[Paleontology • 2026] Chosha praecursor • Amphibious stem-insect sheds light on Colonization of Land

Chosha praecursor

Tihelka,  Vásquez, Engel, Schram, Lozano-Fernandez & Cai, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10961-2

Abstract

Molecular clock analyses, trace fossils, exceptionally preserved amphibious stem-myriapods and sea scorpions have recently challenged classical assumptions about the timeline of the animal colonization of land, suggesting that terrestrial ecosystems may date back as far as the Cambrian period. However, the early evolutionary history of the most successful clade of animals, the insects, has remained elusive, as the period of their early diversification constrained by time divergence estimates falls within the notorious ‘hexapod gap’ in the fossil record. Here we describe Chosha praecursor gen. et sp. nov. from the Carboniferous period (Late Mississippian epoch, approximately 324 million years ago) Tesnus Formation in Texas. Cross-polarized light imaging reveals that C. praecursor possesses insect apomorphies including an ovipositor and a terminal filament but differs from crown-group insects, most notably with respect to the presence of multisegmented abdominal legs with paddle-like modifications. Our phylogenetic reconstruction recovers C. praecursor as a hexapod, strongly favouring its placement as an early-diverging insect. A revision of three other enigmatic hexapod fossils, the Devonian period Leverhulmia and two undescribed Carboniferous fossils from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte, demonstrates diverse body organization in Palaeozoic wingless insects. Together, these stem-group fossils represent the earliest uncontested insects and partly reconcile the incongruence between molecular clock estimates and the fossil record. The unusual abdominal gill-like appendages of Chosha suggest a semiaquatic mode of life in at least some stem-insects and revise our understanding of the assembly of insect morphological organization.

Chosha praecursor gen. et sp. nov. 

Erik Tihelka, Carlos Vásquez, Michael S. Engel, Frederick R. Schram, Jesus Lozano-Fernandez and Chenyang Cai. 2026. Amphibious stem-insect sheds light on colonization of land. Nature. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10961-2 [26 August 2026]

[Paleontology • 2026] Craniomandibular osteology of Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda sp. nov. (Therapsida: Anomodontia) from the Manda Beds of Tanzania and new support for a younger age for the alleged oldest dinosaurs

 

Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda

George, Escobar, Moody, Saanane, Day & Larkin, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2692542

Life reconstruction by Gabriel Ugueto

 

ABSTRACT 

Fossils from the Manda Beds of Tanzania have greatly informed on the diversity and evolution of Triassic tetrapods, including on what might be the oldest dinosaurs. Here, a new dicynodont taxon from the Manda Beds is described. It lacks key anatomical traits of known dicynodonts from the Manda Beds, as well as the Sino-African genus Shansiodon to which some of this material was previously referred. The new taxon is referred to the otherwise South American Dinodontosaurus based on the diagnostic presence of frontals with “tab-like” anterior processes and a combination of other traits seen in the genus. This Tanzanian material possesses a predominantly bulbous posterior/median palatal ridge of the premaxilla and a midline groove along the temporal bar, among other traits that are absent in the South American Dinodontosaurus material, indicating it represents a distinct species, here named Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda sp. nov. Phylogenetic analyses conducted with Bayesian estimation and parsimony support the inclusion of this species in Dinodontosaurus. The unique palate of D. isiyavamanda is hypothesized to be related to resource partitioning, representing different adaptations for food processing than coeval dicynodonts. The presence of Dinodontosaurus suggests the mid-to-upper Lifua Member of the Manda Beds is equivalent to the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone of Brazil and the Chañares Formation of Argentina. Consequently, the mid-to-upper Lifua Member, which includes what are possibly the oldest records of dinosaurs globally, can be confidently interpreted as late Ladinian to Carnian in age, supporting recent research questioning its equivalency with the Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of South Africa.

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

SYNAPSIDA Osborn, 1903

THERAPSIDA Broom, 1905

ANOMODONTIA Owen, 1860

DICYNODONTIA Owen, 1859

DICYNODONTOIDEA Olson, 1944

KANNEMEYERIIFORMES Maisch, 2001

DINODONTOSAURUS Romer, 1943

Diodontosaurus Tupí-Caldas, 1936 [nomen suppressum].

Chanaria Cox, 1968.

Type Species––Dinodontosaurus oliveirai Romer, 1943 (=Dicynodon tener Huene, 1935).

Diagnosis––Medium- to large-sized kannemeyeriiform (maximum skull length ca. 40 cm) with the following unique combination of character states: frontals with a “tab-like” median anterior process; postorbital bone with elongate, curved suborbital process; elongate caniniform process sharply offset from zygomatic arch; and hypertrophied tusks present in large individuals (taken from Kammerer & Ordoñez, 2021).

DINODONTOSAURUS ISIYAVAMANDA sp. nov.

