Wappleria tremoris gen. et sp. nov. the first representative of the insect order Caloneurodea in Spain (León, NW Spain) found in a Late Carboniferous forest

ABSTRACT

We present a new genus and species of Caloneurodea from the Gzhelian (Stephanian B) of El Bierzo coalfield, in NW Iberian Peninsula (León, Spain) belonging to an uncertain family. Wappleria tremoris gen. et sp. nov. is described on the basis of a new specimen found in the Stephanian B strata of Casilda Mine, of Gzhelian age (Late Pennsylvanian, Late Carboniferous). The extinct order Caloneurodea (superorder Archaeorthoptera) is really scarce worldwide, it was previously found in the Carboniferous and Permian of Europe, North America, and Asia. This new specimen represents the first evidence of the order Caloneurodea from Spain, and the second record from the Iberian Peninsula, filling a gap in the Carboniferous palaeogeographical puzzle of this species in Europe. Little is known about the ecology and general biology of Caloneurodea. Nevertheless, Wappleria tremoris gen. et sp. nov. was found in close association with a rich palaeobotanical assemblage, dominated by pteridophytes, pteridospermatophytes, and gymnosperms, suggesting that W. tremoris could show a preference for forests under humid conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Archaeorthoptera
• Late Pennsylvanian
• Gzhelian
• Caloneurodea
• palaeoecology
• Stephanian B

Acknowledgments

This work is a contribution to the Médulas-Teleno UNESCO Global Geopark project. Thanks to Oscar de Castro Chico for finding and sharing the specimens and also for choosing the specific name “tremoris” for this new species. We are also very grateful to Asociación Aragonito Azul and Museo del Alto Bierzo (Bembibre, León), and especially to Juan Manuel Rincon Rivero, head of the Department of Geology and Paleontology, for the help in the curation and management of this specimen. Artai Santos is supported by a fellowship funded from the Swedish Research Council Grant VR 2022-03920 managed by Dr. Stephen McLoughlin. We gratefully acknowledge the constructive comments to the editor and reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Swedish Research Council Grant [VR 2022-03920].