The order Mecoptera was unknown in the North American Tertiary entomofauna west of Florissant, Colorado, until three years ago, when a single specimen was reported from Quilchena, British Columbia, Canada. Since that time, a large and diverse assemblage has been discovered throughout the Early and early Middle Eocene Okanagan Highlands fossil deposits of British Columbia and Washington State. This includes an unusually high diversity of this order in relation to other Tertiary deposits worldwide. Elements show a taxonomic affinity with the Tertiary Mecoptera fauna of Pacific coastal Siberia and Denmark. These fossils are comprised of six families, including the relictual Eomeropidae and the extinct Dinopanorpidae and Cimbrophlebiidae. Dinopanorpidae, previously known from a single hindwing, is represented in the Okanagan Highlands by a number of new species, including complete specimens. The morphologically bizarre genus Holcorpa, previously known only from the Late Eocene of Florissant, Colorado, is now found in the Early Eocene of British Columbia. New characters evident on this well-reserved specimen clarify its taxonomic position.
Species 1: Mecoptera Holcorpa
Keywords: fossil
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