A New Family of Moths from the Middle Jurassic(Insecta:Lepidoptera)

Three lepidopteran species, from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds （inner Mongolia, China）, are described in a new family, Mesokristenseniidae, and new genus, Mesokristensenia, which could represent the sister group of the Micropterigidae. Mesokristensenia differs from all extant Lepidoptera, but one genus （Agathiphaga, Agathiphagidae）, in retaining four median veins in the forewing, a plesiomorphy also present in many Trichoptera. Evidence for placing Mesokristensenia in the Lepidoptera includes four traits, notably a previously unrecorded autapomorphy of this insect order： beyond stem Ml＋2, vein M1 is bent and connected to cross-vein r-m （in both wing pairs）. Among 24 characters taken into account to assess the systematic position of Mesokristensenia, 12 are considered informative for a cladistic analysis involving this fossil taxon and the four suborders recognized in present-day Lepidoptera （Zeugloptera, Aglossata, Heterobathmiina, and Glossata）.

Weiwoboidae fam.nov.of 'Higher' Fulgoroidea (Hemiptera:Fulgoromorpha) from the Eocene Deposits of Yunnan,China

A new family of so-called ‘higher’ planthoppers, Weiwoboidae fam. nov., from the Lower Eocene of Yunnan is described. A new monotypic genus, Weiwoboa gen. nov., with Weiwoboa meridiana sp. nov. is also described and illustrated. The characters of tegmen venation of the new family, its evolution, and supposed relationships are briefly discussed.

A New Species of Liadotaulius(Insecta:Trichoptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou,Inner Mongolia

Diverse caddis flies are recently collected from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou fauna in Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, northern China, and different types of caddis cases have been reported in the same locality. A new species of caddisfly, Liadotaulius daohugouensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated; the establishment is based on a well-preserved isolated forewing collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou. The family status of Liadotaulius is discussed on the basis of new material and is referred to the family Philopotamidae. The Daohugou fauna continues to provide new data for studying the early evolution of Trichoptera.

A New Genus and Species of Damsel-Dragonfly (Odonata:Isophlebioidea:Campterophlebiidae) in the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia,China

The campterophlebiid new genus and species Ctenogampsophlebia reni is described from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia,China.It shows close similarities with the Lower to Middle Jurassic genera Gampsophlebia,and Petrophlebia,with closed and short subdiscoidal cells,confirming the attribution of these two other genera to the Campterophlebiidae.

First Record of Fossil Mesocupes from China(Coleoptera:Archostemata:Cupedidae)

Three new fossil species of the genus Mesocupes of fossil cupedids, M. angustilabialis sp. nov., M. latilabialis sp. nov. and M. collaris sp. nov., are described from the Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia, China. These new species are the first three records of fossil Mesocupes in China as well as the oldest ones in the world now. This finding also extends the geographical distribution of this genus from Central to East Asia. In addition, based on the ratio of the length of the last to the penultimate abdominal ventrites of new beetles distinctly lower than that of the species from the Karabastau Formation, the age of Daohugou fossil-bearing beds might be older than that of Karatau assemblage and consequently of Middle Jurassic.

白垩纪中期缅甸琥珀中的水虻下目化石

水虻下目Stratiomyomorpha,是短角亚目中最基干的类群之一。它由三个现生科水虻科(Stratiomyidae)、木虻科(Xylomyidae)、大虻科(Pantophthalmidae)组成。其中水虻科多样性最高,已描述了3000余种。水虻类昆虫全球广布,其幼虫腐食性,成虫多访花。

Palaeodiversity of Agaricales:Evidence from Mushrooms and Mycophagous Beetles in Amber

Mushrooms,or Agaricomycetes,are common,conspicuous and morphologically diverse fungi.Most agaricomycete fruiting bodies are ephemeral,so they are extremely rare in fossils.Up to now,all described species of gilled mushrooms,or Agaricales,have been known exclusively from amber.Among them,two forms are from the Mesozoic,