Ruhuhuungualasaurus croucheri Larkin, 1994, p. 2.

Shansiodon sp. Surkov and Benton, 2004, p. 627.

Shansiodon sp. Surkov and Benton, 2008, p. 1126.

Diagnosis––Can be distinguished from both Dinodontosaurus brevirostris and Dinodontosaurus tener by a premaxillary posterior/median palatal ridge that expands anteriorly into a wide, bulbous morphology (does not retain the ridge-like morphology throughout its length), and extends further anteriorly than the point of eruption of the tusks; a midline groove extending along the temporal bar from immediately posterior to the pineal foramen to the posterior end of the postparietal; and mandibular rami that diverge more laterally. Can be further distinguished from Dinodontosaurus brevirostris by the lack of a ridge along the anterior surface of the mandibular symphysis. Can be further distinguished from Dinodontosaurus tener by a wider interorbital region and snout, and a pineal foramen that is not completely anterior to the intertemporal bar (i.e., pineal foramen is at the same anteroposterior level as the anterior portion of the bar).

Etymology––From the Manda words ‘isi ya vamanda’ that translate to ‘country of the Wamanda.’ In reference to the Wamanda people, many of whom were crucial to the discovery of the holotype, but whose individual names were not documented and never credited.

two bulky Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda walking through dense vegetation 

Life reconstruction by Gabriel Ugueto

Hady George, Juan A. Escobar, Edmund R.R. Moody, Charles B. Saanane, Michael O. Day and Nigel R. Larkin. 2026. Craniomandibular osteology of Dinodontosaurus isiyavamanda sp. nov. (Therapsida: Anomodontia) from the Manda Beds of Tanzania and new support for a younger age for the alleged oldest dinosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2692542. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2692542 [15 Sep 2026]

 

[PaleoIchthyology • 2026] Bataspis crux • A galeaspid (jawless stem gnathostome) from the Lochkovian of Yunnan with a batwing-shaped head adapted for hydrodynamic efficiency

 

Bataspis crux

Meng, Ferrón, Pisani, Gai & Donoghue, 2026 

 DOI: doi.org/10.1111/pala.70081

Life restoration by Dinghua Yang.

Abstract

Galeaspids are an extinct group of jawless fishes from the Silurian–Devonian of China and northern Vietnam that are key to understanding the origin of vertebrate anatomical innovations. A new eugaleaspid, Bataspis crux gen. et sp. nov., is described based on fossil material from the Lochkovian (Early Devonian) Xishancun Formation of Qujing, Yunnan, China. Bataspis crux possesses a suite of unusual features, especially its bat-wing-like cornual processes that are seamlessly integrated with a brim-like rostral margin without a rostral process, constituting a unique morphology for galeaspids. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic inference all support membership in the family Tridensaspidae. We employed computational fluid dynamics to infer the hydrodynamic properties of the headshield of B. crux. Our analysis reveals that this species achieves an exceptionally high lift-to-drag ratio; the highest recorded among known galeaspids. This remarkable efficiency stems from its low drag across various angles of attack, coupled with passive lift generation through the exploitation of the Bernoulli effect by the airfoil cross-section of the cornual processes. This suggests that the species was an effective gliding cruiser, outperforming not only galeaspids but also other stem gnathostomes, such as osteostracans and pteraspidomorphs. These results provide new insights into our understanding of the evolution of Tridensaspidae, the ecological habits of stem gnathostomes and convergence in the evolutionary assembly of the gnathostome bodyplan.

Keywords: galeaspid, phylogenetic analysis, hydrodynamic analysis, lift-to-drag ratio, convergence, morphological function

Bataspis crux, holotype, IVPP V30969: A, internal mould in dorsal view; B, external mould in ventral view.

Abbreviations: c, cornual process; dcm, dorsal commissure; ic, inner cornual process; ifc, infraorbital canal; ldc, lateral dorsal canal; ltc, lateral transverse canal; mdc, median dorsal canal; md.o, median dorsal opening; orb, orbital opening; pi, pineal opening; se, serrated edge; soc2, posterior supraorbital canal; v.mtc, vestige of the median transverse canal; vr, ventral rim.

 All scale bars represent 1 cm.

SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY

Subphylum VERTEBRATA-CRANIATA Linnaeus 1758

Infraphylum GNATHOSTOMATA Cope 1889

Subclass GALEASPIDA Tarlo 1967

Order EUGALEASPIFORMES (Liu 1965) Liu 1980

Family TRIDENSASPIDAE Liu 1986

Genus Bataspis nov.

 

Derivation of name: Bat from English, the shape of the cornual processes of Bataspis is similar to the membranous wings in bats.

Type species: Bataspis crux sp. nov.

