Libanogomphidae, a new extraordinary dragonfly family from the Upper Cretaceous of Lebanon (Odonata, Anisoptera)

Dany Azar , André Nel (1)

1 ISYEB - Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité

Libanogomphus lionelcavini gen. et sp. nov., the third dragonfly fossilized in compression from the Lebanese Cretaceous, is described and illustrated. It is attributed to the new gomphid family Libanogomphidae on the basis of a series of extraordinary structures in the hind wing venation, never observed elsewhere among Odonata. More or less similar structures can be found in the Palaeozoic odonatopteran Meganeuridae or Protanisoptera. This new fossil confirms the originality of the odonatan fauna of the Lebanese Cretaceous. It also further suggests that our current knowledge on the Mesozoic odonatan diversity is quite under-evaluated.

Domains: Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy

Dany Azar, André Nel. Libanogomphidae, a new extraordinary dragonfly family from the Upper Cretaceous of Lebanon (Odonata, Anisoptera). Cretaceous Research, 2023, pp.105501. ⟨10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105501⟩. ⟨mnhn-04039008⟩