A new fishfly species (Megaloptera: Corydalidae: Chauliodinae) from Eocene Baltic amber

The fossil record of Megaloptera (Insecta: Holometabola: Neuropterida) is very limited. Both megalopteran families, i.e., Corydalidae and Sialidae, have been found in the Eocene Baltic amber, comprising two named species in one genus of Corydalidae (Chauliodinae) and four named species in two genera of Sialidae. Here we report a new species of Chauliodinae from the Baltic amber, namely Nigronia prussia sp. nov.. The new species possesses a spotted hind wing with broad band-like marking, a well-developed stem of hind wing MA subdistally with a short crossvein to MP, a single straight RP branch separated between 1ra-rp and 2ra-rp in hind wing, and the hind wing A3 with anterior branch proximally touching A2. A tentative placement of the new species in Nigronia Banks, 1908, which is an extant genus endemic to eastern North America, is discussed in detail. Our finding provides new evidence indicating that the fishflies related to the extant species from eastern North America had occurred in Europe during the Early Tertiary.