New palaeodictyopterid insects from the Pennsylvanian of Piesberg reveal spectacular disparity in the patterns of the wing venation (Megasecoptera, Palaeodictyoptera)

At the famous Moscovian locality of Piesberg quarry near Osnabruck (Lower Saxony, Germany) there is rich abundance of Palaeodictyopterida comprising not only adults but also larval stages and their exuviae. The representatives of three palaeodictyopterid orders, eight families and 13 species were previously identified from this locality. In this study, we describe a new megascopteran Piesbergptera niesseae gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Piesbergpteridae fam. nov.) with some venation traits shared with Foririidae and Ischnoptilidae, both of which are known from Commentry, and new palaeodictyopterans Osnabrugapteron rasnitsyni gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Archaemegaptilidae), Spilaptera peckae sp. nov. (Spilapteridae) and Saxonyptilus sowiaki gen. nov. et sp. nov. (Spilapteridae), the latter providing the first evidence of nygmata among spilapterids. Based on the evaluation of forewing venation, we propose the restoration of the genus Dictyoneurella as a member of the palaeodictyopteran family Archaemegaptilidae.

Automated summary

A rich abundance of Palaeodictyopterida fossils, including adults, larval stages, and exuviae, were discovered at the Piesberg quarry in Germany. Several new species were described, and the restoration of a genus was proposed based on wing venation evaluation.