Odonata, Zygoptera, Coenagrionoidea, Hemiphleboidea, Lestoidea). Cretaceous Research, 19:403444.Google Scholar
Kukalová-Peck, J. 1991. Fossil history and the evolution of hexapod structures, p. 141179. In Naumann, I. D. (ed.), The Insects of Australia: A Textbook for Students and Research Workers. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Lahiri, A. R. 1979. Odonata (Insecta) from different states of north Eastern India. Oriental Insects, 13:119132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leach, W. E. 1815. Entomology, p. 57172. In Brewster, D. (ed.), The Edimbourg Encyclopedia, 9.Google Scholar
Mahato, M., and Edds, D. 1993. Altitudinal distribution of odonate larvae in Nepal's Gandaki River. Odonatologica, 22:213221.Google Scholar
Marshall, L. G., Sempere, T., and Butler, R. F. 1997. Chronostratigraphy of the Mammal-bearing Paleocene of South America. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 10:4970.Google Scholar
Münz, P. A. 1919. A venational study of the suborder Zygoptera (Odonata) with keys for the identification of genera. Memoirs of the Entomological Society (of the Academy of Natural Sciences), 3:178.Google Scholar
Navás, R. R. L. 1935. Neuroptères et insectes voisins. Chine et pays environnants. Huitième série. Notes d'Entomologie Chinoise, 2:85103.Google Scholar
Needham, J. G. 1930. A manual of the dragonflies of China. A monographic study of the chinese Odonata. Zoologia Sinica, Invertebrates of China, series A, 11:339 + 11 p.Google Scholar
Nel, A., and Jarzembowski, A. E. 1999. Fossil damselflies and dragonflies (Insecta: Odonata) from the Late Upper Eocene of southern England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 110:193201.Google Scholar
Nel, A., and Paicheler, J.-C. 1994. Les Lestoidea fossiles. Un inventaire critique (Odonata, Zygoptera). Annales de Paléontologie, 90:159.Google Scholar
Nel, A., Martínez-Delclòs, X., Paicheler, J. C., and Henrotay, M. 1993. Les ‘Anisozygoptera’ fossiles. Phylogénie et classification. (Odonata). Martinia, Numéro Hors-Série, 3:1311.Google Scholar
Petrulevičius, J. F. 2001. Insectos del Paleógeno del Noroeste de la Argentina. Sistemática, tafonomía y paleosinecología. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, 229 p.Google Scholar
Petrulevičius, J. F., and Nel, A. 2002. New Palaeomacromiids from the late Paleocene of Argentina. Palaeontology, 44:751758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petrulevičius, J. F., and Nel, A. 2004. A new damselfly family from the late Paleocene of Argentina (Insecta: Odonata: Zygoptera). Palaeontology, 47:109116.Google Scholar
Petrulevičius, J. F., Nel, A., and Muzon, J. 1999. A new Libelluloid family from the Upper Paleocene of Argentina. Palaeontology, 42:677682.Google Scholar
Quattrocchio, M., Volkheimer, W., and Del Papa, C. 1997. Palynology and paleoenvironment of the “Faja Gris” Mealla Formation (Salta Group) at Garabatal Creek (NW Argentina). Palynology, 21:231247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riek, E. F., and Kukalová-Peck, J. 1984. A new interpretation of dragonfly wing venation based upon early Carboniferous fossils from Argentina (Insecta: Odonatoidea) and basic character states in pterygote wings. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 62:11501166.Google Scholar
Salfity, J. A., and Marquillas, R. A. 1994. Tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Cretaceous-Eocene Salta Basin, Argentina, p. 266315. In Salfity, J. A. (ed.), Cretaceous tectonics of the Andes. Earth Evolution Sciences. Vieweg and Sohhn, Braunschweig/Wiesbaden (Germany).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Selys, L. M. E. 1840. Monographie des Libellulidées d'Europe. Roret, Paris, 220 p.Google Scholar
Selys, L. M. E. 1862. Synopsis of the Agrionines. 5e légion: Agrion. Bulletin de l'Académie Royale de Belgique, 20:375417.Google Scholar
Volkheimer, W., Quattrocchio, M., and Salfity, J. A. 1984. Datos palinológicos de la Formación Maíz Gordo, Terciario Inferior de la Cuenca de Salta. Actas del IX Congreso Geológico Argentino, San Carlos de Bariloche, 4:523538.Google Scholar