Differential diagnosis: Bataspis is assigned to Eugaleaspiformes because it exhibits a suite of diagnostic features in morphology: subtriangular headshield with cornual and inner cornual processes, slit-like median dorsal opening, and typical eugaleaspid-type sensory canals. Although Bataspis lacks a rostral angle or process, its diagnostic specialized laterally-projecting processes suggest it differs from the members of Shuyuidae, Sinogaleaspidae, and Eugaleaspidae and can be assigned to Tridensaspidae. Compared with other members of Tridensaspidae, the absence of the rostral angle and the presence of vestiges of the median transverse canal distinguish Bataspis and Falxcornus; the lack of the rostral process constitute a diagnostic difference between Bataspis and the sister group including Pterogonaspis and Tridensaspis. Additionally, Bataspis contains serrations along with the margin connecting the cornual and inner cornual processes and the lateral margins of the median dorsal opening that differ from Falxcornus.

Bataspis crux sp. nov.

 

Derivation of name: The verb ‘to cruise’, in the sense of ‘to move from one side to the other’, is derived (via Norse and Old English) from the Latin crux (cross).

Holotype: A nearly complete headshield and its counterpart, IVPP V30969 (Fig. 1A–B).

Locality & horizon: Near the Qujing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital Qilin District, Qujing City, Yunnan Province, Xishancun Formation, Cuifengshan Group, Lochkovian, Early Devonian.

Diagnosis: Medium-sized tridensaspid fish; subtriangular headshield; arcuate rostral margin without rostral angle and process; cornual process spine-like, projecting posterolaterally; lobular inner cornual process projecting posteriorly, slightly stronger than cornual process; the angle between the cornual and inner cornual processes exceeding 90° (sickle-like); margin of the headshield connecting the cornual and inner cornual processes serrated; median dorsal opening slit-like (length/width >6) with nearly parallel lateral serrated margins, the posterior margin almost level with the centra of the orbital openings, and its middle part convex forward; orbital opening large, round, and dorsally positioned; pineal opening small, round, beyond the posterior margin of the orbital opening; sensory canal system typical eugaleaspid-type, with three pairs of lateral transverse canals and vestiges of the median transverse canal.

Artistic life restoration of Bataspis crux.

Artwork by Dinghua Yang.

CONCLUSION: 

We describe Bataspis crux, a new species of galeaspid from Xishancun Formation in the Early Devonian (Lochkovian age) of Yunnan, China. Our phylogenetic analyses ally the new genus to the family Tridensaspidae, sister to the clade of Pterogonaspis and Tridensaspis, and sharing with Falxcornus the status as the oldest known tridensaspids. The results of probabilistic phylogenetic methods indicate that more data are needed to clarify the phylogenetic relationships of galeaspids such as the family Shuyuidae. Bataspis crux extends beyond the range of phenotypic variation known previously for galeaspids. The unique morphological features of this bat-like jawless fish result in a high lift-to-drag ratio when at low angles of attack. Our results reveal the breadth of locomotor capabilities available to galeaspids and other jawless stem-gnathostomes, demonstrating that an absence of flexible paired fins was not an impediment to ecological diversity.

Xinyuan Meng, Humberto G. Ferrón, Davide Pisani, Zhikun Gai and Philip C. J. Donoghue. 2026. Bataspis crux, a galeaspid (jawless stem gnathostome) from the Lochkovian of Yunnan with a batwing-shaped head adapted for hydrodynamic efficiency. Palaeontology.  DOI: doi.org/10.1111/pala.70081 [04 August 2026]

[PaleoIchthyology • 2026] Parastylephorus anatoides • A New fossil from the Eocene of Iran provides new insights regarding the evolution of the morphologically bizarre tube-eye fish

 

Parastylephorus anatoides 

Ridolfi, Schrøder, Bahrami, Yazdi, Roa-Varón, Marramà & Carnevale, 2026

 

DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70114

Artwork by Lucrezia Bonardo

Abstract

Stylephoriformes are a morphologically bizarre lineage of deep-sea fishes, currently represented by a single extant species, Stylephorus chordatus, the so-called tube-eye fish. The phylogenetic relationships of the Stylephoriformes were extensively debated until recent genomic studies proposed a sister-group relationship with the Gadiformes. The tube-eye fish exhibits a suite of highly derived features, including extreme cranial kinesis, a pipette-like oral apparatus specialized for suction feeding, and an elongate, naked ribbon-like body lacking scales. The evolutionary origin of these unique traits is largely unknown, in part due to the complete absence of a fossil record. Here, we describe the first-known fossil of the order Stylephoriformes, from Bartonian (c. 40 Ma) sediments of the Pabdeh Formation, Iran. On the basis of several unique morphological features (edentulous premaxillae and dentary, moderately enlarged pterygoid elements, reduced opercle, elongate ribbon-like body comprising more than 63 vertebrae, eight pectoral-fin rays, absence of basipterygia, and the presence of a complete series of well-developed lateral-line scales) the specimen is assigned to a new genus and species: Parastylephorus anatoides. The fossil exhibits a body physiognomy, oral apparatus and cranial architecture remarkably similar to those of the extant tube-eye, with the most derived features already present and closely comparable in morphology. This suggests that the new fossil represents a good example of long-term morphological stasis among marine teleosts, documenting the persistence of a highly specialized body plan for more than 40 myr.

