Systematics Of The Superorder Neuropterida From The Cretaceous Amber Of Myanmar

The superorder Neuropterida is one of the ancient holometabolous insect groups,having significant phylogenetic position.The extant Neuropterida comprise approximately 6500 species.Both adults and larvae are predatory,having important applied value as natural enemies and resources insects.The evolutionary history of Neuropterida lasts over three hundred million years.During their long history of evolution,the Mesozoic Neuroptera is remarkably prosperous,abundant in number of family.However,at least half of the lacewing families have become extinct since the Tertiary.Currently,the palaeofauna and diversity,the early evolution and the phylogenetic relationships between the extinct and extant groups are still poorly known.The mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar is one of the unique deposits,yielding a great number of ambers with vividly preserved biotas.Among them,there are abundant lacewings in the Burmese amber,and many of them are still undescribed,which will provide significant insight for deeply understanding the biodiversity and early evolution of Neuropterida.The present dissertation comprehensively deals with the systematics of the superorder Neuropterida from the Cretaceous amber of Myanmar.A systematic revision of the all taxa of Neuropterida from the Burmese amber is presented.The phylogentic relationships of some representative groups of Neuropterida are reconstructed.Besides,the diversity of the Neuropterida from the Burmese amber are summerized and analyzed.The list of the amber Neuropterida as well as those from the Burmese amber is provided respectively.The principle results of present dissertation are outlined as follows:1.Based on the systematic revision,81 species in 22 families and 71 genera of 3 orders of Neuropterida are recorded from the Burmese amber.Forty-seven species in 15 families and 41 genera of Raphidioptera,Megaloptera,and Neuroptera are described in detail,and their detailed illustrations are also provided.Among them,8 newly recorded families from the Burmese amber,1 new subfamily,35 new genera and 45 new species are included(5 newly recorded families,1 new subfamily,21 species,and 21 genera have been formally published).The new species herein described take an account of 36%of the whole Neuropterida species recorded from the Burmese amber.2.The phylogenetic studies on some representative groups of Neuropterida were performed to clarify the phylogenetic status of the long-proboscid Psychopsoidea and to further infer the systematic position of Araripeneurinae.The phylogenetic analysis based on the morphological data shows that the lacewing species from the Burmese amber with bipectinate male antennnae and long-proboscid mouthparts belong to the family Kalligrammatidae.The phylogenetic analysis of the representative group of Myrmeleontoidae based on the morphological data was reconstructed with the combination of the extinct and extant species,which clarified the phylogenetic position of the Burmese amber antlions and recovered the evolutionary trend of some important wing veins,such as the presectorial crossveins.3.Some Neuropterida groups with specialised morphological characters were studied in detail.The long-proboscid lacewings from the Burmese amber were recorded for the first time and the details on the morphology of long-proboscid mouthparts were clarified,revealing that the galea and ligula as main prolonged mouthpart elements can gather together and function as a temporary siphon for feeding on nectar or pollen.The measurment shows that the proboscides are attributed to the most diminutive ones among the contemporary long-proboscid insect pollinators.In the study of the Burmese amber Mantispidae,the forelegs of the Burmese amber mantid flies were found to display more diversified morphological modifications compared with their extant counterparts.The aforementioned results provide significant insight for understanding the diversification of the feeding habits of the Cretaceous lacewings.