First caddisfly-like insect from the Pennsylvanian of Piesberg (Mecopterida: stem group Amphiesmenoptera)

Endopterygote insects are very scarcely found in the Carboniferous strata while their occurrence during the Permian becomes more common. Here, we present the earliest evidence of the stem group Amphiesmenoptera (Glade Mecopterida) from the Pennsylvanian (Moscovian) of the Piesberg quarry near Osnabruck (Lower Saxony, Germany), which shares a number of venation traits with representatives of the Permian family Microptysmatidae. Microcarbonella paradoxa gen. nov. et sp. nov. is based on the wing venation diagnosed by the characteristic branching pattern of radial veins and particularly looping anal area in form of two anal cells. This tiny insect species with wing length reaching over 6 mm demonstrates that early caddisfly-like endopterygotes co-existed in coal swamp ecosystems along with far more abundant hemimetabolous insects.

Automated summary

The article presents the earliest evidence of the stem group Amphiesmenoptera from the Pennsylvanian strata in Germany, suggesting the coexistence of early caddisfly-like endopterygotes with other insect species in coal swamp ecosystems.