Keywords: Parastylephorus anatoides, Bartonian, Iran, Pabdeh Formation, Paracanthopterygii

Parastylephorus anatoides gen. et sp. nov., holotype, IUGM 100897, from the Eocene of Babaheydar (Iran). Scale bar represents 10 mm.

SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY

Order STYLEPHORIFORMES sensu Miya et al. 2007

Family STYLEPHORIDAE Swainson 1839

Genus Parastylephorus nov.

 

Derivation of name: The genus name is derived from the Greek prefix para- (παρά), meaning ‘near’, combined with Stylephorus, the name of the only currently recognized stylephoriform genus. The name reflects the shared morphological characteristics with Stylephorus.

 

Remarks: As discussed above, the Stylephoriformes are a lineage currently represented by a single extant species, Stylephorus chordatus, which possesses a number of highly derived anatomical features, including a strongly modified buccal apparatus, extremely reduced first two vertebral centra, and a continuous dorsal fin along the entire dorsal margin of the body. The body plan of Parastylephorus gen. nov. closely resembles that of Stylephorus, although it has a set of distinctive traits. These include the maxilla with a well-developed posterior process, the expanded metapterygoid and ectopterygoid, and the reduced size of the opercular bones. In addition, Parastylephorus gen. nov. possesses body squamation, consisting of thin and delicate lateral-line scales, which are completely absent in Stylephorus.

Parastylephorus anatoides sp. nov.

 

Derivation of name: The name is derived from the Latin word Anas, meaning ‘duck’, and the Greek suffix -oides (-οειδής) meaning ‘resembling’ or ‘having the form of’.

Holotype: IUGM 100897 a partially preserved specimen on a single plate 

 

Artistic reconstruction of Parastylephorus anatoides gen. et sp. nov. 

Note that the tubular eyes are based on the condition characteristic of the extant Stylephorus chordatus. 

Artwork by Lucrezia Bonardo.

Lorenzo Ridolfi, Ane Elise Schrøder, Ali Bahrami, Mehdi Yazdi, Adela Roa-Varón, Giuseppe Marramà and Giorgio Carnevale. 2026. A New fossil from the Eocene of Iran provides new insights regarding the evolution of the morphologically bizarre tube-eye fish. Papers in Palaeontology. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70114 [11 August 2026]

[Paleontology • 2021] Priscaleclercera christae • Taxonomic Revision of Fossil Psilodercidae and Ochyroceratidae Spiders (Araneae: Synspermiata), with A New Species of Priscaleclercera from mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber, northern Myanmar

 

Priscaleclercera christae

Magalhaes, Porta, Wunderlich, Proud, Ramírez & Pérez-González, 2021

DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104751  

  x.com/6eyes8legs 

 Researchgate.net/publication/348281048

Highlights

• We revise the types of most known psilodercid and ochyroceratid spiders in amber.

• We describe a new Priscaleclercera species from Late Cretaceous Burmese amber.

• Priscaleclercera is a crown-group psilodercid, close to Althepus and Leclercera.

• Late Cretaceous Burmese amber contains 11 species of psilodercids.

• Arachnolithulus, preserved in Dominican amber, is an Ochyroceratinae.

Abstract

Psilodercidae contains some 200 known extant species of small spiders that live in tropical rainforests and caves and is mainly restricted to the Oriental biogeographic realm. Interestingly, at least ten different fossil species have been described from inclusions in Late Cretaceous Burmese amber. This suggests the family has been diversifying in the region for ∼100 million years. In this paper, we revise the taxonomy of fossil species of this family and the closely related Ochyroceratidae, based on the re-examination of type specimens of described species. We find that ten Cretaceous species described in the psilodercid genera Priscaleclercera and Aculeatosoma are valid, and present new illustrations of their type material. The genus Propterpsiloderces apparently does not belong to Psilodercidae, but rather to a family representing a stem lineage within Scytodoidea. Ochyroceratidae is represented in the fossil record by a single ochyroceratine genus from Miocene Dominican amber, Arachnolithulus. The original combination of the extant species Leclercera spinata Deeleman-Reinhold, 1995 is reinstated by transferring it from Priscaleclercera, leaving this latter genus as a strictly fossil taxon. Finally, we present the description of a hitherto unknown species of Priscaleclercera from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, Priscaleclercera christae sp. nov., bringing the total number of congeners to ten. By studying its morphological features, we argue that Priscaleclercera is a crown-group Psilodercidae, closely related to the Althepus–Leclercera lineage. The high species diversity of Priscaleclercera indicates that Psilodercidae was already a diverse component of the Oriental tropical forests during the Cretaceous.

