Paleolepidopterites

Paleolepidopterites is a collective genus of fossil moths which can not be placed in any defined family. The included species were formerly placed in the leaf-roller family Tortricidae and are known from fossils found in Russia and the United States. The collective genus contains three species: Paleolepidopterites destructus, Paleolepidopterites florissantanus, and Paleolepidopterites sadilenkoi, formerly placed within the genera Tortrix and Tortricites respectively. The three species were formally redescribed and moved to the new collective genus by Heikkilä et al. (2018).

Distribution

Two of the species were recovered from the late Eocene, Lutetian and Priabonian stages, Florissant Formation lake deposits near the small community of Florissant in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The holotype of P. destructus was recovered from fossiliferous outcrops on the ranch of George W. Wilson, while the P. florissantanus holotype came from outcrops at Station 14. ==Species==

Species

P. destructus P. destructus is known only from one fossil, the holotype, specimen "USNM 61998", which was first described as Tortrix? destructus. It is a single, mostly complete adult of undetermined sex, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained shale. It's a single, mostly complete adult female, preserved as a compression fossil in fine grained shale. ==Description==

Description

Paleolepidopterites is about long with a robust thorax and an abdomen which tapers towards the tip. The slender antenna are long, with tips that curl to form almost a circle, and are reddish in coloration. Where visible the legs are either hairy or scaly. The forewings are in length with a outer margin and a lower margin. The hindwing length is not specified, the color patterning is described, with the hindwings longitudinally striped and a broad but diffuse submarginal band. P. destructus is noted to be much smaller than the other Paleolepidopterites species from Florissant, P. florissantana. ==References==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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