An enigmatic Palaeozoic stem-group: Paoliida, designation of new taxa from the Upper Carboniferous of the Czech Republic (Insecta: Paoliidae, Katerinkidae fam. n.)
Abstract
Two new representatives of stem group Paoliida are described and illustrated from the Upper Carboniferous of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (Czech Republic), i.e. Katerinka hilaris gen. et sp. n. (Katerinkidae fam. n.) and a further fragmentary specimen with uncertain familial attribution (?Paoliidae).
Rediscovery of the missing holotype specimen Holasicia sustai Kukalov, 1958 enabled detailed study and description of the monotypic genus Mertovia gen. n., type species Mertovia sustai (Kukalova, 1958), comb. n. (Paoliidae). The material was classified and compared with all possibly related taxa on the basis of the wing venation.
Some uncertainties on the current state of knowledge of certain taxa with similar wing-venation pattern and their systematic attribution were considered. The fossil record of Paoliidae is briefly discussed and a check-list is provided.