Keywords: Aculeatosoma, Arachnolithulus, Cretaceous, Myanmar, Synspermiata

Priscaleclercera christae sp. nov.

 

 Ivan L.F. Magalhaes, Andrés O. Porta, Jörg Wunderlich, Daniel N. Proud, Martín J. Ramírez and Abel Pérez-González. 2021. Taxonomic Revision of Fossil Psilodercidae and Ochyroceratidae Spiders (Araneae: Synspermiata), with A New Species of Priscaleclercera from mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber, northern Myanmar. Cretaceous Research. In Press, 104751. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104751 [5 January 2021]

 twitter.com/6eyes8legs/status/1346826645638946825 

 Researchgate.net/publication/348281048_Taxonomic_revision_of_fossil_Psilodercidae_and_Ochyroceratidae_spiders_with_a_new_species_of_Priscaleclercera_from_mid-Cretaceous_Burmese_amber

 

[Paleontology • 2026] Spea labreae • A New extinct Pleistocene Species of Spadefoot Toad (Anura: Scaphiopodidae) and comments on the Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography of Anurans from Rancho La Brea, California

Reconstruction of Spea labreae, (dark spadefoots, center) in La Brea Tar Pits compared with Spea hammondii (light spadefoot, left), the species currently present in the area, and the presence of the Mexican burrowing toad (Rhinophrynidae, bottom). 

 Cruz & Lindsey, 2026

 DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2689465 

Artwork by Arturo Dávalos

ABSTRACT

Fossil amphibians hold great promise for paleoecological, paleoclimatological, and biogeographic studies because of their extreme sensitivity to environmental conditions. However, the study of fossil amphibians to date has been limited, because the fragility of frog, toad, and salamander skeletons means that diagnostic elements are rarely preserved in the fossil record. One unique locality that preserves a robust record of Quaternary amphibians is Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Here, we describe the amphibian fauna from the Hancock Collection of Rancho La Brea, which contains fossils from ∼45,000 years before present through the Holocene. We document previously unrecognized taxa from this locality, including the Mexican burrowing toad Rhinophrynus sp. and a new species of spadefoot toad, Spea labreae, sp. nov. Using osteological comparison material, we calculate the size of this new species of Spea, which is larger than the extant species in this genus. We analyze the current distribution and fossil record of the genus Spea and the family Rhinophrynidae, documenting changes in geographic ranges of these taxa during the Quaternary. These changes likely resulted from the interplay of deglacial climate changes and topographic complexity in the American Southwest, and may help to predict amphibian responses to climate changes impacting the region today.

Class AMPHIBIA, Linnaeus, 1767

Order ANURA Rafinesque, 1815

Family SCAPHIOPODIDAE Cope, 1865

Genus SPEA Cope, 1866

SPEA LABREAE, sp. nov.

Etymology—The specific epithet refers to La Brea, Spanish for ‘the tar’ which gave rise to the name of Rancho La Brea, the locality where this species is found.

 

Locality, Horizon, and Age—Pit A, Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles, California, Late Pleistocene–Holocene.

 

Reconstruction of Spea labreae, (dark spadefoots, center and right) in La Brea Tar Pits compared with Spea hammondii (light spadefoot, left), the species currently present in the area, and the presence of the Mexican burrowing toad (Rhinophrynidae, bottom).

 Artwork by Arturo Dávalos.

 

J. Alberto Cruz and Emily L. Lindsey. 2026. A New extinct Pleistocene Species of Spadefoot Toad and comments on the Paleoecology and Paleobiogeography of Anurans from Rancho La Brea, California. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2689465. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2026.2689465 [04 Aug 2026]

[Paleontology • 2026] Cicero spectabilis • Aptian archaeoniscid isopod from the Araripe Basin supports Tethyan-linked dispersal into Gondwanan lacustrine systems

Cicero spectabilis 

Lima, Anker, Heads, Pinheiro & Santana, 2026 

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59890-0

Life reconstruction of Cicero spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. in the Aptian lacustrine environment of the Crato Formation, Araripe Basin, Brazil, showing several individuals scavenging on a dead fish (Dastilbe) on the lake floor, surrounded by aquatic vegetation (Notocyamus hydrophobus), fishes and arthropods.  

 Illustration by Maurílio Oliveira (paleoartist, MN/UFRJ).

