Panorpodes brevicauda (Hagen, 1856)

Soszyńska-Maj, Agnieszka & Krzemiński, Wiesław, 2013, Family Panorpodidae (Insecta, Mecoptera) from Baltic amber (upper Eocene): new species, redescription and palaeogeographic remarks of relict scorpionflies, Zootaxa 3636 (3), pp. 489-499 : 491

Panorpodes brevicauda (Hagen, 1856)

( Figs. 2–6 )

Panorpodes brevicauda Hagen 1856: 91 , pl. 8, Fig. 21; Carpenter 1954: 32–33, Figs 1 A–C.

Material examined. Male, No. 1927 (MP ISEA), male, No. 3143 (MP ISEA); female, No. 593 (MP ISEA), female, No. 1926 (MP ISEA), female, No. 2299; sex unknown, NO. 2136 (MP ISEA); Male, No. 192 (private collection), sex unknown (private collection).

Diagnosis. Wings completely transparent in contrast to pigmented wings of other species of Panorpodes from Baltic amber.

Redescription. Male: head ( Fig. 2 ) with oval eyes separated by width of rostrum; antennae long, filiform, scape wide and tubular, pedicel small and rounded, flagellomeres elongated; rostrum of moderate length, typical for Panorpodidae ; maxillary palps five-segmented, two segments of labial palps visible.

Wings of equal length; forewings ( Fig. 3 ) 13–14 mm long, broad with round apex, membrane transparent, pterostigmal spot dark, two crossveins c-sc; Sc1 joining costa before middle of the wing; Sc2 long, extending to pterostigmal spot; two crossveins between Sc and R1; R1 characteristic sharply curved and angled before pterostigmal spot, between two forks of R2 and R2+3; R2 two-branched; R3 simple; R4+5 shorter than the length of R2+3 (in different specimens R2+3 2.4?2.8 times length of R4+5); four medial veins, M1+2 5.3?6 times longer than the length of M3+4; A1 joining posterior margin of wing beyond the fork of vein Rs; two crossveins between A1 and A2. Hind wing venation ( Fig. 4 ) similar to forewings, except Sc short, joining the margin at the same level as Cu2 joining posterior margin of the wing, and Cu2 merged with A1.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 5 ) with elliptic genital bulb; hypovalves of sternum IX visible only in lateral view, convex ventrally (posteriorly), parallel and narrow, covered with setae on tip; dististyles (= gonostyles) triangular and very sharp in lateral view, in ventral view narrow at base with short, wide inner basal lobe with blunt tip, covered dorsally with numerous short setae, apex of dististyles narrow and elongate with significant bump above the basal lobe; inner structures of male genitalia not visible.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 6 ) segments IX-XI visible, more anterior segments VII and VIII probably inserted in VI segment or invisible; tergum IX with small triangular sclerite; pleural membrane of segment IX almost entirely fused with subgenital plate, heart-shaped; segment X much thinner and shorter than IX, pointed with threesegmented cerci, two distal segments of cerci short and rounded, V-shaped in ventral or dorsal view; inner parts of female genitalia invisible.

Remarks. New illustrations of wings, abdomen and male genitalia as well as first drawings of the gonostylus and female genitalia of P. brevicauda are provided here ( Figs. 2–6 ). The mophological analysis of some specimens showed considerable variability of wing venation, especially in radial section. No cross veins of reverse Y-shape were observed in studied specimens as Carpenter (1954) had previously suggested.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Present and past distribution of family Panorpodidae.

FIGURE 6. Female abdomen of Panorpodes brevicauda: A, photograph; B, latero-ventral view.

FIGURES 2 – 5. Panorpodes brevicauda: 2. Head. 3. Forewing: A, dorsal and distal part; B, anal part. 4. Hind wing: A, dorsal and distal part; B, anal par. 5. Male: A, abdomen, dorsal view; B, right dististyle, posterior aspect.