First green lacewing species of the tribe Chrysopini (Insecta: Neuroptera: Chrysopidae: Chrysopinae) from the Eocene Baltic amber and Miocene Mexican amber

Abstract

The family Chrysopidae (green lacewings) is a highly diverse group of Neuroptera, with rich fossil records. The Cenozoic fossils of green lacewings currently comprise 21 genera and 42 species. Here we describe two new green lacewing species of the tribe Chrysopini, tentatively placed in the genus Chrysopa Leach, 1815, namely Chrysopa? extensa sp. nov. and Chrysopa? prominenta sp. nov. from Eocene Baltic amber and Miocene Mexican amber, respectively. These species represent the second chrysopid occurrence and the first record of the tribe Chrysopini from Baltic amber, and the first occurrence of Chrysopidae from Mexican amber, respectively. Both new species are assigned to Chrysopini based on the following characters: the intramedian cell eutriangular without crossvein, and the basal-most RP branch origins distal to the intramedian cell in the forewing.