Abstract

A new genus and species of fossil isopod, Cicero spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. is described from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation, Araripe Sedimentary Basin, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The holotype, preserved in laminated limestones, represents the first confirmed record of the family Archaeoniscidae within this stratigraphic unit and extends the previously known paleogeographic distribution of archaeoniscid-like isopods into Gondwana lacustrine settings. The new genus is distinguished from other taxa currently referred to Archaeoniscidae—Archaeoniscus, Ferreniscus and Codoisopus, by its broad, ovate body, distinctive antennular subdivision, and a fan-like caudal structure formed by birramous uropods with well-differentiated exopod and endopod, combined with a rounded subrectangular pleotelson bearing a row of posterior setae. The exceptional preservation of C. spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. enables a detailed assessment of functionally relevant characters and supports interpretation of a benthic lifestyle on soft, low-energy substrates. A conservative concept of the family and a combination of body, pleon-pleotelson and antennular features justifies the placement of Cicero n. gen. within this extinct sphaeromatidean lineage. Within this framework, the occurrence C. spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. in a stratified lacustrine system of the Araripe Basin, together with other Mesozoic archaeoniscid-like records, suggest that some lineages currently assigned to Archaeoniscidae were able to colonize a range of non-marine environments during the Early Cretaceous, while also underscoring the need for a comprehensive phylogenetic reassessment of the group.

Keywords: Malacostraca, Sphaeromatidea, Fossil isopod, Crustacean, Santana group, Archaeoniscidae, Crato formation

Holotype of Cicero spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. from the Aptian Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation, Araripe Basin, Brazil (MPSC 9701). A, Ventral view of the specimen preserved in laminated limestone. B, Interpretative line drawing highlighting cephalic appendages, pereopods, pleon, pleotelson, and uropods. Scale bars: 2 mm.

Cicero spectabilis n. gen. n. sp.

Life reconstruction of Cicero spectabilis n. gen. n. sp. in the Aptian lacustrine environment of the Crato Formation, Araripe Basin, Brazil, showing several individuals scavenging on a dead fish (Dastilbe) on the lake floor, surrounded by aquatic vegetation (Notocyamus hydrophobus), fishes and arthropods. Coloration and most dorsal features are conjectural and based on extant sphaeromatidean isopods. Illustration by Maurílio Oliveira (paleoartist, MN/UFRJ).

Daniel Lima, Arthur Anker, Sam W. Heads, Allysson P. Pinheiro and William Santana. 2026. Aptian archaeoniscid isopod from the Araripe Basin supports Tethyan-linked dispersal into Gondwanan lacustrine systems. Scientific Reports. 16: 23631. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-59890-0 [19 July 2026]

 

[PaleoEntomology • 2026] Icaroramus perisi • A Firefly Relative that Smelled and Glowed: Evidence for Complex Signalling Systems in Cretaceous lampyroids

Icaroramus perisi Li, Kundrata & Cai 

in Li, Kundrata, Huang, Myint et Cai, 2026. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0295 

Artwork by Ding-Hua Yang

Abstract

The evolution of insect sensory and signalling systems has played a key role in arthropod diversification, yet direct fossil evidence illuminating their early history remains rare. Lampyroids, including fireflies and their relatives, are notable for their elaborately modified antennae and bioluminescence. These characteristics make them an exceptional model for understanding the coevolution of sensory and signalling modalities. Here we describe Icaroramus perisi gen. et sp. nov. from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, a lampyroid beetle tentatively placed within Cretophengodidae. Icaroramus is exceptional in possessing both extraordinarily elaborate antennae and a well-developed photic organ. Its 12-segmented quadriheteroramose antennae represent an antennal architecture unknown among extant and fossil beetles. Functionally, these antennae likely combined an expanded olfactory surface area with differentiated sensory fields, enhancing the detection of pheromonal cues. Mate location was therefore probably mediated primarily by pheromones, whereas bioluminescence may have retained its plesiomorphic role in aposematic defence. This discovery expands the known morphological and ecological diversity of Cretaceous lampyroids and provides new insight into the origins of complex signalling strategies in fireflies and their relatives.

Keywords: Cretophengodidae, Kachin amber, heteroramose antenna, mating strategy, bioluminescence  

  

Icaroramus perisi, holotype, NIGP209038.
(A, B) Habitus, dorsal and ventral views, under reflected illumination. (C) Schematic reconstruction of antenna (proportions approximate).

Scale bars: 2 mm in (A,B).

Systematic palaeontology

Order Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758

Superfamily Elateroidea Leach, 1815

Family (?) Cretophengodidae Li et al., 2021

Genus Icaroramus Li, Kundrata & Cai gen. nov.

