A New Mesopsychid (Mecoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Northeastern China

The family Mesopsychidae Tillyard, 1917 presently consists of ten described genera from the Early Permian to the Early Cretaceous of Australia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. Herein, a new genus and a new species of fossil mesopsyehid, Epicharmesopsyche pentavenulosa gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China, supplementing the family-level diversity. The well-preserved, new material reveals many characters, including antennae, wing venation, shape and genitalia that increase our morphological understanding of the family, although unfortunately the mouthparts and most of the legs are not preserved. Diagnosis of the Mesopsychidae is emended to include a four- or five-branched MP in both the fore- and hind wings. This is the first documentation of a wing coupling structure in the Mesopsychidae, consisting of three to four frenula bristles on the humeral lobe at the base of the costal margin of both hind wings. Asymmetrical shape and size of the left and right wings on a specimen of E. pentavenulosa gen. et sp. nov., seems to be a common condition for mesopsychid taxa from northeastern China.

The natural history of oviposition on a ginkgophyte fruit from the Middle Jurassic of northeastern China

A distinctive pattern of oviposition lesions occurs on a ginkgoalean seed, Yimaia capituliformis,which likely was inflicted by a kalligrammatid lacewing with a long,sword-like,plant-piercing ovipositor.This newly recorded oviposition type,DT272, occurs in the 165 million-year-old Jiulongshan Formation,of Middle Jurassic age,in Northeastern China.DT272 consists from three to seven,approximately equally spaced lesions with surrounding callus tissue,the fabricator of which targeted fleshy outer and inner tissues ofa ginkgophyte fruit.This distinctive damage also is known from the fleshy attachment pad surfaces of basal bennettitalean bracts.Examination of the life history of this probable ginkgoalean-kalligrammatid oviposition interaction indicates that the spacing of the eggs in substrate tissues disfavored inter-larval contact,but little cart be said of defense and counterdefense strategies between the plant host and the newly hatched imrnatures.

Insect herbivory immediately before the eclipse of the gymnosperms:The Dawangzhangzi plant assemblage of Northeastern China

The Early Cretaceous terrestrial revolution involved global shifts from gymnosperm-to angiosperm-dominated floras.However,responses of insect herbivores to these changes remain unexamined.We evaluated 2176 highly sampled plant specimens representing 62 species/morphotypes from the 126 Ma Dawangzhangzi plant assemblage of Northeastern China.Our study consisted of horsetails,ferns,ginkgoaleans,czekanowskialeans,conifers,and an angiosperm.Their herbivory was evaluated by the functional feeding groups of hole feeding,margin feeding,and surface feeding(ectophytic feeders);piercer and suckers,and ovipositing insects(ectoendophytic feeders);mining,galling,and borings(endophytic feeders);and pathogens,collectively constituting 65 damage types(DTs).The plant assemblage was assessed for herbivory richness by DT richness,component community structure,and DT specialization on plant hosts;for herbivory intensity,it was evaluated for DT frequency,herbivorized surface area,and feeding event occurrences.Using feeding event occurrences,the data supported seven species/morphotypes as most intensely herbivorized:Liaoningocladus boii(76.6%),Czekanowskia sp.1(8.4%),Czekanowskia rigida(4.10%),Lindleycladus lanceolatus(3.5%),Ginkgoites sp.2(2.0%),Podozamites sp.1(1.1%),and Solenites sp.1(0.9%).The most herbivorized taxa were pinaleans(conifers),then czekanowskialeans,and lastly ginkgoaleans;the monodominant component community was the conifer Liaoningocladus boii.DT host specialization levels were low.The plant assemblage had an overall low 0.86%of foliage removed by herbivores,explained by physical and chemical antiherbivore defenses,and parasitoid attack.Although Paleozoic,gymnosperm-dominated assemblages had greater herbivory,component community structure of the three most herbivorized taxa are more similar to modern bracken fern and willow than modern gymnosperm taxa.