Jörg Ansorge

Two new Lower Cretaceous hymenopterous insects (Insecta: Hymenoptera) from Sierra del Montsec , Spain

KurzfassungAus den unterkretazischen Plattenkalken (Unter-Barrême) der Sierra del Montsec (Provinz Lérida, NE-Spanien) werden vier neue Hymenopteren-Arten beschrieben:Prosyntexis montsecensis n. sp. (Sepulcidae),Manlaya lacabrua n. sp. (Gasteruptiidae),Meiagaster cretaceus n. gen., n. sp. (Bethylonymidae),Angarosphex lithographicus n. sp. (Sphecidae). Die Funde aus Spanien repräsentieren eine weitere umfangreiche unterkretazische Hymenopterenfauna, sie erweitern die Kenntnis der geographischen Verbreitung dieser Ordnung beträchtlich und lassen sich gut mit einem trockenen Klima mit saisonalen Regenfällen in Einklang bringen.AbstractFour new species of Hymenoptera are described from the Early Cretaceous (Lower Barremian) lithographic limestones of the Sierra del Montsec (Lérida Province, NE Spain):Prosyntexis montsecensis n. sp. (Sepulcidae),Manlaya lacabrua n. sp. (Gasteruptiidae),Meiagaster cretaceus n. gen., n. sp. (Bethylonymidae),Angarosphex lithographicus n. sp. (Sphecidae). The Spanish assemblage extends our knowledge of the distribution of the Lower Cretaceous hymenopteran fauna and will throw light on its character in a probably dry environment with seasonal rainfall.

The Liassic ichthyosaurStenopterygius cf.quadriscissus from the lower Toarcian of Dobbertin (northeastern Germany) and some considerations on lower Toarcian marine reptile palaeobiogeography

An incomplete skull of the lower Toarcian ichthyosaurStenopterygius cf.quadriscissus is described from the lower Toarcian of Dobbertin (Mecklenburg, northeastern Germany). It represents both the northeasternmost occurrence of this ichthyosaur genus and the first diagnostic specimen from East Germany. It therefore extends the palaeobiogeographic range ofStenopterygius considerably and demonstrates that this ichthyosaur also inhabited the Germanic Basin east of the Rhenish Massif by Early Jurassic times. A palaeobiogeographical pattern is evident within the genusStenopterygius, with the ubiquitous speciesS. longifrons andS. hauffianus on one hand, andS. megalorhinus andS. quadriscissus on the other hand, which appear not to have ranged northwest of the London-Brabant Massif. It is suggested that, whereas the Rhenish Massif was not an effective barrier for dispersal of ichthyosaurs in Western Europe during early Toarcian times, the London-Brabant Massif played a rather significant role, as is also shown by the fossil record of other marine reptile groups. A provincialism of early Toarcian marine reptiles is suggested for Western Europe, with a northwestern province which contains the British occurrences, an intermediate, Subgermanic province in France and the Benelux countries, and a southeastern province in the Germanic Basin. The British and Germanic provinces are each characterized by a typical assemblage of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and marine crocodiles, wheres the intermediate Subgermanic region shows an intermingling of faunal elements.KurzfassungEin unvollständiger Schädel des untertoarcischen IchthyosauriersStenopterygius cf.quadriscissus wird von Dobbertin (Mecklenburg, Nordostdeutschland) beschrieben. Es handelt sich um das bisher nordöstlichste Vorkommen der Gattung und das erste diagnostische Exemplar aus Ostdeutschland. Es erweitert die paläobiogeographische Verbreitung vonStenopterygius beachtlich und zeigt, dass diese Ichthyosauriergattung im Unterjura das Germanische Becken auch östlich des Rheinischen Massivs bewohnte. Die paläobiogeographische Verbreitung vonStenopterygius lässt ein deutliches Muster erkennen, mit den weitverbreiteten ArtenS. longifrons undS. hauffianus einerseits undS. megalorhinus undS. quadriscissus andererseits, die anscheinend nordwestlich des London-Brabanter Massivs nicht vorkamen. Es deutet sich an, dass während das Rheinische Massiv für diese Tiere keine effektive paläobiogeographische Barriere darstellte, das London-Brabanter Massiv die Verbreitung der untertoarcischen Ichthyosaurier stark beeinflusste. Dies bestätigen auch Befunde bei anderen Meeresreptilien. Es ist daher ein Provinzialismus bei den untertoarcischen Meeressauriern Westeuropas festzustellen. Klar können eine nordwestliche, britische Provinz (England), eine intermediäre „subgermanische“ Provinz, die Frankreich und den Benelux umfasst, und eine südöstliche Provinz im Germanischen Becken unterschieden werden. Die britischen und germanischen Provinzen weisen jeweils charakteristische exklusive Arten von Ichthyosauriern, Plesiosauriern und Meereskrokodilen auf, während die intermediäre Provinz eine stärkere Durchmischung zeigt.

