New damselflies (†Mesostictinae and Platycnemidinae) from Cretaceous Burmese amber

Abstract

Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are very diverse in extant ecosystems and contain more than 20 fossil species into eleven families in Burmese amber. Here we describe two fossil damselflies from the Cenomanian Burmese amber that we attributed to the families Platystictidae and Platycnemididae. The research focused on specimens housed at the Geominer Museum of the Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IGME, CSIC) in Madrid. The results of the study identified two new taxa, Mesosticta garciavallsi sp. nov. and an undetermined Platycnemididae species, or new morphotype, which have been studied based on their fore￾and hind wing venations, being the wings the only parts preserved. These new specimens represent the fifth species described of the extinct genus Mesosticta Huang, Azar, Cai & Nel, 2015 and the putative oldest fossil record of Platycnemidinae. Our findings increase the known diversity of damselflies during the mid-Cretaceous.