The adult holotype of the fossil mayfly Astraeoptera cretacica Brandão et al. 2021 from the Cretaceous Crato Formation, Brazil, is reviewed and attributed to a new family Astraeopteridae fam. nov. Based on alate specimens, we also describe further new representatives of Astraeopteridae fam. nov., namely Astraeoptera vitrea sp. nov. and Astraeoptera oligovenata sp. nov., as well as the new genus and species Eosophobia acuta gen. et sp. nov. A subsequent character analysis of the new material suggests systematic affinities of Astraeopteridae fam. nov. with those extant families of Siphlonuroidea distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. These newly described fossil Siphlonuroidea from the Cretaceous of Brazil thus add to the biogeography and systematics of mayflies.

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Entomology České Budějovice Czech Republic

Department of Entomology State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart Stuttgart Germany

Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology University of Łódź Łódź Poland

Laboratório de Paleontologia Departamento de Ciências Biológicas Centro de Ciências Humanas e Naturais Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo Vitória Brazil

Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 6;13(1):19274. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-46324-4. PubMed

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Martins-Neto RG. Estágio atual da paleoartropodologia Brasileira: Hexápodes, miriápodes, crustáceos (Isopoda, Decapoda, Eucrustacea e Copepoda) e quelicerados. Arq. Mus. Nac. 2005;63(3):471–494.

Heads S, Martill D, Loveridge B. Palaeoentomological paradise: The Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil. Bull. Entomol. Soc. 2008;32(2):91–98.

Staniczek AH. Ephemeroptera: Mayflies. In: Martill DM, Bechly G, Loveridge RF, editors. The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil. Cambridge University Press; 2007. pp. 163–184.

Storari AP, Godunko RJ, Salles FF, Saraiva AAF, Staniczek AH, Rodrigues T. An overview of the Hexagenitidae (Ephemeroptera) from the Crato Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil, with the description of a new species. Hist. Biol. 2022;34(5):875–884. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2021.1952196. DOI

Storari AP, Rodrigues T, Bantim RAM, Lima FJ, Saraiva AAF. Mass mortality events of autochthonous faunas in a Lower Cretaceous Gondwanan Lagerstätte. Sci. Rep. 2021;11:6976. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-85953-5. PubMed DOI PMC

Menon F, Martill DM. Taphonomy and preservation of Crato Formation arthropods. In: Martill DM, Bechly G, Loveridge RF, editors. The Crato Fossil Beds of Brazil. Cambridge University Press; 2007. pp. 79–96.

Staniczek AH, Storari AP, Godunko RJ. Revised systematics, phylogeny, and paleontology of the mayfly family Baetiscidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) Arthropod Syst. Phylogeny. 2022;80(3):389–409. doi: 10.3897/asp.80.e82845. DOI

Brandão NCA, Bittencourt JS, Calor AR, Mendes M, Langer MC. The Ephemeroptera (Hexapoda, Insecta) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation (NE Brazil): a new genus and species, and reassessment of Costalimella zucchii Zamboni, 2001 and Cratogenites corradiniae Martins-Neto, 1996. Cretac. Res. 2021;127:104923. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104923. DOI

Arai M, Assine ML. Chronostratigraphic constraints and paleoenvironmental interpretation of the Romualdo Formation (Santana Group, Araripe Basin, Northeastern Brazil) based on palynology. Cretac. Res. 2020;116:104610. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104610. DOI

Staniczek AH, Bechly G, Godunko RJ. Coxoplectoptera, a new fossil order of Palaeoptera (Arthropoda: Insecta), with comments on the phylogeny of the stem group of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) Insect Syst. Evol. 2011;42:1–38. doi: 10.1163/187631211X578406. DOI

Kluge NJ. The Phylogenetic System of Ephemeroptera. Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2004.

McCafferty WP. Toward a phylogenetic classification of the Ephemeroptera (Insecta): A commentary on systematics. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 1991;84:343–360. doi: 10.1093/aesa/84.4.343. DOI

Kluge NJ, Studemann D, Landolt P, Gonser T. A reclassification of Siphlonuroidea (Ephemeroptera) Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 1995;68(1–2):103–132.

Ogden TH, Whiting MF. Phylogeny of Ephemeroptera (mayflies) based on molecular evidence. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 2005;37:625–643. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2005.08.008. PubMed DOI

Ogden TH, Gattolliat J-L, Sartori M, Staniczek AH, Soldan T, Whiling MF. Towards a new paradigm in mayfly phylogeny (Ephemeroptera): Conbined analysis of morphological and molecular data. Syst. Entomol. 2009;34:616–634. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3113.2009.00488.x. DOI

Nguyen VV, Nguyen VH, Bae YJ. A rare mayfly Siphluriscus chinensis Ulmer (Ephemeroptera: Siphluriscidae) from Vietnam. Entomol. Res. Bull. 2015;31(1):56–57.