Curious snipe-flies (Diptera: Rhagionidae) from the Purbeck of Dorset, the Wealden of the Weald and the Lower Cretaceous of Spain and Transbaikalia

Four new Lower Cretaceous species of the rhagionid genus Ptiolinites are described: Ptiolinites heidiae sp. nov. and P. raypearcei sp. nov. from southern England, P almuthae sp. nov. from Spain and P. oudatchinae sp. nov. from northern Transbaikalia. Re-evaluation of the antennal structure allows us to assign Ptiolinites to the subfamily Rhagioninae.

Ancestry of the orussoid wasps, with description of three new genera and species of Karatavitidae (Hymenoptera = Vespida : Karatavitoidea stat. nov.)

Praeratavites daohugou Rasnitsyn, Ansorge & Zhang, gen. et sp. n., Grimmaratavites mirabilis Rasnitsyn, Ansorge & Zhang, gen. et sp. n., and Praeparyssites orientalis Rasnitsyn, Ansorge & Zhang, sp. n. are described from the Lower Jurassic (Lower Toarcian) of Grimmen, NE Germany (G. mirabilis) and Middle Jurassic of Daohugou. Karatavitidae Rasnitsyn, 1963, is transferred from Ephialtitoidea into now paraphyletic infraorder Orussomorpha, and elevated to superfamily Karatavitoidea. The described genera, jointly with those earlier described in Karatavitidae and Paroryssidae, are found to form a smooth succession that model evolutionary transition from the basalmost Vespina toward the extant Orussidae.

Revision ofMesorhyphus Handlirsch,Eoplecia Handlirsch andHeterorhyphus Bode (Diptera: Anisopodomorpha, Bibionomorpha) from the upper liassic of Germany

KurzfassungDie Holotypen vonMesorhyphus nanus Handlirsch 1920,M. areolatus Handlirsch 1939,M. anomalus Handlirsch 1939,Eoplecia primitiva Handlirsch 1920,Heterorhyphus latus Bode 1953,H. analivarius Bode 1953 undProtorhyphus (?)ovisimilis Bode 1953 wurden nachuntersucht. Dabei stellte sich heraus, daß der Holotyp vonE. primitiva der Gegendruck vom Holotypus vonM. areolatus ist.M. areolatus ist ein jüngeres Synonym vonM. nanus. Mesorrhyphoid.es Rohdendorf 1962 ist ein jüngeres Synonym vonHeterorhyphus Bode 1953. Der Typus vonH. analivarius ist der Gegendruck vom Holotypus vonP. (?)ovisimilis und somit objektives Synonym dieser Art. Die GattungHeterorhyphus mit einer Art,H. anomalus (Handlirsch 1939) n. comb., ist valid.H. latus ist ein Synonym vonH. anomalus. Das Flügelgeäder vonHeterorhyphus unterscheidet sich deutlich von dem aller bekannten fossilen und rezenten Anisopodomorpha, so daß eine neue Familie Heterorhyphidae eingeführt wird, die den Bibionomorpha angehört.AbstractThe holotypes of the Lower Jurassic DipteraMesorhyphus nanus Handlirsch 1920,M. areolatus Handlirsch 1939,M. anomalus Handlirsch 1939,Eoplecia primitiva Handlirsch 1920,Heterorhyphus latus Bode 1953,H. analivarius Bode 1953 andProtorhyphus (?)ovisimilis Bode 1953 were re-examined. The holotype ofEoplecia primitiva is the counterpart ofMesorhyphus areolatus. M. areolatus is a junior synonym ofM. nanus. Mesorrhyphoides Rohdendorf 1962 is a synonym ofHeterorhyphus Bode 1953.Heterorhyphus analivarius is a synonym ofProtorhyphus (?)ovisimilis, being mistakenly described from the counterpart of the holotype of the latter. The genusHeterorhyphus is valid and comprises onlyH. anomalus (Handlirsch 1939) n. comb.;H. latus is a synonym of the latter species. As the wing venation ofHeterorhyphus is conspicuously different from all fossil and Recent Anisopodomorpha, it is placed into a new family, Heterorhyphidae, within the Bibionomorpha.