 

Diagnosis. Antennae 12-segmented; antennomeres 4–11 quadriheteroramose, each with two morphologically different pairs of rami (figures 1C, 2A–C) (antennomeres 4–11 biramose in Cretophengodes Li et al.). Pronotum with posterior angles acute and shortly produced posteriorly (figure 1A) (posterior pronotal angles obtuse in Cretophengodes). Prosternum in front of coxae longer than longitudinal diameter of procoxal cavity; prosternal process extending well beyond procoxae and fitting into mesoventral cavity (figure 2D). Mesoventral cavity well developed (figure 2E). Abdomen with six ventrites; ventrite 6 with entire surface luminous (figure 1B) (possible luminous organ present on medial portions of abdominal ventrites 1–3 in Cretophengodes).

Etymology. The generic name is formed from Icarus, the mythological figure who flew too close to the Sun and fell into the sea, and ramus, referring to the multiple long rami on each antennomere. It metaphorically evokes an evolutionary ‘overreach’, a unique antennal elaboration that was lost and not inherited by extant lineages. The name is masculine in gender.

Icaroramus perisi Li, Kundrata, Cai sp. nov.  

Etymology. The species is named after the palaeoentomologist Dr David Peris.

 

Artistic reconstruction of Icaroramus perisi glowing in mid-Cretaceous forest.

 

Yan-Da Li; Robin Kundrata; Diying Huang; Tin Aung Myint; Chenyang Cai. 2026. A Firefly Relative that Smelled and Glowed: Evidence for Complex Signalling Systems in Cretaceous lampyroids. Proc. R. Soc. B (2026) 293 (2075): 20260295. DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0295 [29 Jul 2026]

Cretaceous Beetle Fossil Reveals Early Evolution of Firefly Sensory and Signaling Systems

https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research-news/202607/t20260729_1179346.shtml

 

[Paleontology • 2026] Climate-extreme-driven Genesis of A Cretaceous Dinosaur Lagerstätte

 

 in Fanti, Consorti, Muscioni, Baldassari, Dinelli, Polentarutti, ... et Chiarenza. 2026. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105589 

 x.com/AAlechiarenza

Artwork by palaeoartist Davide Bonadonna

Highlights: 

• Monsoon-driven storms created a Cretaceous dinosaur Lagerstätte.

• Tidal microcouplets yield an unprecedented ∼40-year chronometry.

• Synchrotron micro-XRF/XRD maps refute seasonal varve interpretation.

• Microbial mats enabled rapid sealing and exceptional soft-tissue preservation.

• New genetic model and toolkit for climate event-driven preservation in carbonates.

Abstract

Konservat-Lagerstätten provide exceptional records of past ecosystems, yet the environmental and climatic processes governing their formation in extreme climatic regimes remain a significant, unresolved conundrum. Here we present a novel, process-based mechanism for the Villaggio del Pescatore Konservat-Lagerstätte (northeastern Italy; Late Cretaceous, 80 Ma), which preserves a diverse terrestrial and aquatic biota. Integrating high resolution synchrotron micro-analyses, bulk geochemistry, detailed taphonomy and palaeoclimate simulations we identify a dynamic, monsoon-paced tidal flat ecosystem within a carbonate coastal margin. Field and core records comprise metrescale packages of laterally persistent light–dark laminae; microstratigraphic, spectral and statistical analyses indicate a semidiurnal tidal regime with neap–spring modulation. MicroXRF/XRD mapping reveals that individual microlaminae within couplets share the same elemental inventory refuting a seasonal varve origin. Laminae chronometry, tied to the tidal interpretation, constrains net accumulation of the fossil bearing rhythmites to decadal (∼40 year) timescales. Geochemical proxies record alternating terrigenous rich, high TOC intervals and drier, better oxygenated intervals. Palaeoclimate model ensembles diagnose a vigorous, summer dominated monsoon domain at ∼29° N under greenhouse boundary conditions. We document that episodic monsoon enhanced flood and tropical cyclone pulses delivered sediment, nutrients, carcasses and plant debris to a microbially active, carbonate tidal flat; microbial mats rapidly stabilised and promoted early cementation, enabling exceptional soft tissue preservation. We propose a genetic model in which monsoon–cyclone forcing, tidal trapping and microbial sealing combine to produce decadal, daily resolved vertebrate Lagerstätten in greenhouse settings, offering predictive targets for similar deposits and deep time analogues for modern coastal change.

Keywords: Exceptional fossil preservation, Dinosauria, Crocodylomorpha, Arthropoda, Plants, Italy

“Stormbringer” — palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Villaggio del Pescatore
The artwork shows a Tethyshadros insularis carcass and an Acynodon crocodylian on a storm-swept tropical tidal flat, beneath the monsoon clouds and a distant cyclone that the study identifies as the engine of the site’s formation.

 by palaeoartist Davide Bonadonna. 

