Phylloleon Lu, Wang & Liu 2019, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Lu, Xiumei
name: Hu, Jiahui
name: Wang, Bo
name: Zhang, Weiwei
name: Ohl, Michael
name: Liu, Xingyue
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Neuroptera
Myrmeleontidae
Phylloleon

description: Genus Phylloleon Lu, Wang & Liu gen. nov.
Type species. Phylloleon elegans Lu, Wang & Liu sp. nov.
Diagnosis. The new genus is characterized by the following combination of characters: (1) forewing leaf-like with acuminate apex (shared with Cratoneura, Cratoalloneura and Allopteroneura gen. nov.; forewing broad with rounded apical margin in other araripeneurine genera); (2) forewing costal space remarkably widened medially (shared with Allopteroneura gen. nov.; feebly and gradually widened in other araripeneurine genera); (3) short infra radial cell (shared with most araripeneurine genera except for Allopteroneura gen. nov., Araripeneura, Caririneura, Cratoneura and Cratoalloneura); (4) MA diverging from RP greatly distad basal radial cell and also distad wing midpoint, with 5–8 radial crossveins between basal radial cell and origin of MA from RP þ MA (not present in other araripeneurine genera); (5) initial branching point of forewing MP 2 þ CuA slightly distad diverging point of RP þ MA from R (shared with Burmaneura, Choromyrmeleon, and several araripeneurine genera, including Cratopteryx, and Paracaririneura; initial branching point of forewing MP 2 þ CuA not distad diverging point of RP þ MA from R in other araripeneurine genera); (6) 6–7 presectorial crossveins present in hind wing (shared with Caririneura; only one present in Burmaneura and Nanoleon gen. nov., but absent in other araripeneurine genera).
Etymology. From phyllos (Greek, meaning ‘leaf’) and leon (Greek, meaning ‘lion’, being as a frequent suffix of the genus-group name of Myrmeleontidae). An allusion to the leaf-like forewing. Gender neutral.
Remarks. Placement of the new genus in Araripeneurinae sensu lato of Myrmeleontidae is mainly based on the distally dilated antennae, the presence of elongate hypostigmal cell, and the absence of forewing presectorial crossveins. The new genus resembles the genera belonging to the tribe Cratoalloneurini based on the elongated leaf-like wings and the wide costal space. However, Phylloneura gen. nov. can be distinguished from the other genera of Cratoalloneurini by the short forewing infra radial cell, the absence of the longitudinally directed outer gradate series of crossveins, the diverging point of forewing MP 2 þ CuA distad origin of RP þ MA, and the presence of 6–7 presectorial crossveins in hind wing. Notably, the new genus and Paracaririneura from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil shares the short forewing infra radial cell that is widely apart from basal radial cell and the forewing MP 2 þ CuA with initial branching point relatively distad the origin of RP þ MA, and it shares the presence of 6–7 hind wing presectorial crossveins with Caririneura microcephala (also from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil). However, Phylloleon gen. nov. distinctly differs from the above taxa by the leaf-like forewings.
description: Published as part of Lu, Xiumei, Hu, Jiahui, Wang, Bo, Zhang, Weiwei, Ohl, Michael & Liu, Xingyue, 2019, New antlions (Insecta: Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar and their phylogenetic implications, pp. 1215-1232 in Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 17 (14) on page 1219, DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2018.1517132, http://zenodo.org/record/15148813