A new progobiaeshnid dragonfly (Odonata, Aeshnoptera) from the Lower Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, NE China

The clade Aeshnoptera contains the most diverse fossil dragonfly in China, mainly recorded in the Lower Cretaceous. Here, a new aeshnopteran dragonfly, Paradecoraeshna liaoningensis Zheng, Nel and Zhang, gen. et sp. nov., attributed to the family Progobiaeshnidae, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, NE China. Within Progobiaeshnidae, Paradecoraeshna gen. nov. shares mixed characters with Decoraeshna and Mongoliaeshna. These genera are well-differentiated from Progobiaeshna and Gobiaeshna in having an empty hypertriangle.