Grylloblattidan insects from Sperbersbach and Cabarz (Germany), two new early Permian and insect-rich localities

Yingying Cui,Olivier Béthoux,Joerg W Schneider,Stephan Brauner

doi:10.1017/jpa.2021.101

Abstract

AbstractNew fossil insect specimens from two new localities in Germany, namely Sperbersbach and Cabarz (Goldlauter Formation; early Permian), belonging to the Grylloblattida, are described. Abundant material is assigned to Pictoborella clara n. gen. n. sp., regarded as closely related to Pictoborella germanica (Prokop et al., 2012) n. comb., from the Saar-Nahe Basin (Germany; early Permian). Liomopterum fuscatum n. sp., represented by fewer specimens, is delimited based on previously published and new data on various Liomopterum spp. Two other Liomopteridae, Uralioma thuringiensis n. sp. and Liomopterites sperbersbachensis n. sp., each known from a single forewing, are also described. Finally, Cabarzopterum magnificus n. gen. n. sp., with unclear familial affinities, is described based on three forewings. The assemblages of grylloblattidan insects at Sperbersbach and Cabarz are generally similar, with differences probably related to different depositional environments and local paleoclimatic conditions.UUID: http://zoobank.org/25ae125c-6a17-415f-8cf0-4c0507e4f89d

Highlights

Materials and methodsThe so-called ‘grylloblattidan insects’ have a fossil record ranging from the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) to the Cretaceous (Storozhenko, 1998)
Recent excavations conducted at Cabarz and Sperbersbach (Germany) revealed that these insects abound in these two new, insect-rich early Permian localities
Remarks.—NHMS-WP 5850 shares many traits with species currently assigned to the genus Liomopterum, in particular a comparatively broad area between the anterior wing margin and ScP, filled with simple veinlets, and the sigmoidal course of CuA1, a trait shared with Liomopterum ornatum, Liomopterum elongatum, and Liomopterum sellardsi

Summary

Introduction

Materials and methodsThe so-called ‘grylloblattidan insects’ have a fossil record ranging from the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) to the Cretaceous (Storozhenko, 1998).

Results

Conclusion