New anomalocaridid frontal appendages from the Guanshan biota,eastern Yunnan

Anomalocaridids were large predators of the Cambrian seas at the top of the trophic pyramid.Complete anomalocaridid specimens have been rarely discovered and the rigid isolated frontal appendages and mouthparts are more commonly preserved.Here we study new material of the frontal appendages from the Wulongqing Formation,Cambrian Stage 4,Series 2 near Kunming,eastern Yunnan.Two new forms of anomalocaridid frontal appendages are described,namely Anomalocaris kunmingensis sp.nov.and Paranomalocaris multisegmentalis gen.nov.,sp.nov.The frontal appendage of A.kunmingensis sp.nov.probably comprises15 podomeres of which the first one has a weakened skeletoned,the second one is armed with small spines,and the third one is armed with remarkably robust proximal ventral spines with 6 anisomerous auxiliary spines;paired auxiliary spines are associated with podomeres 4–14;podomeres 12–14 are armed with paired dorsal spines,and the last podomere bears 2 distal spines,one spine distinctly larger than the other.The frontal appendage of P.multisegmentalis tapered backwards,consisting of 22 visible podomeres;the most ventral spine is armed with 5 pairs of auxiliary spines,and podomeres 12–21 bear dorsal spines,the last podomere with 2 small distal spines.The new material provides additional evidence for our understanding of the diversity of anomalocaridids in the Cambrian.The morphology of these new finds may indicate the importance of different feeding strategies of anomalocaridids in the Cambrian ecosystem.

Mesozoic giant fleas from northeastern China (Siphonaptera):Taxonomy and implications for palaeodiversity

The recently discovered definite giant fleas from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou fauna and the Early Cretaceous Jehol fauna of northeastern China represent significant evidence for understanding ectoparasitism in the Mesozoic as well as the evolution of these giant blood feeders with their putative hosts (i.e. hairy or feathered vertebrates). On the basis of seven well-preserved specimens from Daohugou and Huangbanjigou we analyse the systematic classification of these primitive fleas, establishing two new genera and three new species as Pseudopulex wangi sp. nov., Hadropsylla sinica gen. et sp. nov., and Tyrannopsylla beipiaoensis gen. et sp. nov. All of them are assigned to the extinct siphonapteran family Pseudopulicidae, while the Early Cretaceous genus Tarwinia is transferred to Tarwiniidae fam. nov. The basal morphological disparities of Siphonaptera in the Mesozoic are evidenced by the occurrence of at least three distinct groups (pseudopulicids, tarwiniids, and saurophthirids). These disparate morphologies likely indicate adaptations to different hosts.

Eocrinoids from the Cambrian Mantou Formation of Dalian,Liaoning

Cambrian echinoderms,especially eocrinoids,have been reported recently from Guizhou and Yunnan provinces of China,such as the Kaili,Balang,and Guanshan faunas.The present paper reports abundant well-preserved eocrinoids from the Cambrian Mantou Formation of Dalian,Liaoning Province.This new discovery provides additional data on the early evolution of Echinodermata.It also gives us a clue as to where to seek the Cambrian soft-bodied fauna on the margin of the North China Platform.

Two Jurassic salamanders with stomach contents from Inner Mongolia,China

Conchostracans and corixids are part of the diet of extant salamanders,an ecologically important fact in a lacustrine environment. Here we report their discovery in the guts of the aquatic Jurassic salamanders Jeholotriton paradoxus and Chunerpeton tianyiensis, formerly abundant at Daohugou,Ningcheng County,Inner Mongolia,China.This reveals something of the ecology of this im- portant,ancient,vertebrate and invertebrate assemblage.The new fossil evidence indicates the highly selective feeding of these Jurassic salamanders;Jeholotriton preyed only on juveniles of the conchostracan Euestheria luanpingensis,and Chunerpeton only on the corixid Yanliaocorixa chinensis.We can infer the dietary differences as a consequence of different jaw and hyoid structures; and thus niche partitioning in Jurassic salamanders.

Trace back the origin of recent insect orders——evidence from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota

The Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota has yielded very rich fossil plants, vertebrates, and inver tebrates. The particularly famous fossil insects are represented by at least 24 orders, revealing one of the most diverse Mesozoic insect communities. Among them, the occurrence of Emhioptera, Mantophasma- todea, and Siphonaptera increased respectively as supported by fossil evidence from Daohugou. Moreover, the early co-evolution of ectoparasites and their hosts may be analyzed by the presence of various giant fleas and the co-occurred potential hosts such as mammals, feather dinosaurs, and pterosaurs from Daohugou.