New Insects from the Middle Jurassic Reveal Early Diversification of Membranous Veins of Pentatomomorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

Abstract

Two new species in two new genera of the Family Pachymeridiidae are described: Daohugoucoris punctatus gen. et sp. nov. and Subtilicoris actuarius gen. et sp. nov., both from the Middle Jurassic strata of the Jiulongshan Formation in Daohugou, Ningcheng, Inner Mongolia, China. Until now, eight genera and species of the Pachymeridiidae from the late Mesozoic strata in northeastern China have been reported and this study provides a genus-level identification key for them. The two newly-discovered genera exhibit significant differences in their membranous wing venations. Based on this, we summarize all known types of wing venations in Pachymeridiidae and find that the wing venation exhibits multiple distinct phenotypes within the family, rendering it an unstable characteristic. Thus, even in the late Mesozoic, it was not a reliable taxonomic trait for higher taxa within the fossil Pentatomomorpha. This research enriches the species diversity of Pachymeridiidae and deepens our understanding of wing venation characteristics in fossil Pentatomomorpha.

Keywords

hemelytron / venation evolution / Pachymeridiidae / Jiulongshan Formation / Ningcheng

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2025 Geological Society of China