Paradoxosisyrinae indet.

Taxonomy

Spongefly

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda Latreille 1829
Class: Insecta Linnaeus, 1758
Order: Neuroptera Linnaeus, 1758
Family: Sisyridae Banks, 1905
Genus: indet.
Species: indet.

Geological Time Scale

Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Mesozoic
Period: Cretaceous
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Middle
International Age: Albian (early)

Stratigraphy

unknown Formation

Provenance

Acquired by: Purchase/Trade

Dimensions

Length: 4 mm

Location

Hkamti mine
Hkamti (District)
Sagaing (Region)
Burma

• amber
• burma
• cretaceous
• hkamti
• myanmar
• paradoxosisyra
• tff-oilshale-ar2708

Comments

Taxonomy from Makarkin 2016.
From Makarkin 2016, p, 127:
"Derivation of name. From the Greek paradoxos [παράδοξος], paradoxical, strange, and Sisyra, a genus-group name of the family, referring to its mouthparts, which are unlike those of other sisyrids. Gender feminine.
Diagnosis. May be easily distinguished from all other known genera of Sisyridae by a combination of the following character states: enormously long siphonate mouthparts likely lacking mandibles [mandibulate mouthparts in other sisyrids]; several setiferous calluses on head, pronotum present [absent in other sisyrids]; very long, slender hind legs (hind tibia and tarsus together more than 2/ 3 of forewing length) [hind tibia and tarsus together ca. 1/2 of forewing length or shorter in other sisyrids]; deeply forked CuP, AA1 in forewing [these shallowly forked or simple in other sisyrids]; complete inner gradate series of crossveins in hind wing [incomplete in other sisyrids]; RP with five branches in hind wing [two-three branches in other sisyrids]."

Quote from a private message from Dr. V. Makarkin (October 2022): 'Dear Thomas, This specimen belongs certainly to Paradoxosisyrinae and is very similar to Paradoxosisyra groehni. But in Burmese amber, there are rather numerous other species of this subfamily, partly described in the attached paper. So, it may be identified today as 'Paradoxosisyrinae similar to Paradoxosisyra groehni'
Identified by Dr. V. Makarkin, Paleontological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
References:
Makarkin, V.N. (2016). "Enormously long, siphonate mouthparts of a new, oldest known spongillafly (Neuroptera, Sisyridae) from Burmese amber imply nectarivory or hematophagy". Cretaceous Research. 65: 126–137. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.04.007
Khramov, A. V., Yan, E. and Kopylov, D. (2019). Nature's failed experiment: Long-proboscid Neuroptera (Sisyridae: Paradoxosisyrinae) from Upper Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. Cretaceous Research 104, 104180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2019.07.010