The holotype specimen of the`protodonate' Erasipteroides valentini (Brauckmann in Brauckmann et al., 1985) and the paratype specimen K-13 of the giant`protodonate' Namurotypus sippeli Brauckmann and Zessin, 1989 from the Upper Carboniferous (Namurian B) of Hagen-Vorhalle (Germany) are redescribed, and a new specimen of Erasipteroides cf. valentini is described. The new evidence is used to re®ne the groundplan reconstruction of Odonatoptera and the reconstruction of odonatoid phylogeny. Prothoracic winglets for Erasipteroides and the absence of an archaedictyon are documented. Furthermore, a very long and sclerotized ovipositor with gonangulum is described from the female holotype specimen of Erasipteroides valentini, and it is proposed that it was not used for endophytic but for endosubstratic oviposition. The record of prothoracic winglets in early odonatoids, and their presence in fossil Palaeodictyoptera and`protorthopteres', indicates that the groundplan of Pterygota indeed included three pairs of wings. A phylogenetic analysis suggests that the Palaeozoic giant Meganisoptera and``higher'' odonatoids (incl. crowngroup Odonata) together form a monophyletic group which is here named Euodonatoptera. Erasipteroides and the other Erasipteridae' are shown to be more closely related to Euodonatoptera than to Eugeropteridae. The description of the male primary genital structures of Namurotypus sippeli is emended and a new interpretation is proposed, including new hypotheses concerning their function. The males of Namurotypus had a paired penis with a pair of lateral parameres, and a pair of leaf-like, but still segmented, gonopods. Segmented leglike male gonopods are considered as a groundplan character of insects, while a paired penis is regarded as a putative synapomorphy of the palaeopterous insect orders Palaeodictyopteroida, Ephemeroptera, and Odonatoptera. It is proposed that Namurotypus did not mate by direct copulation but retained the archaic deposition of external spermatophores, just like the primarily wingless insects. The sigmoidal male cerci may have been placed behind the female head and used to drag the female over the spermatophore, which is remotely similar to the mating behaviour of some extant arachnids (e.g. Amblypygi). Three hypothetical scenarios regarding the evolution of secondary copulation in modern Odonata are proposed.

This beautifully illustrated 2007 volume describes the entire flora and fauna of the famous Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil - one of the world's most important fossil deposits, exhibiting exceptional preservation. A wide range of invertebrates and vertebrates are covered, including extended sections on pterosaurs and insects. Two chapters are devoted to plants. Many of the chapters include descriptions of new species and re-descriptions and appraisals of taxa published in obscure places, rendering them available to a wider audience. Fossil descriptions are supported by detailed explanations of the geological history of the deposit and its tectonic setting. Drawing on expertise from around the world and specimens from the most important museum collections, this book forms an essential reference for researchers and enthusiasts with an interest in Mesozoic fossils.

An updated classification and numbers of described genera and species (until 2010) are provided up to family level. We argue for conserving the family-group names Chlorocyphidae, Euphaeidae and Dicteriadidae, as well as retaining Epiophlebiidae in the suborder Anisozygoptera. Pseudostigmatidae and New World Protoneuridae are sunk in Coenagrionidae and Old World Protoneuridae in Platycnemididae. The families Amphipterygidae and Megapodagrionidae as traditionally recognized are not monophyletic, as may be the superfamily Calopterygoidea. The proposal to separate Chlorogomphidae, Cordulegastridae and Neopetaliidae from Libelluloidea in their own superfamily Cordulegastroidea is adopted. Macromiidae, Libellulidae and Synthemistidae and a restricted Corduliidae are accepted as families, but many genera of Libelluloidea are retained as incertae sedis at present. 5952 extant species in 652 genera have been described up to 2010. These are placed here in 30 families; recent proposals to separate additional families from Amphipterygidae and Megapodagrionidae have not yet been incorporated.

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