Undulopsychopsis, Peng, Yuanyuan, Makarkin, Vladimir N., Wang, Xiaodong & Ren, Dong, 2011

Peng, Yuanyuan, Makarkin, Vladimir N., Wang, Xiaodong & Ren, Dong, 2011, A new fossil silky lacewing genus (Neuroptera, Psychopsidae) from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China, ZooKeys 130, pp. 217-228 : 218

Genus Undulopsychopsis gen. n.

Type species.

Undulopsychopsis alexi sp. n.

Diagnosis.

Forewings: costal gradate series absent; branches of Rs dichotomously branched; Rs1 multi-branched, pectinate with branches directed anteriorly; M forked far distal to origin of Rs; CuP dichotomously branched. Hind and outer margins of both wings undulate.

Etymology.

The generic name is derived from the Late Latinundula (meaning a small wave, refers to its undulate wing margins) and Psychopsis (the type genus of the family). The gender is feminine.

Remarks.

This new genus differs from all other psychopsids by possessing undulate outer and hind margins of both wings. The combination of the following forewing character states is also characteristic: no costal gradate series; branches of Rs dichotomously branched; the basal-most branch of Rs multi-branched, and M forked far distal to the origin of Rs. The new genus has scarce costal crossveins, which are not arranged in gradate series, in contrast to the genera Grammapsychops , Miopsychopsis Makarkin, 1991, Baisopsychops Makarkin, 1997, Cretapsychops Jepson et al., 2009 and Epipsychopsis Makarkin, 2010. Undulopsychopsis gen. n.possesses the dichotomously branched branches of Rs; this condition is also present in the following psychopsid genera: Triassopsychops , Angaropsychops Martynova, 1949, Psychopsites Jepson et al., 2009, Valdipsychops Jepson et al., 2009, Epipsychopsis , Pulchroptilonia , Putzneura Martins-Neto & Rodrigues, 2010, Kagapsychops , Grammapsychops , and Embaneura . Among these the new genus is most similar to those genera which have the multi-branched Rs1 and M forked far distal to the origin of Rs. This combination is present only in the genus Kagapsychops . The type species of this genus ( Kagapsychops aranea Fujiyama, 1978) is fragmentary and poorly preserved, but Kagapsychops continentalis Makarkin, 1994 is well-preserved (although incomplete). Undulopsychopsis gen. n.clearlydiffers from Kagapsychops by being a much smaller size (the forewing of the former is approximately twice shorter than that of the latter), and the absence of the gradate series of crossveins in the radial space. Other fossil psychopsids, for example Propsychopsis Krüger, 1923, Litopsychopsis Engel & Grimaldi, 2008 and Micropsychops Jepson et al., 2009 differ strongly from the new genus by having mostly unbranched veins of Rs before end-twigging and several long gradate series of crossveins in the radial space.