''Iberoraphidia'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of snakefly in the family

Mesoraphidiidae Mesoraphidiidae is an extinct family (biology), family of snakeflies in the suborder Raphidiomorpha. The family lived from the Late Jurassic through the Late Cretaceous and is known from twenty-five genera. Mesoraphidiids have been found as both ...

. The genus is solely known from a

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

Lower Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded b ...

, fossil found in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Currently the genus is composed of a single species, ''Iberoraphidia dividua''.

History and classification

''Iberoraphidia dividua'' is known only from one fossil, the part and counterpart

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, specimen number GZG.RF.7563. which is housed in the Geo-Sciences center of the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The specimen is preserved as a compression fossil in

lithographic limestone Lithographic limestone is hard limestone that is sufficiently fine-grained, homogeneous and defect free to be used for lithography. Geologists use the term "lithographic texture" to refer to a grain size under 1/250 mm. The term "sublithog ...

, dating to the Lower Barremian age, which was recovered from outcrops of the

La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation The La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation is an Early Cretaceous ( late Berriasian to early Barremian geologic formation in Catalonia, Spain. The formation crops out in the area of the Montsec in the Organyà Basin. At the La Pedrera de Meià localit ...

formed by deposition of carbonate mud in a brackish or freshwater lagoon. The outcrop is located in the

Serra del Montsec The Montsec Range ( ca, Serra del Montsec ; es, Sierra del Montsec) is a mountain system of the Pre-Pyrenees. Description The Serra del Montsec consists of a series of calcareous mountain ranges running roughly from east to west. The range syst ...

region near the town of Santa Maria de Meia,

province of Lleida The Province of Lleida (; Aranese Occitan: Lhèida ; es, Lérida ) is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It lies in north-eastern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Catalonia, and is bordered by the Provinces of ...

. ''Iberoraphidia'' was first studied by the paleoentomologists James E. Jepson and Edmund A. Jarzembowski from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and Jörg Ansorge from Germany. Their 2011

type description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

of the new genus and species was published in the entomology journal ''

Palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

''. The genus name ''Iberoraphidia'' was coined by the researchers as a combination of the snakefly genus ''

Raphidia ''Raphidia'' is a genus of snakefly, mainly found in Europe. Species The following are included in ''BioLib.cz'': ;subgenus ''Aserbeidshanoraphidia'' Aspöck & Aspöck, 1968 * '' Raphidia nuchensis'' H. Aspöck et al., 1968 ;subgenus ''Nigroraph ...

'' and "Ibero" which is in reference to the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

where the type locality is. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''dividua'' is taken from the word "divided" and is a reference to the unique divided structure of the

pterostigma The pterostigma (plural: pterostigmata) is a group of specialized cells in the outer insect wing, wings of insects, which are often thickened or coloured, and thus stand out from other cells. It is particularly noticeable in dragonfly, dragonfli ...

Description

The holotype is composed of a single fully complete adult

forewing Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to fly. They are found on the second and third thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referred to as the forewings and hindwin ...

of in length with distinct macrotrichiae on both the C vein and parts of the R vein. The overall vein structure displayed by the specimen is most similar to that seen in the family Mesoraphidiidae, being distinctly simpler in structure then venation seen in the family Baissopteridae. Several features of the wing are used to distinguish ''Iberoraphidia'' from other Mesoraphidiidae genera. The wing possesses a fork of the MA and MP veins that is closer to the wing base then seen in most other genera, with only the genus ''

Ororaphidia ''Ororaphidia'' is an extinct genus of snakefly containing two species: the type species ''Ororaphidia megalocephala'' and ''Ororaphidia bifurcata''. History and classification Doctors Michael S. Engel and Dong Ren first studied and described ...

'' having a similar shift. ''Iberoraphidia'' can be further separated from both ''Ororaphidia'' and other Mesoraphidiids by the distinctly divided pterostigma. In total the pterostigma is over long, however the basal and apical sections are separated by a long middle cell.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5983957 Raphidioptera Cretaceous insects Fossil taxa described in 2011 † Natural history of Spain