A new archaeorthopteran insect from the Early Permian of the Saar- Nahe Basin, SW Germany, and the earliest record of Elcanoidea (Orthoptera)

We describe an archaeorthopteran forewing from the Early Permian (Asselian or early Sakmarian) Humberg lake system (uppermost Meisenheim Formation) of Griigelborn/Saarland. It is attributed to a new genus and species, Saarelcana stapsi gen. et sp. nov., and it represents the oldest record of the Elcanoidea (= 'Permelcanidae' + Elcanidae). This is the seventh taxon of Archaeortho-ptera from the Meisenheim Formation and underpins the extraordinarily high diversity of the group in the Pennsylvanian and Permian.

Automated summary

We report a fossil forewing of an archaeorthopteran insect from the Early Permian period. It belongs to a new genus and species, Saarelcana stapsi, and represents the oldest known record of the Elcanoidea group. This discovery adds to the already high diversity of archaeorthopterans in the Pennsylvanian and Permian periods.