Nedubrovia shcherbakovi Bashkuev

Bashkuev, Alexei S., 2011, Nedubroviidae, a new family of Mecoptera: the first Paleozoic long-proboscid scorpionflies, Zootaxa 2895, pp. 47-57 : 49-52

Nedubrovia shcherbakovi Bashkuev , sp. nov.

Figs. 2 B, C; 3; 4; 6B–E.

Etymology. In honor of Dr Dmitry Shcherbakov, who led the first paleoentomological works at Isady.

Holotype. PIN, no. 3840/1337, nearly complete insect (part only). Forewings and abdomen partially overlapping and strongly distorted. Head with proboscis lacking distal part. Sex unknown.

Paratypes. PIN, no. 3840/73±, 75, 86±, 348±, 710±, 711, 712, 713, 714±, 715±, 1024, 1338, 1339±, 1340±, 1341±, 1342, 1343, 1344, 1345, 1346±, 2021A,B, 2022±, 2066, 2067, 2377±, forewings; PIN, no. 3840/229±, 312±, 1347, 1348±, hindwings.

Locality and Horizon. Isady locality, Vologda Province, North European Russia; Kalikino Member of the Poldarsa Formation, Upper Severodvinian, Upper Permian.

Diagnosis. Differs from both congeners in having distinctly shorter MP stem; from N. mostovskii also in having forewing shorter and wider; from N. deformis in forewing SC longer and MP separated from CuA distally.

Description. Head subtriangular in dorsal view, with prognathous, siphonate mouthparts (fig. 3B). Proboscis length 0.35 mm as preserved. Eyes apparently small, widely separated. Antennae not preserved. Pronotum not discernible, meso- and metanotum of about the same size, details of pterothorax obscure. Setal arrangement on legs not certain, apparently not annulate (fig. 3C).

Wings: Forewing (based mainly on paratypes PIN, no. 3840/710 (fig. 2B), 73, 1338, 1340) tongue-shaped, with nearly straight anterior margin and rounded apex. Forewing length 3.0– 3.6 mm (holotype ~ 3.4 mm), width 1.2–1.4 mm. Pterostigma distinct, lanceolate. SC long, extending far deep into pterostigma, bending sharply backwards at anterior branch located at or somewhat before level of RS+MA base. Crossvein sc–r distal of RS+MA fork. CuA and MP fused for a distance much shorter than that from MP+CuA fork to cua–cup crossvein. Free base of CuA long, strongly oblique, distinctly curved. Crossveins mostly weak or more likely desclerotized; mp–cua at or somewhat distal of MP fork (at thyridium). Wing membrane darkened, with discolored spots at crossveins (except for cua–cup and crossveins in anal area), the largest at thyridium + thyridulum area.

Hindwing (based on holotype and paratypes PIN, no. 3840/229 (fig. 2C), 1347, 1348) broad, subtriangular, with oblique posterior apical margin. Sc short, terminating before midlength of the wing into R. Length 2.9–3 mm, width 1.16–1.27 mm.

Remarks. The length of forewings of N. shcherbakovi varies from 3.0 (paratype PIN, no 3840/1340) to 3.6 mm, with most of them within the range of 3.4–3.6 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Wings of Nedubrovia gen. nov. A, N. mostovskii (Novokshonov, Sukacheva et Aristov, 2004), comb. nov., holotype PIN, no. 4811 / 20, forewing. B – C, N. shcherbakovi sp. nov. B, paratype PIN, no. 3840 / 710, forewing. C, paratype PIN, no. 3840 / 229, hindwing. D, N. deformis sp. nov., holotype PIN, no. 5102 / 8, forewing. Scale bar 1 mm.