Eur. J. Entomol. 104 (2): 267-275, 2007 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2007.041

New significant fossil insects from the Upper Carboniferous of Ningxia in northern China (Palaeodictyoptera, Archaeorthoptera)

Jakub PROKOP1, Dong REN2
1 Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science, Department of Zoology, Viničná 7, CZ-128 44, Praha 2, Czech Republic; e-mail: jprokop@natur.cuni.cz
2 College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 Xisanhuanbeilu, Haidian District, Beijing 100037, P.R. China; e-mail: rendong@ mail.cnu.edu.cn

New palaeodictyopterid Namuroningxia elegans sp. n. (Namuroningxiidae fam. n.) and archaeorthopterid Sinopteron huangheense gen. n., sp. n. (uncertain family assignment) are described from the Tupo Formation (Upper Carboniferous, Namurian, northern China, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region). Both new taxa exhibit a unique structure of their wing venation pattern. The Namuroningxiidae fam. n. bears a mosaic of characters diagnostic of several "palaeopteran" families throughout Palaeodictyopteroida and Eupalaeoptera. This fact is highly interesting in reference to the Namurian age known for the occurrence of the first winged insects as well as the palaeogeographical position of the locality far from all sites in Laurussia. The preliminary study of entomofauna diversity exhibit frequent occurrence of archaeorthopterid wing fragments (e.g., Sinopteron huangheense) forming up to 40 percent of all insect specimens demonstrate high abundance of this group in the early Late Carboniferous ecosystems.

Keywords: Palaeodictyopteroida, Eugereonoidea, Breyerioidea, Archaeorthoptera, "Protorthoptera", fam. n., gen. n., sp. n., taxonomy, Late Paleozoic, Upper Carboniferous, Namurian, Ningxia, China

Received: May 19, 2006; Revised: February 7, 2007; Accepted: February 7, 2007; Published: April 25, 2007  Show citation

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PROKOP, J., & REN, D. (2007). New significant fossil insects from the Upper Carboniferous of Ningxia in northern China (Palaeodictyoptera, Archaeorthoptera). EJE, 104(2), 267-275. doi: 10.14411/eje.2007.041
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