Search for a command to run...
Cratomastax mariellaae sp. nov. Fig. 2 Etymology. The species is named in honor of Prof. Dr. Mariella Herberstein, currently Head of the Center for Taxonomy and Morphology at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), Hamburg, Germany, in recognition of her kind support of the first author’s dissertation work. Locality and horizon. Type locality imprecise; from one of the several quarries in the region of Nova Olinda and Santana do Cariri municipalities, Ceará State, Brazil. Nova Olinda Member, Crato Formation, Santana Group. Early Cretaceous, Aptian. Holotype. Unsexed specimen in the collection of Museu de Paleontologia Plácido Cidade Nuvens, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Santana do Cariri, Ceará, Brazil, coll. no. MPSC 9664. Donation from the Husemann Research Collection of Prof. Dr. Martin Husemann (collection number HC_0042) as part of the guidelines discussed at the “ Brazil-German Colloquium on Paleontology: Science, Cooperation, and Diplomacy for the Future. ” Diagnosis of species. Forewing length 30.2 mm. Forewing length / height 7. M and CuA fused to one branch. CuA + CuPaα and M one branched. RP with five branches. ScP long, reaching origin of RP 2, fused terminally with RA. ScA reaching up to 37.2 % of total wing length. 1 A very long, reaching anal margin almost as far distally as CuA + CuPaα. CuPb and CuPaβ parallel to 1 A but each slightly shorter. Space between 1 A, CuPb, and CuPaβ narrow. Head height 6.67 mm. Eye height ca. 2.09 mm, oval-shaped and not protruding above head. Metafemur ca. 19.8 mm long, ca. 3.54 mm high. Metatibia at least 19 mm long, with distinct armature consisting of 16 + spines up to 0.83 mm long (spine length measured along dorsal line of longest spine). Description. Wings, head, and metathoracic leg preserved up to distal metatibia. Pro-, mesothoracic leg and body fragmentary. Forewing. Length / height-ratio 7. ScP long and narrow, 93.1 % of total wing length (twl). ScA reaching costal wing margin after 37.2 % of twl. ScP distally with slight upwards path, fused to RA. Space between ScP and RA 7.4 % of total wing height (measured at meeting point of CuA + CuPaα reaching anal margin). Origin of RP at 52.2 % of twl, slightly posterior to bifurcation of M + CuA. Space between RA and RP 12 % of wing height (measured at same point as before). RP with five branches. M and CuA + CuPaα simple; bifurcation of M + CuA at 48.2 % of twl. M reaching anal wing margin at 88.5 % of twl. CuA + CuPaα reaching anal wing margin at 80.2 % of twl. CuPaβ simple, fused to CuPb at 61.7 % of twl. CuPb fused to 1 A at 65.4 % of twl. 1 A reaching anal wing margin after 78.3 % of twl. Space between 1 A and CuPb and CuPaβ and CuPb narrow. All three veins run parallel. Cross vein pattern simple, except for between RP branches, especially distally where it becomes a more complex net pattern. Head. 6.67 mm high and 3.96 mm wide at widest point (at mid-eye level). Fastigium not prolonged. Antennae not preserved. Eye height ca. 2.09 mm, oval shape, not protruding above head height. Metathoracic leg. 19.8 mm long, 3.54 mm wide (widest point). Metatibia at least 19 mm long (broken off distally), 0.81 mm wide (widest point). A single row of spines is visible on the dorsal margin of the metatibia, consisting of 16 preserved spines. Spines vary in (preserved) length between 0.18 (first preserved spine) and 0.83 mm (spine at middle). Tarsus not preserved, except for possible fragment at distal end of preserved tibia. Remarks. Among known fossil species of Eumastacoidea, Cratomastax mariellaae sp. nov. most closely resembles Paleochina duvergeri and P. minuta from the Early Cenozoic of France, although it is closer in size to P. duvergeri. Cratomastax mariellaae differs from P. duvergeri by its larger forewing length (30.2 mm vs. 23.3 mm in P. duvergeri), a different forewing length-to-height ratio (7.0 to 8.6), and a narrower spacing between CuPaβ and CuPb. The presence of a eumastacoid in the Crato Formation is not unexpected, although this is the first species to be formally described. Martins-Neto (1991) had already suggested the presence of such forms based on preliminary observations of undetermined specimens. Today, several subfamilies of Eumastacidae Burr, 1899, are represented in the modern faunas of Brazil and surrounding countries. In contrast, Chorotypidae are absent from the extant South American fauna and are currently restricted to Africa and Southeast Asia (Cigliano et al. 2025).