A new earwigfly from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Mecoptera: Meropeidae)

A new species of Meropeidae (earwigfly) is described and figured based on an exceptionally well-preserved individual in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. Burmomerope clara Zhao and Wang, sp. nov. is distinguished from the type species B. eureka Grimaldi and Engel, 2013 by presence of broader wings with six longitudinal veins in radial sector and seven in medial field, CuA with two terminal branches, and long setae on the anterior margin of the wing. A detailed comparison of the forewings venation in all fossil and extant species is given. The new find is the third fossil species of Meropeidae and also the first fossil female to be described. The female genital structure of B. clara sp. nov. is remarkably similar to that of extant species, revealing 100 million years of morphological conservatism, and thus highlighting the antiquity of the group.