Anthracoptilus perrieri ( Meunier, 1909 )

Guan, Zhaoying, Prokop, Jakub, Roques, Patrick, Lapeyrie, Jean & Nel, André, 2016, Revision of the enigmatic insect family Anthracoptilidae enlightens the evolution of Palaeozoic stem-dictyopterans, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61 (1), pp. 71-87 : 73-74

Anthracoptilus perrieri ( Meunier, 1909)

Fig. 1 .

Holotype: MNHN R51112, imprint of imago with head, prothorax, forewings and fragmentary legs.

Type locality: Commentry Basin, Allier department, France.

Type horizon: Stephanian, Carboniferous (= Gzhelian, Upper Pennsylvanian).

Material. — Type material only.

Description.—An imprint of the head with antenna and the prothorax, nearly complete right wing and base of left wing, and fore legs attached.

Head triangular in shape, 3.2 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, with large eyes on the sides, and apparently prognathous but non suctorial mouthparts, 1.5 mm long; long and thin antennae, not completely visible, with bases 1.0 mm apart; a distinct short neck, 1.0 mm long, 1.7 mm wide; pronotum trapezoidal, 3.0 mm long, 1.0 wide anteriorly and 3.3 mm wide posteriorly; fore femur 4.3 mm long, 1.5 mm wide; tibia 4.5 mm long, 1.0 mm wide, with three faint traces of spines along inner margin.

Forewing with basal part of posterior and anterior margins partly missing, wing 31.0 mm long, 9.9 mm wide; simple, straight, convex ScP closely parallel to radius, 0.9 mm apart, ending on RA 19.3 mm from wing base; area between ScP and costal margin with numerous crossveins and veinlets, 1.8 mm wide; radial stem straight, with RP separating from RA 13.7 mm from wing base; strongly convex RA, straight but without posterior branches apically; apex of RA 6.2 mm from wing apex; slightly concave RP with two main branches, each subdivided, resulting into 14 branches ending on wing margin; RP and median vein separated but strongly approximate with a short crossvein between them 15.4 mm from wing base; median vein more convex than RP but less than RA, divided into four main branches, the first branch meeting with the second at 10.5 mm from wing base, with all branches simple except two having a short fork near posterior wing margin; median vein separated from RP and CuA at wing base, but strongly approximating CuA with a brace between them; convex CuA anteriorly pectinate with five main branches all less convex than main stem of CuA, the first branch of CuA being divided into three secondary branches distally, second main branch forked near wing margin; CuA separating from CuP 2.3 mm from wing base; concave CuP simple, weakly curved with a rather narrow area between it and CuA, 1.1 mm wide; weak crossveins between CuP and CuA; area between CuP and posterior wing margin 3.9 mm wide; at least three visible anal veins, convex and weakly curved; posterior part of anal area certainly missing; a dense net of sigmoidal crossveins between branches of all main veins.

Stratigraphic and geographic range.—Stephanian, Carboniferous (= Gzhelian, Upper Pennsylvanian), France.

Figures

Fig. 1. Forewing of anthracoptilid insect Anthracoptilus perrieri (Meunier, 1909) from Stephanian of Commentry Basin, France, holotype R51112, photograph (A), line drawing (B).