Revision of the lagoon crickets (Elcanidae: Insecta: Orthoptera) of the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil with the description of new taxa

2026/02/27 by Ole-Kristian Odin Schall, Sam W. Heads, Daniel Lima +3 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Fossil Insects in Amber #Orthoptera Research and Taxonomy #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology

paper · doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2026.106344

openalex publication_date 2026/02/27 · openalex created_date 2026/02/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/15

Abstract

Elcanidae is a Mesozoic family of Orthoptera with many species known from Laurasia, but only very few from Gondwana. Here, a total of 88 specimens of Elcanidae from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil were examined. Three new genera and species are described: Argentoelcana intermedia gen. et sp. nov.; Ensiferelcana brachyptera gen. et sp. nov.; Gondwanelcana brasiliensis gen. et sp. nov. In addition, the new genus Mesembrelcana gen. nov. is described to accommodate Cratoelcana rasnitsini Nel and Jouault, 2022, resulting in the new combination Mesembrelcana rasnitsini (Nel and Jouault, 2022) comb. nov. Finally, Cratoelcana damianii Martins-Neto, 1991 is transferred to Panorpidium Westwood, 1854, resulting in the new combination Panorpidium damianii (Martins-Neto, 1991) comb. nov., thus rendering Cratoelcana Martins-Neto, 1991 monotypic, containing only the type species Cratoelcana zessini Martins-Neto, 1991. Trait variability across the species based on the 88 specimens is presented and possible conclusions for the taxonomy of the family are discussed. Reasons explaining the high abundance of females among the specimens (69.3%) may include 1) a female-biased population of Elcanidae with the possible presence of parthenogenesis. 2) A stronger association of females with an aquatic habitat, for example for egg laying (thus leading to females being more likely to be preserved). The common name lagoon crickets is proposed for the family Elcanidae due to their frequent connection to bodies of water. The present work is the most comprehensive study about the Elcanidae of the Crato Formation since the contributions of Martins-Neto over 30 years ago.

Citations

• The first orthopteran fossils from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Jinju Formation of Korea: Ethological implications for elcanids
• The study of fossil macroinvertebrates from the Santana Group, Brazil: Legal and ethical challenges and neocolonial legacies in paleontology

Discussions

• These fossils offer rare insights into early insect diversification and how ancient ecosystems functioned under very different climates. → doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... 2/3 [bsky, 0 points, 1 comments]

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