Phylogenetic relationships within the relict family Eomeropidae (Insecta, Mecoptera) based on the oldest fossil from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) of Dorset, southern England

The family Eomeropidae is a peculiar relict family of Mecoptera with a single extant species and, until now, eight known fossil species ranging in age from Middle Jurassic to Palaeogene. The oldest representative of the family, <i>Jurachorista bashkuevi</i> gen. et sp. nov., was collected from a coastal outcrop in Dorset, southern England, and is described herein. It extends the fossil record of Eomeropidae back to the Sinemurian (Early Jurassic; <i>c</i>. 196 Ma) and sheds new light on the phylogenetic relationships and past distribution of the family. Analysis of the wing venation of all known Eomeropidae indicates that <i>Notiothauma reedi</i>, the only living representative, is characterized by the most polymerized wings, while the oldest species, the newly described <i>Jurachorista bashkuevi</i>, has the most reduced venation within the family. Phylogenetic analysis based on wing venation produces a tree with two clades, illustrating the different taxonomic lines within the family. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9CFA9133-6B64-4BF1-954C-C6A52D17F125