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A new damselfly family from the Paleocene of the Sanshui Basin, South China (Odonata, Zygoptera)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2025

Diying Huang Open the ORCID record for Diying Huang [Opens in a new window] ,
Xinneng Lian Open the ORCID record for Xinneng Lian [Opens in a new window]  and
André Nel Open the ORCID record for André Nel [Opens in a new window]
Diying Huang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing. Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Xinneng Lian
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing. Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China Southwest United Graduate School, Kunming 650092, China
André Nel*
Affiliation:
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université des Antilles, CP50, 57 rue Cuvier, F-75005 Paris, France
*
Corresponding author: André Nel; Email: anel@mnhn.fr
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Abstract

The new damselfly family Shundeagrionidae is proposed for Shundeagrion cheni n. gen. n. sp. from the Paleocene of the Sanshui Basin, South China. This new family is unique in a combination of wing venation characters that are separately encountered in other extant and fossil groups. Together with the extinct groups Dysagrionidae, Sieblosiidae, Whetwhetaksidae, Menatlestidae, Latibasaliidae, Euarchistigmatinae, and Eodysagrioninae, the Shundeagrionidae n. fam. is the eighth major group of Paleogene damselflies with large wings, very long postnodal area, and nodus relatively basally recessed. It confirms that an important diversification occurred worldwide among the damselflies during the Paleocene and Eocene. These relatively ancient groups were progressively replaced by the modern families of large calopterygoid damselflies during the Oligocene and the Miocene, leading to the modern faunas.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/e18cf9dc-c438-484c-b97e-dcc6d63986bd

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Journal of Paleontology , Volume 98 , Issue 6 , November 2024 , pp. 1041 - 1047
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Paleontological Society

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Footnotes

Handling Editor: Torsten Wappler

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