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The damselfly superfamily Coenagrionoidea is the largest zygopteran group, comprising three-fifths of all extant damselfly species. The Mesozoic fossil record of this superfamily is sparse, whilst it is relatively common in Burmese amber. A new coenagrionoid family, Burmacoenagrionidae Zheng et al., fam. nov., is established here based on four new species in three new genera: Burmacoenagrion pretiosus Zheng et al. gen. et sp. nov., Burmachistigma cheni Zheng et al. gen. et sp. nov., Electrocoenagrion elongatum Zheng et al. gen. et sp. nov. and Electrocoenagrion forficatum Zheng et al. gen. et sp. nov. The previously described damselfly genus, Burmagrion Möstel et al., 2017, is transferred to this family. Burmacoenagrionidae Zheng et al. fam. nov. has a long pterostigma covering 3-5 cells, pigmented wings and a sigmoidally curved RA and RP1 distal of the pterostigma, differing from other coenagrionoid damselflies. Until now, this is the most diverse damselfly family reported from Burmese amber, showing that the Coenagrionoidea were already highly diversified 100 million years ago. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DAB9700E-2F21-4BC7-97A0-41569DA4898A [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odonatans are quite rare in the fossil record compared with the other insects, especially in Cretaceous amber inclusions. The extant family Platystictidae is one of the most diverse Zygoptera, but short of fossil records. In this paper, a new species, Mesosticta davidattenboroughi sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, representing the third-known fossil species of Platystictidae. Mesosticta davidattenboroughi sp. nov. has a long IR1 beginning one cell distal of the base of RP2, confirming the previous attribution of Mesosticta Huang, Azar, Cai & Nel, 2015 to Platystictidae. It differs from other species of Mesosticta in having a long IR1 and a basally crossed subdiscoidal cell. The fossil genus Mesosticta shares the diagnostic characters of the modern platystictid genera, viz. a basally recessed ‘CuP’ (shared by all species), a very long IR1 (only in Mesosticta davidattenboroughi sp. nov.), and a specialized subdiscoidal area mostly rhomboidal in shape (only in Mesosticta electronica Zheng, Zhang, Chang & Wang, 2016). Based on the platystictid damselflies from Burmese amber, a new subfamily Mesostictinae subfam. nov. is established. Mesostictinae subfam. nov. represents the first fossil group of modern platystictid damselflies, documenting the appearance of Platystictidae as early as mid-Cretaceous. It differs from modern Platystictidae by the presence of fewer postnodal and postsubnodal crossveins, a short MP, the base of RP2 being nearer to the subnodus and the nodus lying more distally. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6669DBCD-F2EF-4C84-9623-BD33142AD36B [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amber inclusions have been studied for several centuries, but true dragonflies are extremely rare, with only several poorly preserved wings recorded. In Burmese amber, odonatans are relatively diverse, but true dragonflies are still rare. An excellently preserved true dragonfly, Burmagomphides electronica Zheng, Nel & Wang gen. et sp. nov., representing the new family Burmagomphidae Zheng, Nel & Wang fam. nov., is described here from Cretaceous Burmese amber. This is the first well-preserved true dragonfly with complete wings in this amber. It is attributed to the clade Oligophlebiata because it has symmetrical RP branches at the midfork and a well-developed trigonal planate as in the clade Hagenioidea, and the vein CuAa distinctly shortened with reduced pectinate branching as in Brevicubitalia; it differs, however, from the latter two in having a narrow hind wing base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]