''Paleolepidopterites '' is a collective genus of fossil

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s which can not be placed in any defined family. The included species were formerly placed in the leaf-roller family

Tortricidae The Tortricidae are a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths or leafroller moths, in the order Lepidoptera. This large family has over 11,000 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea, although the genu ...

and are known from fossils found in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(specifically

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

). The collective genus contains three species: ''Paleolepidopterites destructus'', ''Paleolepidopterites florissantanus'', and ''Paleolepidopterites sadilenkoi'', formerly placed within the genera '' Tortrix'' and '' Tortricites'' respectively. The three species were formally redescribed and moved to the new collective genus by Heikkilä ''et al.'' (2018).

Distribution

Paleolepidopterites_florissantanus_Cockerell_1907_UCNH-HT-no-8579

Two of the species were recovered from the

late Eocene The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...

Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage (stratigraphy), stage or age (geology), age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it ...

and Priabonian stages,

Florissant Formation The Florissant Formation is a sedimentary geologic formation outcropping around Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. The formation is noted for the abundant and exceptionally preserved insect and plant fossils that are found in the mudstones an ...

lake deposits near the small community of Florissant in

Teller County, Colorado Teller County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,710. The county seat is Cripple Creek, and the most populous city is Woodland Park. Teller County is included in the Colorado Spr ...

, United States. The holotype of ''P. destructus'' was recovered from fossiliferous outcrops on the ranch of George W. Wilson, while the ''P. florissantanus'' holotype came from outcrops at Station 14.

Species

''P. destructus''

''P. destructus'' is known only from one fossil, the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

, specimen "USNM 61998", which was first described as ''Tortrix? destructus''. It is a single, mostly complete

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

of undetermined sex, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of Clay mineral, clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g., Kaolinite, kaolin, aluminium, Al2Silicon, Si2Oxygen, O5(hydroxide, OH)4) and tiny f ...

. The type specimen is currently preserved in the paleoentomological collections housed in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

, part of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, located in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, United States. ''P. destructus'' was first studied by Dr Theodore D. A. Cockerell of the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, with his 1917 type description being published in the ''Proceedings of the United States National Museum''. Cockerell did not provide an

explanation An explanation is a set of statements usually constructed to describe a set of facts that clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts. It may establish rules or laws, and clarifies the existing rules or laws in relation ...

for the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''destructus''.

''P. florissantanus''

''P. florissantanus'' is also known only from the

, number "NHM-I.8429" for part side and "UCM 8579" for the counterpart side. It's a single, mostly complete

female, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained

. One side of the type specimen is currently preserved in the paleoentomological collections housed in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

located in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, while the other side is in the collections of the

. ''P. florissantanus'' was first studied by Dr Theodore D. A. Cockerell of the University of Colorado, with his 1907 type description being published in the journal ''

Canadian Entomologist ''The Canadian Entomologist'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of entomology. It is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of Canada and was established in 1868. Volumes ...

''. Cockerell did not provide an

for the

''florissantana''. ''P. florissantanus'' is about long with a robust thorax. The abdomen is covered by the wings which are preserved in resting position. The antenna are preserved showing minute dark spots at intervals along their length. The fore wings overall length is not specified, however the outer margin is and the lower margin is . The hind-wings are in length. Most of the fore and hind wing scales are missing eliminating most of the color patterning. The fore wings were possibly striped along the veins with a notable darkening along the apex of the hind wings. The gently curving wing margin, lacking a projection, and the arched costa indicate a member of the family

, rather than the similar family

Pyralidae The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyr ...

''P. sadilenkoi''

The holotype of ''P. sadilenkoi'', Sadilenko 4, was discovered in a chunk of

Baltic amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

found in the

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...

that dated back to the

Priabonian The Priabonian is, in the ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age or the upper stage of the Eocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between . The Priabonian is preceded by the Bartonian and is followed by the Rupelian, the lowest stage ...

age.M. V. Kozlov. 1988. Paleontologiya cheshukerylykh i voprosy filogenii otrayada Papilionida. ''Melovoy Biotsenoticheskiy Krizis i Evolyutsiya Nasekomykh'' 16-69

Description

''Paleolepidopterites'' is about long with a robust thorax and an abdomen which tapers towards the tip. The slender antenna are long, with tips that curl to form almost a circle, and are reddish in coloration. Where visible the legs are either hairy or scaly. The forewings are in length with a outer margin and a lower margin. The hindwing length is not specified, the color patterning is described, with the hindwings longitudinally striped and a broad but diffuse submarginal band. ''P. destructus'' is noted to be much smaller than the other ''Paleolepidopterites'' species from Florissant, ''P. florissantana''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7827338 Fossil Lepidoptera Eocene insects Fossil taxa described in 2018 Prehistoric insects of North America Florissant Formation Baltic amber