 

Federico Fanti, Lorenzo Consorti, Marco Muscioni, Lorenzo Baldassari, Enrico Dinelli, Maurizio Polentarutti, Giorgio Bais, Alexander Farnsworth, Evelyn Kustatscher, Amalia Spina and Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza. 2026. Climate-extreme-driven Genesis of A Cretaceous Dinosaur Lagerstätte. Global and Planetary Change.  265, October 2026, 105589. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105589

 x.com/AAlechiarenza/status/2074802383733813269

[Paleontology • 2026] Tametara mirim • Exceptional Brain and Ecological Diversity in the earliest Snakes

 

Tametara mirim

Simões, Sobral, Macrì, Ebel, Fachini, Martinelli, Nava, Paixão, Chiappe, Di-Poï & Hsiou, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10809-9

Abstract

Understanding the ecological origin of snakes has remained a century-old challenge, hindered by an extremely sparse early fossil record and conflicting interpretations of fossil ecologies. Here we describe an exceptionally preserved Cretaceous fossil snake, Tametara mirim gen. et sp. nov., from Brazil, representing one of the earliest-diverging stem snakes. High-resolution micro-CT scans reveal unprecedented details of cranial nerves, inner ear and brain anatomy, enabling the most integrated reconstruction of stem snake neuroanatomy to date. Quantitative and qualitative endocast analyses demonstrate that Tametara had a brain morphology distinct from both other stem and extant snakes, revealing substantial early neuroanatomical disparity—and probably sensory functions—in snake evolution. Independent evidence from telencephalon shape and bone microstructure converges on a fossorial lifestyle for Tametara and non-fossorial for another stem snake: Dinilysia. These results indicate that major ecological transitions occurred early in snake evolution, and that known stem species do not represent the ancestral condition of crown snakes. Early snake evolution thus involved complex shifts in habitat use and sensory ecology, revealing greater ecological and neuroanatomical diversity than previously thought.

 

Systematic palaeontology

Squamata Oppel, 1811

Serpentes Linnaeus, 1758

Holotype (MPM 420) of Tametara mirim. 
 a, Photograph of the whole specimen with the articulated skull and postcranium in dorsal view. Ant, anterior; Bl, block number; Ce.V., cervical vertebrae; Do.V., dorsal vertebrae; Post, posterior; Sk, skull. b,c, Photographs of the skull in lateral (b) and dorsal (c) view. CB, compound bone; F, frontal; Oto, otoccipital; P, parietal; PFr, postfrontal; Pro, prootic; Ptg, pterygoid; Q, quadrate; Soc, supraoccipital; St, supratemporal. d–g, 3D renderings of an anterior precloacal (‘cervical’) vertebra in lateral (d) and anterolateral (e) views, and mid-precloacal (‘dorsal’) vertebra in dorsal (f) and left lateral (g) views. h–j, 3D renderings of the skull in the right lateral view (h) and with exposed brain endocasts in the right lateral (i) and dorsal (j) views. Mes., mesencephalon; Rho., rhombencephalon; Tel., telencephalon. Scale bars, 100 mm (a), 5 mm (b,c,h–j) and 1 mm (d–g). Specimen photos were taken by A.S.H.

Tametara mirim gen. et sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Tametara mirim can be distinguished from all other snakes based on the following combination of characters: postfrontal present but parietal (posterior) process absent*; parietal with posteromedial process present*; supraoccipital with sagittal crest, posterolaterally projecting nuchal crests*, well-developed anterolateral processes* and strongly overlapped by the parietal dorsally; otoccipitals not contacting each other medially (separated by posterior process of supraoccipital); quadrates with quadrate conch, suprastapedial process and pterygoid lappet; posterior surangular foramen present; precloacal vertebrae with well-developed and ventrolaterally oriented ...

Etymology. Tametara, meaning ‘adorned’ (referring to the pronounced sagittal crest of the holotype); mirim, meaning small-sized, in the native Brazilian, Tupí-Guaraní language.

Holotype. MPM 420 (Museu de Paleontologia de Marília, Marília, State of São Paulo, Brazil). Posterior half of a 3D-preserved skull and mandibles articulated with the anterior portion of the postcranium, including 103 presacral vertebrae.

Locality and age. The fossil was discovered by W.R.N. and G.M.X.P. in 2020, in William’s Quarry 2 at Sítio Paleontológico ‘José Martin Suárez’ (Presidente Prudente municipality, State of São Paulo, Brazil); Adamantina Formation, Bauru Group, Bauru Basin, late Santonian to early Campanian age (approximately 85–75 million years ago (Ma))22.

 

Tiago R. Simões, Gabriela Sobral, Simone Macrì, Roy Ebel, Thiago S. Fachini, Agustín G. Martinelli, William R. Nava, Giovanna M. X. Paixão, Luis M. Chiappe, Nicolas Di-Poï and Annie S. Hsiou. 2026. Exceptional Brain and Ecological Diversity in the earliest Snakes. Nature. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10809-9 [22 July 2026]