Amarantoraphidia

Amarantoraphidia Temporal range: Albian 110 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Raphidioptera
Family:	†Mesoraphidiidae
Genus:	†Amarantoraphidia
Species:	†A. ventolina
Binomial name
Amarantoraphidia ventolina Pérez-de la Fuente, et al, 2012

Amarantoraphidia is an extinct genus of snakefly in the family Mesoraphidiidae. The genus is solely known from Early Cretaceous, Albian age, fossil amber found in Spain. Currently the genus comprises only a single species Amarantoraphidia ventolina.

Amarantoraphidia ventolina is known only from one fossil, the holotype, specimen number CES 364.1. The specimen is composed of a mostly complete adult insect with the wing tips missing. The apical third of the right hindwing is also gone and the left front most leg has been disarticulated. The specimen is included in a piece of amber with plant debris and a number of other insects, such as a thysanopteran, hymenopterans. and dipterans. The fossil was recovered from outcrops of the Escucha Formation in Moraza, part of the Province of Burgos in northern Spain.Amarantoraphidia was first studied by group of paleoentomologists led by Ricardo Pérez-de la Fuente of the University of Barcelona and including Enrique Peñalver, Xavier Delclòs, and Michael S. Engel. Their 2012 type description of the new genus and species was published in the electronic journal ZooKeys. The genus name Amarantoraphidia was coined by the researchers as a combination of the snakefly genus Raphidia and the Greek amarantos meaning "ageless" or "that never fades". The specific epithet ventolina is a reference to the Cantabrian mythologies ventolines. These were said to be cheerful air beings with warm green wings which helped fishermen when summoned.Amarantoraphidia ventolina is one of six described snakefly species found in the Albian deposits of Cantabria.