New Middle Jurassic fossils shed light on the relationship of recent Panorpoidea (Insecta, Mecoptera).

Examination of a diverse and abundant collection of Middle–Upper Jurassic scorpionflies from the Jiulongshan Formation of Daohugou village in Inner Mongolia, China, has enabled a further delimitation of the morphological variability of the polyphyletic family Orthophlebiidae. The family Protorthophlebiidae fam. nov. is herein erected on the basis of new characters present in new specimens of Protorthophlebia Tillyard, 1933 preserved with bodies. An emended diagnosis of the genus Orthophlebia is provided, adding morphological characters of the male abdomen and the head, and revising those of the wing venation. A new genus and species within the family Orthophlebiidae, Juraphlebia eugeniae gen. et sp. nov., and a new species of the genus Orthophlebia Westwood, 1845, O. chinensis sp. nov, are described. In the light of the new systematic concept and new taxonomic data relationships within the superfamily Panorpoidea and between the two modern families Panorpidae and Panorpodidae are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]