Bojophlebia is an extinct genus of winged insect from the Pennsylvanian period of the Czech Republic. It includes only a single species, Bojophlebia prokopi, and is the only member of the family Bojophlebiidae.[1][2][3] Bojophlebia prokopi was first described in 1985 by Jarmila Kukalová-Peck, who originally described it as a large mayfly-like insect.[4] This original interpretation has since been rejected. Most recently, B. prokopi has been treated as a member of the infraclass Hydropalaeoptera, which also includes the Odonatoptera (dragonflies, damselflies and extinct relatives) and Panephemeroptera (mayflies and extinct relatives). Bojophlebia is considered a sister group of all other members of the Hydropalaeoptera.[3] A fossil that was described as a nymph of Bojophlebia is now considered to be a separate taxon, Carbotriplura kukalovae.[5] The original description interpreted structures such as eyes and antennae, however these structures cannot be confirmed after restudy,[3] although this may be an example of over-interpretation by Kukalová-Peck, as has happened with other extinct insects such as Carbotriplura and Gerarus.[5][6]

Bojophlebia
Temporal range: Pennsylvanian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Infraclass: Hydropalaeoptera
Family: Bojophlebiidae
Kukalová-Peck, 1985
Genus: Bojophlebia
Kukalová-Peck, 1985
Species:
B. prokopi
Binomial name
Bojophlebia prokopi
Kukalová-Peck, 1985

Etymology edit

The genus name Bojophlebia is derived from the Celtic tribe Boii (spelled "Bojos" in the original description for the genus), after whom the historical region Bohemia was named. The species epithet, prokopi, is in honor of Dr. Rudolf Prokop, a friend of the author.[4]

Phylogeny edit

After Sroka et al. (2015):[3]

Dicondylia

Zygentoma

Paranotalia

Carbotriplurida

Pterygota
Neopterygota
Hydropalaeoptera

Bojophlebiidae

Euhydropalaeoptera

References edit

  1. ^ "Bojophlebia prokopi". Fossilworks. Gateway to the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Bojophlebia prokopi". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Sroka, P.; Staniczek, A. H.; Bechly, G. (2015). "Revision of the giant pterygote insect Bojophlebia prokopi Kukalova-Peck, 1985 (Hydropalaeoptera: Bojophlebiidae) from the Carboniferous of the Czech Republic, with the first cladistic analysis of fossil palaeopterous insects". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 13 (11): 963–982. doi:10.1080/14772019.2014.987958. S2CID 84037275.
  4. ^ a b Kukalová-Peck, J. (1985). "Ephemeroid wing venation based upon new gigantic Carboniferous mayflies and basic morphology, phylogeny, and metamorphosis of pterygote insects (Insecta, Ephemerida)". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 63 (4): 933–955. doi:10.1139/z85-139.
  5. ^ a b Staniczek, Arnold H.; Sroka, Pavel; Bechly, Günter (2014). "Neither silverfish nor fowl: the enigmatic Carboniferous Carbotriplura kukalovae Kluge, 1996 (Insecta: Carbotriplurida) is the putative fossil sister group of winged insects (Insecta: Pterygota)". Systematic Entomology. 39 (4): 619–632. doi:10.1111/syen.12076. S2CID 83792881.
  6. ^ Béthoux, Olivier; Briggs, Derek E. G. (2008). "How Gerarus lost its head: stem-group Orthoptera and Paraneoptera revisited". Systematic Entomology. 33 (3): 529–547. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2008.00419.x. S2CID 84577837.