First record of the genus Ipsvicia (Hemiptera: Ipsviciidae) outside Gondwana - an Australian genus from the Upper Triassic of Germany

First record of the genus Ipsvicia (Hemiptera: Ipsviciidae) outside Gondwana - an Australian genus from the Upper Triassic of Germany Ipsvicia langenbergensis sp. n. (Hemiptera: Ipsviciidae) from the Upper Norian (Upper Triassic) deposits of the Langenberg near Seinstedt, Lower Saxony (Germany) is described and illustrated. This is the first definite record of the genus Ipsvicia Tillyard, 1919 outside Gondwana. The stratigraphy and palaeoenvironment of the Langenberg and the nearby Fuchsberg localities are briefly discussed.

Early Jurassic diversification of pycnodontiform fishes (Actinopterygii, Neopterygii) after the end-Triassic extinction event: evidence from a new genus and species, Grimmenodon aureum

ABSTRACT A new genus and species of pycnodontiform fishes, Grimmenodon aureum, from marginal marine, marinebrackish lower Toarcian (Harpoceras exaratum ammonite subzone) clay deposits of Grimmen in northeastern Germany is described. The single specimen represents a diagnostic left prearticular dentition characterized by unique tooth arrangement and ornamentation patterns. Grimmenodon aureum, gen. et sp. nov., is the second unambiguously identified pycnodontiform species from the Early Jurassic, in addition to Eomesodon liassicus from the early Lower Jurassic of western Europe. We also report an indeterminate pycnodontiform tooth crown from the upper Pliensbachian (Pleuroceras apyrenum ammonite subzone) of the same site. The material expands the Early Jurassic range of pycnodontiforms significantly northwards and confirms their presence before and immediately following the onset of the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) in the marginal marine ecosystems south of the Fennoscandian Shield. Moreover, the new records indicate that the Early Jurassic diversity of pycnodontiform fishes was greater than previously assumed and probably equaled that of the Late Triassic. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction event did not affect pycnodontiform fishes significantly. Micro-computed tomography was used to study the internal anatomy of the prearticular of Grimmenodon aureum, gen. et sp. nov. Our results show that no replacement teeth were formed within the tooth-bearing bone but rather were added posteriorly to functional teeth.

Fossil scales illuminate the early evolution of lepidopterans and structural colors

Mesozoic lepidopteran wing scales shed light on the early evolution of moths and structural colors. Lepidopteran scales exhibit remarkably complex ultrastructures, many of which produce structural colors that are the basis for diverse communication strategies. Little is known, however, about the early evolution of lepidopteran scales and their photonic structures. We report scale architectures from Jurassic Lepidoptera from the United Kingdom, Germany, Kazakhstan, and China and from Tarachoptera (a stem group of Amphiesmenoptera) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The Jurassic lepidopterans exhibit a type 1 bilayer scale vestiture: an upper layer of large fused cover scales and a lower layer of small fused ground scales. This scale arrangement, plus preserved herringbone ornamentation on the cover scale surface, is almost identical to those of some extant Micropterigidae. Critically, the fossil scale ultrastructures have periodicities measuring from 140 to 2000 nm and are therefore capable of scattering visible light, providing the earliest evidence of structural colors in the insect fossil record. Optical modeling confirms that diffraction-related scattering mechanisms dominate the photonic properties of the fossil cover scales, which would have displayed broadband metallic hues as in numerous extant Micropterigidae. The fossil tarachopteran scales exhibit a unique suite of characteristics, including small size, elongate-spatulate shape, ridged ornamentation, and irregular arrangement, providing novel insight into the early evolution of lepidopteran scales. Combined, our results provide the earliest evidence for structural coloration in fossil lepidopterans and support the hypothesis that fused wing scales and the type 1 bilayer covering are groundplan features of the group. Wing scales likely had deep origins in earlier amphiesmenopteran lineages before the appearance of the Lepidoptera.

Revision of the genus Mesotipula Handlirsch, 1920 (Diptera, Limoniidae, Architipulinae) from the Lower Jurassic of Northeast Germany

ABSTRACT We revise the genus Mesotipula Handlirsch, 1920 (Diptera, Limoniidae) described from the Lower Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) of Northeast Germany. Mesotipula was originally separated from other Architipulinae on the base of a bifurcated vein M3, which appeared artificial after the restudy of its holotype. Holotypes of all Limoniidae described by Handlirsch and Krzeminski and Zessin from the Lower Toarcian deposits of Northeast Germany (Dobbertin and Grimmen) are revised to provide an updated diagnosis of Mesotipula and to distinguish it from other genera. As a result, the following species described by Handlirsch within the genus Architipula are transferred to the genus Mesotipula: A. geinitzi Handlirsch syn. nov., A. minuta Handlirsch comb. nov. and A. parva Handlirsch syn. nov. In addition Eotipula lapidaria Handlirsch is also transferred to Mesotipula. Now we regard six species of Mesotipula as being valid in the Lower Toarcian of Northeast Germany.