A new Caloneurodea family (Insecta, Archaeorthoptera) increases the insect palaeodiversity of the middle Permian Salagou Formation (southern France)

Abstract

A new genus and species of the archaeorthopteran order Caloneurodea are described and illustrated from the Salagou Formation (France) as Lodevogramma pumilia gen. et sp. nov. The particular wing venation of this species precludes its placement within one of the already described families of Caloneurodea. Consequently, the family Lodevogrammatidae fam. nov. is created to accommodate this specimen. A detailed comparison of the new species with other Caloneurodea is provided. This new species differs from all other Caloneurodea because it has: petiolate wings; the area between C and R/RA is very narrow; vein RA ends near the wing apex; vein RP has two branches; the fork of CuP basad the base of M; and two very short anal veins are present. This new species increases the diversity of Caloneurodea in the Salagou Formation and provides additional information on the diversity of the order around the late Capitanian extinction. We compared the diversity of Caloneurodea with that of Megasecoptera, another order with a similar history between the Carboniferous and the Permian, and hypothesized that the decrease in the size of both groups could be an indicator of their declines, possibly related to floral changes, following a pattern similar to that of Permian tetrapods. The decline of Caloneurodea could also be related to the diversification of the Orthoptera during the middle–late Permian. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1A14DF89-0F25-4105-B087-DC79D644728F.