Lacewing larvae (Neuroptera) are, mostly, fierce predators, as prominently demonstrated by the widely known larvae of antlions. A key feature of lacewing larvae is the structure of their mouthparts: each upper jaw forms a distinct stylet with its corresponding lower jaw; hence each lacewing larvae bears a pair of stylets, which are far anterior on the head (prognathous). The stylets allow to pierce the prey, to inject neurotoxic venom followed by saliva, and finally the liquefied tissues can be sucked through the stylets (e.g. MacLeod 1964, Aspöck & Aspöck 2007, Zimmermann et al. 2019.Mostly the stylets are elongate and curved to allow a counteraction for penetrating the prey easier. In some larvae, the stylets are straight or even outward curved (e.g. MacLeod 1964). One larger ingroup of Neuroptera, Myrmeleontiformia, the group of antlion-like lacewings, is characterised by an additional specialisation of the stylets, namely teeth. Such teeth can be lost in some lineages; in some cases this is apparent during ontogeny (see discussion in Haug et al. 2019a). Among modern representatives, smaller teeth are known in some larvae of thread-winged lacewings (Crocinae; see discussion in Haug et al. 2021a) and spoon-winged lacewings (Nemopterinae; Monserrat 1996: p. 104, Haug et al. 2021b). Prominent teeth occur in larvae of the group Myrmeleontidae + Ascalaphidae (Badano 2012, Badano & Pantaleoni 2014a, b; monophyly of ingroups currently unclear, e.g. Machado et al. 2019, Badano et al. 2021 and also in larvae of split-footed lace wings (Nymphidae; e.g. MacLeod 1964, Haug et al. 2022a). Among the modern groups, there is a certain variation in the number of teeth, but three is rather common (MacLeod 1970: p. 165), besides in split-footed lacewings which usually have a single one (e.g.
Lacewings have been suggested to be a relict group. This means that the group of lacewings, Neuroptera, should have been more diverse in the past, which also applies to many ingroups of Neuroptera. Psychopsidae, the group of silky lacewings, is one of the ingroups of Neuroptera which is relatively species-poor in the modern fauna. Larvae of the group Psychopsidae, long-nosed antlions, can be easily identified as such in being larvae of antlion-like lacewings without teeth in their stylets (=compound structure of mandible and maxilla), with empodia (=attachment structures on legs) and with a prominent forward-protruding labrum. Therefore, such larvae can also be recognised in the fossil record. An earlier study demonstrated a decline in the morphological diversity of long-nosed antlion larvae over the past 100 million years. Here, we report several dozen new long-nosed antlion larvae and expand the earlier quantitative study. Our results further corroborate the decline of silky lacewings. Yet, a lack of an indication of saturation indicates that we have still not approached the original diversity of long-nosed antlions in the Cretaceous.
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