Permelmoa magnifica, Prokop, Jakub & Nel, Andre, 2011

Prokop, Jakub & Nel, Andre, 2011, New Middle Permian palaeopteran insects from Lodeve Basin in southern France (Ephemeroptera, Diaphanopterodea, Megasecoptera), ZooKeys 130, pp. 41-55 : 45

Permelmoa magnifica sp. n. Figs 4 A–B

Material.

Holotype Ld LAP 365ab (Lapeyrie collection, imprint and counterimprint of a complete wing), stored at the Musée of Lodève, France.

Type strata and locality.

Middle Permian, Lodève Basin, Salagou Formation, Les Vignasses, Lodève, Hérault, France ( Garric 2000; Béthoux et al. 2002).

Description.

Complete wing without trace of coloration; wing 11.7 mm long and 3.3 mm wide; ScP simple and parallel to RA ending on costal margin close to wing apex (about 0.5 mm); stems R+M basally distinctly curved, with R and M separating about 1.8 mm from wing base; convex simple RA nearly straight, and ending in wing apex; RP separating from RA about 1/3 of wing length, RP with three long branches ending on posterior wing margin; simple convex MA shortly connected to RP by a crossvein; concave MP deeply forked 0.9 mm from division R and M; anterior branch of MP secondary bifurcated, posterior branch simple; simple convex CuA, basally close to R+M; no apparent ‘trichotomy’ R/M/CuA; simple concave CuP; anal area with three or four veins.

Discussion.

Permelmoa is clearly attributable to the Parelmoidae because of combination of the following characters: ScP terminating on C; RP ending with three long branches; MA not coalescent with RP, but shortly connected by crossvein; MP deeply forked. Permelmoa differs from Parelmoa and Pseudelmoa in the absence of trifurcation between R, M, and CuA near wing base, and in the presence of a longer ScP terminat ing to C close to wing apex. In Permuralia , ScP is rather short and terminating on RA, CuA is touching M, and MA and RP are fused for a short distance, unlike in Permelmoa .