A new myrmeleontoid genus and species from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation (Neuroptera, Babinskaiidae)

Corentin Jouault (1, 2) , André Nel (2)

1 GR - Géosciences Rennes
2 ISYEB - Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité

A new babinskaiid genus and species, Paraneliana sennlaubi gen. et sp. nov., is described and figured from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation (Brazil) on the basis of a well-preserved specimen. This new genus is closely related to the genera Neliana (also from the Crato Formation) and Pseudoneliana (mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber). This new discovery confirms the important diversity of the Babinskaiidae during the early to mid-Cretaceous. We also comment on the original description of the other Crato species Neliana impolluta Martins-Neto, 1997 and we conclude that the species has to be treated as incertae sedis until a complete revision of the genus or more widely of the family Babinskaiidae.

Keywords: Insecta; Neuroptera; Myrmeleontoidea; taxonomy; wing venation

Domains: Paleontology

Corentin Jouault, André Nel. A new myrmeleontoid genus and species from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation (Neuroptera, Babinskaiidae). Palaeoentomology, 2021, 4 (3), ⟨10.11646/palaeoentomology.4.3.4⟩. ⟨insu-03272782⟩