Protohermes sirindhornae: A new species of Dobsonfly from Thailand and Laos.

The Megaloptera, (Alderflies, Dobsonflies and Fishflies) are a small group (about 300 species) of Holometabolan (fully metamorphosing) Insects, thought to be one of the earliest branching members of the group. Although they are typically quite large, most species are poorly known, as they spend most of their life as aquatic larvae, with an adult stage that often emerges for less than a day. The Dobsonflies, Corydalinae, are probably the best known members of the group, as there are a large number of species in North America, where their larvae are often used as bait for angling. Male Dobsonflies have large, tusk-like mandibles, although these are for display only and the Insects are quite harmless.

In a paper published in the journal Tropical Natural History on 14 October 2025, Kanyakorn Piraonapicha of the Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Narin Chomphuphuang of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Khon Kaen University, Kanuengnit Wayo of the Futuristic Science Research Center at Walailak University, Yuezheng Tu of the  Department of Entomology at the China Agricultural University,  Fumio Hayashi of the Department of Biology at Tokyo Metropolitan University, and Xingyou Liu of the State Key Laboratory of Animal Biodiversity, Conservation, and Integrated Pest Management at the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, describe a new species of Dobsonfly from Thailand and Laos.

The new species is named Protohermes sirindhornae, in honour of Her  Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in commemoration of her 70th birthday anniversary. The species is described from three male and one female specimens collected from a site in Bo  Kluea  District in Nan Province, Thailand, by Kanyakorn Piraonapicha in April 2021, and one male specimen collected in Ban Muang District in Xieng Khouang Province, Laos, by Japanese entomologist Hiroyuki Yoshitomi.

Protohermes sirindhornae, living specimens in dorsal view. (A) Male; (B) Female. Scale bars are 1 cm. Piraonapicha et al. (2025).

The male specimens of Protohermes sirindhornae range from 21.06 to 37.3 mm in length, with forewing lengths of 25.4 to 36.6  mm, while the female is 43.1 mm long with a forewing length of 44.7 mm. Both sexes have a yellowish brown and brown colouration. 

See also...

A new species of Snakefly from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia.

Snakeflies (Raphidioptera) are a group of carnivorous flying insects related to the Lacewings, Antlions and Alderflies. They have long life cycles, with a number of larval stages, but still feed as adults. Modern Snakeflies are found throughout Europe and Temperate Asia, and in North America west of the Rockies, but they are more widespread in the fossil record, which dates back to the Early Jurassic. In the Early Cretaceous they have previously been described from three localities in East Asia and one in Brazil. 

In a paper published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology on 18 April 2014, Xingyue Liu of the Department of Entomology at China Agricultural University, Dong Ren of the College of Life Sciences at Capital Normal University and Ding Yang also of the Department of Entomology at China Agricultural University, describe a new species of Snakefly from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Inner Mongolia.

The new species is named Juroraphidia longicollum, where 'Juroraphidia' means 'Jurassic Snakefly' and 'longicollum' means 'long-neck'. The species is described from two specimens, both preserved as part and counterpart, from the Daohugou fossil locality of Ningcheng County in Inner Mongolia. Both specimens are slightly under 10 mm in length, with an extremely elongate prothorax (the front part of the thorax, resembling a neck). 

Juroraphidia longicollum, first specimen. (A) Photograph; (B) drawing; (C) detail of head; (D) detail of prothorax; (E) detail of tarsi; (F) proximal half of wings; (G) pterostigmatic areas of wings. Abbreviations: t1-5, 1st-5th tarsomere; Sc (f) and Sc (h), forewing and hindwing subcosta; pt (f) and pt (h), forewing and hindwing pterostigma; Rs +MA (f), forewing Rs + MA; MA (f), forewing media anterior; MP (f), forewing media posterior; CuA (f), forewing cubital anterior; CuP (f), forewing cubital posterior. Scale bars represent 1.0 mm in (A) and (B); 0.2 mm in all other panels. Liu et al. (2014).

Juroraphidia longicollum is considered sufficiently different to any other known Snakefly that it is placed in its own family, the Juroraphidiidae. The early history of Snakeflies as a group is poorly understood. The group have an abundant fossil record in the Cretaceous, when they appear to have been considerably more diverse than currently the case, but have only a sparse Jurassic record, with no earlier fossils.   

Traditionally the Raphidioptera is thought to have been more closely related to the Megaloptera (Alderflies, Dobsonflies and Fishflies) than to the Neuroptera (Lacewings, Mantidflies, Antlions, and their relatives), but recent molecular studies have suggested that the Megaloptera and Neuroptera are more closely related to one-another than either group is to the Raphidioptera. Fossil evidence suggests that the Megaloptera and Neuroptera  diverged by the end of the Permian, implying that the Raphidioptera must have also diverged from the ancestor of this group by this time, but have no fossil record prior to the Jurassic. Liu et al. suggest that the Early Jurassic was probably a key period in the diversification of Snakeflies.

Juroraphidia longicollum, second specimen. (A) Photograph; (B) 0drawing; (C) detail of head and prothorax; (D) proximal half of forewing; (E) distal half of forewing; (F) distal half of hindwing. Scale bars represent 1.0 mm in (A) and (B) 0.2 mm in all other panels. Liu et al. (2014).

See also...

 A new species of Split-foot Lacewing from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia.

 Two new species of Dustywing from Tertiary amber.

 Snakeflies in amber from the Early Cretaceous of northern Spain.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.