McCafferty WP. Chapter 2. Ephemeroptera. In: Grimaldi DA, editor. Insects from the Santana Formation, Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History; 1990. pp. 20–50.

Jell PA, Duncan PM. Invertebrates, mainly insects, from freshwater, Lower Cretaceous, Coonwarra Fossil Bed (Korumburra Group), South Gippsland, Victoria. Mem. Ass. Auastralas. Palaeontol. 1986;3:111–205.

Demoulin G. Contribution à l'étude morphologique systématique et phylogenique des Ephéméroptères jurassiques d'Europe centrale. V. Hexagenitidae = Paedephemeridae (syn. Nov.) Bull. l'Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. 1970;46(4):1–8.

Demoulin G. Troisième contribution à la connaissance des Ephéméroptères de l'ambre oligocène de la Baltique. Bull. l'Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. 1970;46(2):1–11.

Tshernova OA. Mayfly from fossil pitch of Polar Siberia. Entomol. Oboz. 1971;50(3):612–618.

Fujiyama I, Iwao Y. Late Cenozoic insect faunas in the northwestern region of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Mem. Natl. Sci. Museum. 1975;8:33–50.

Sinitshenkova ND. New early Cretaceus mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera) from eastern Transbaikal. Paleontol. Zhurnal. 1976;2:85–93.

Sinitshenkova ND. Jurassic mayflies (Ephemerida-Ephemeroptera) of southern Siberia and western Mongolia. Trans. Paleontol. Inst. Akad. Sci. USSR. 1985;211:11–23.

Sinitshenkova ND. New Mesozoic mayflies (Ephemerida) from Mongolia. Paleontol. Zhurnal. 1989;3:30–41.

Sinitshenkova ND. Mayflies. Ephemeroidea. In: Rasnitsyn AP, editor. Late Mesozoic insects of Eastern Transbaikalia. Nauka Press; 1990. pp. 13–20.

Sinitshenkova ND. New mayflies from Upper Mesozoic Transbaikalian locality Chernovskie Kopi (Insecta: Ephemerida = Ephemeroptera) Paleontol. Zhurnal. 2000;1:63–69.

Sinitshenkova ND, Marchal-Papier F, Grauvogel-Stamm L, Gall J-C. The Ephemeridea (Insecta) from the Grès à Voltzia (early Middle Triassic) of the Vosges (NE France) Paläontol. Z. 2005;79(3):377–397. doi: 10.1007/BF02991930. DOI

Huang JD, Liu YS, Sinitshenkova ND, Ren D. A new fossil genus of Siphlonuridae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from the Dauhugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Ann. Zool. 2007;57(2):221–225.

Huang JD, Ren D, Sinitshenkova ND, Shih C. New fossil mayflies (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from the Middle Jurassic of Daohugou, Inner Mongolia, China. Insect Sci. 2008;15:193–198. doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7917.2008.00200.x. DOI

Lin Q, Huang D. New Middle Jurassic mayflies (Insecta: Ephemeroptera: Siphlonuridae) from Inner Mongolia, China. Ann. Zool. 2008;58(3):521–527. doi: 10.3161/000345408X364346. DOI

Edmunds GF, Jr, Jensen SL, Berner L. The Mayflies of North and Central America. University of Minnesota Press; 1976. pp. 1–330.

Ribeiro AC, Ribeiro GC, Varejão FG, Battirola LD, Pessoa EM, Simões MG, Warren LV, Riccomini C, Poyato-Ariza FJ. Towards an actualistic view of the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte paleoenvironment: A new hypothesis as an Early Cretaceous (Aptian) equatorial and semi-arid wetland. Earth Sci. Rev. 2021;216:103573. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103573. DOI

Heimhofer U, Ariztegui D, Lenniger M, Hesselbo SP, Martill DM, Rios-Netto AM. Deciphering the depositional environment of the laminated Crato fossil beds (Early Cretaceous, Araripe Basin, North-eastern Brazil) Sedimentology. 2010;57(2):677–694. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01114.x. DOI

Osés GL, et al. Deciphering the preservation of fossil insects: A case study from the Crato Member, Early Cretaceous of Brazil. PeerJ. 2016;4:e2756. doi: 10.7717/peerj.2756. PubMed DOI PMC

Storari AP, Rodrigues T, Saraiva AAF, Salles FF. Unmasking a gap: A new oligoneuriid fossil (Ephemeroptera: Insecta) from the Crato Formation (upper Aptian), Araripe Basin, NE Brazil, with comments on Colocrus McCafferty. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(10):e0240365. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240365. PubMed DOI PMC

Bauernfeind E, Soldan T. The Mayflies of Europe (Ephemeroptera) Brill; 2012. pp. 1–781.