Makarkinia

MEET THE ANIMAL

Meet Makarkinia

Makarkinia was an extinct lacewing, rather than a butterfly or dinosaur. A 2016 study described a hindwing of M. kerneri with dense veins and a dark eyespot surrounded by three closely spaced rings. The preserved wing measures 78 millimeters, while the researchers estimated a complete length of 100 to 120 millimeters. Those numbers describe one wing; they must not be presented as the insect’s body length or total wingspan. [D1]

A Brazilian fossil catalog lists three species within the genus: M. adamsi, M. irmae and M. kerneri. All come from the Aptian Crato Formation. The older name Panfilovia adamsi refers to the species later placed in Makarkinia. That change does not make every species of Panfilovia the same animal. Careful attention to names prevents a renamed fossil from being counted as a second exhibit. [D2]

A later research abstract reconsidered relationships among these remarkable lacewings. It described Makarkinia as probably belonging in the subfamily Kalligrammatinae. The qualifying word shows that part of its placement remains uncertain. Its general relationship to other large lacewings is useful, but cannot supply missing body parts as directly preserved evidence. Reconstructing a complete living insect requires comparative choices that should remain separate from the measured fossil wing. [D3]