New Middle Permian palaeopteran insects from Lodève Basin in southern France (Ephemeroptera, Diaphanopterodea, Megasecoptera)

Zookeys. 2011:(130):41-55. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.130.1311. Epub 2011 Sep 24.

Abstract

Three new palaeopteran insects are described from the Middle Permian (Guadalupian) of Salagou Formation in the Lodève Basin (South of France), viz. the diaphanopterodean Alexrasnitsyniidaefam. n., based on Alexrasnitsynia permianagen. etsp. n., the ParelmoidaePermelmoa magnificagen. etsp. n., and Lodevohymen lapeyrieigen. etsp. n. (in Megasecoptera or Diaphanopterodea, family undetermined). In addition the first record of mayflies attributed to family Syntonopteridae (Ephemeroptera) is reported. These new fossils clearly demonstrate that the present knowledge of the Permian insects remains very incomplete. They also confirm that the Lodève entomofauna was highly diverse providing links to other Permian localities and also rather unique, with several families still not recorded in other contemporaneous outcrops.

Keywords: Alexrasnitsyniidae fam. n.; Insecta; Middle Permian; Palaeoptera; Parelmoidae; Syntonopteridae; gen. n.; palaeodiversity; sp. n..