''Priscaenigma'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

snakefly Snakeflies are a group of predatory insects comprising the order Raphidioptera with two extant families: Raphidiidae and Inocelliidae, consisting of roughly 260 species. In the past, the group had a much wider distribution than it does now; sn ...

of the Priscaenigmatidae family which was described by Whalley in 1985.P. E. S. Whalley. 1985. The systematics and palaeogeography of the Lower Jurassic insects of Dorset, England. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Geology) 39(3):107-189. Retrieved 12 August 2012. The fossils were found on flatstones at Black Ven in

Charmouth Charmouth is a village and civil parish in west Dorset, England. The village is situated on the mouth of the River Char, around north-east of Lyme Regis. Dorset County Council estimated that in 2013 the population of the civil parish was 1,310 ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

at in a marine environment of the

Charmouth Mudstone Formation The Charmouth Mudstone Formation is a geological formation in England. It preserves fossils dating back to the early part of the Jurassic period (Sinemurian–Pliensbachian). It forms part of the lower Lias Group. It is most prominently exposed a ...

. The fossils were collected by

J. F. Jackson ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

between 1961 and 1963.F. E. Zeuner. 1962. Fossil insects from the Lower Lias of Charmouth, Dorset. Bulletin British Museum (Natural History) Geology 7:155-171. Retrieved 12 August 2012. Its sister taxa is '' Hondelagia''. The genus contains one species, the extinct ''Priscaenigma obtusa'', also described by Whalley in 1985. Its forewing is in length. Only a forewing was found when the species was discovered.

References

Prehistoric insects of Europe Jurassic insects Fossil taxa described in 1985 Raphidioptera {{Jurassic-insect-stub