Cretaceous diversity and disparity in a lacewing lineage of predators (Neuroptera: Mantispidae)

Mantidflies (Mantispidae) are an unusual and charismatic group of predatory lacewings (Neuroptera), whereby the adults represent a remarkable case of morphological and functional convergence with praying mantises (Mantodea). The evolutionary history of mantidflies remains largely unknown due to a scarcity of fossils. Here, we report the discovery of a highly diverse palaeofauna of mantidflies from the mid-Cretaceous (lowermost Cenomanian) of Myanmar. The raptorial forelegs of these mantidflies possess highly divergent morphological modifications, some of which are unknown among modern mantidflies, e.g. the presence of forked basal profemoral spines or even the complete loss of foreleg spine-like structures. A phylogenetic analysis of Mantispidae reveals a pattern of raptorial foreleg evolution across the family. The high species diversity and disparate foreleg characters might have been driven by diverse niches of predator-prey interplay in the complex tropical forest ecosystem of the mid-Cretaceous.