Corentin Jouault

University of Oxford | OX · Oxford University Museum of Natural History

Three new species of aulacid wasps, Aulacus pascali sp. nov., Pristaulacus elveni sp. nov. and Pristaulacus villemantae sp. nov., and a new species of gasteruptiid wasp, Gasteruption jenningsi sp. nov., are described and figured. Additionally, we update identification keys to New Caledonia species of aulacids and gasteruptiids. We also provide new...

Deciphering the timing and tempo of lineage diversification of organisms has greatly benefited from advances in Bayesian phylogenetic analyses using morpho- logical data. Those advances, however, have not been used for termites despite a rich fossil record. Here, we estimate divergence times for living and fossil termites using the fossilized birth...

The Permo–Triassic interval encompasses three extinction events including the most dramatic biological crisis of the Phanerozoic, the latest Permian mass extinction. However, their drivers and outcomes are poorly quantified and understood for terrestrial invertebrates, which we assess here for insects. We find a pattern with three extinctions: the...

With ~14,000 extant species, ants are ubiquitous and of tremendous ecological importance. They have undergone remarkable diversification throughout their evolutionary history. However, the drivers of their diversity dynamics are not well quantified or understood. Previous phylogenetic analyses have suggested patterns of diversity dynamics associate...

The higher classification of termites requires substantial revision as the Neoisoptera, the most diverse termite lineage, comprise many paraphyletic and polyphyletic higher taxa. Here, we produce an updated termite classification using genomic-scale analyses. We reconstruct phylogenies under diverse substitution models with ultraconserved elements...

Cretosphecium jinjuensis sp. nov. is the first species of angarosphecid (Apoidea) hymenopteran to be described from the lower Albian (Lower Cretaceous) Jinju Formation in the Republic of Korea. This new taxon is assigned to Cretosphecium based on its forewing venation. It differs from all other Cretosphecium inter alia by its 1cu-a crossvein being...

The new siricid wasp Xeris muratensis sp. nov. is described from the Upper Miocene (ca. 5.60 ± 0.3 Ma) Konservat-Laggerstätte of Sainte-Reine (Cantal, France). Its wing venation characters closely resemble those of the extant Eastern Palaearctic siricid species Xeris malaisei Maa. The new species has a completely black body, vs. presence of yellow...

A new praeaulacid species, Hadraulacus liae sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a female specimen from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This new species reinforces the validity of key diagnostic characters used to define the genus Hadraulacus Li, Shih & Ren, 2023, such as the absence of the 2rs-m crossvein in the forewing. However, it also...

Braconid wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) represent the second most diverse family of hymenopterans today. Despite their remarkable current diversity, their Cretaceous fossil record is sparse in comparison. Here, we describe Cantabriazyx perezdelafuentei Álvarez-Parra & Jouault gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Cretaceous (middle Albian) amber of El S...

Ichneumonid wasps, also known as Darwin wasps, are relatively rare in Cretaceous amber deposits, with only the highest diversity documented from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. In order to enhance our understanding of the past diversity of this group, we describe and illustrate a new species belonging to the genus Rasnichneumon Kopylov et al., 2021, n...

We report two new species of Novichneumoninae from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber: Rasnichneumon klopfsteinae sp. nov. and Rasnichneumon gibbosus sp. nov. These new species increase the diversity of novichneumonine wasps documented from Kachin amber during the mid-Cretaceous. We emend the diagnosis of the genus Rasnichneumon to accommodate the morphol...

The Angiosperm Revolution (AR), which unfolded between the Early Cretaceous and the Eocene (125–50 million years ago), is one of the most transformative events witnessed by terrestrial ecosystems. The AR encompassed the diversification and rise to dominance of flowering plants (angiosperms), resulting in the waning of conifers and other plant linea...

Although undoubtedly playing a major role in the evolutionary history of insects and their diversity dynamics over deep time, biotic interactions (i.e., competition, predation, parasitism, and facilitation) and paleoevents (mass extinctions or abrupt environmental changes) remain understudied on a macroevolutionary scale in this group. Their import...

The new tenthredinid Palaeocaiina menatensis gen. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated from the Paleocene of Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France). Although its preservation complicates the observation of several key characters useful to distinguish between tenthredinid subfamilies, we decided to place this new taxon within the tribe Allantini of the sub...

A new praeaulacid species, Habraulacus splendidus sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a male specimen from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber. This newly discovered taxon is, inter alia, characterised by its relatively low number of antennomeres (about 28) and its complex forewing venation (i.e., with both 2rs-m and 3rs-m present). Together wi...

Mesosticta additicta sp. nov., fourth species of this platystictid genus, is described from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, suggesting its endemic diversification in the West Burma Block (WBB), possibly in relation to the geographic isolation of this area during the formation of mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber.

Studying insect fossils, particularly those preserved as compressions in sedimentary matrices, can be difficult due to the taphonomic processes that often result to poor preservation and contrast of structures compared to the embedding matrix. To address this, we propose a user-friendly and simple methodology based on UV-light to study insect fossils...

The fundamental value of universal nomenclatural systems in biology is that they enable unambiguous scientific communication. However, the stability of these systems is threatened by recent discussions asking for a fairer nomenclature, raising the possibility of bulk revision processes for "inappropriate" names. It is evident that such proposals co...

Two evanioid wasps are described from specimens entrapped in Kachin amber. The first species, Sinuevania pouilloni sp. nov., allows a revision of the diagnosis of the genus Sinuevania. The complex forewing venation (plesiomorphy) of this new species confirms that the genus Sinuevania belongs to the stem group of the family Evaniidae. Together with...

A new praeaulacid genus and species, Azygdellitha nova gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a male specimen from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from Hukawng Valley, Myanmar. This newly discovered taxon increased the diversity of praeaulacid wasps during the Cretaceous period. While this new taxon shares similarities of wing venation...

Insect fossils can be difficult to study as taphonomical processes have resulted in poor preservation and contrast of composition We propose an easy methodology based on UV-A light to study compression insect fossils and select specimens of interest for more advanced imagery studies. Ultraviolet (UV)light imaging has been previously performed on ar...

Understanding the origins and macroevolutionary trajectories of lineages is central in evolutionary biology. The insect order Hymenoptera encompasses over 117,000 extant species, comprising ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies, and has a rich fossil record. They likely played a pivotal role in the mid-Mesozoic parasitoid revolution (MMPR), reshaping ter...

Several Coleoptera fossils, including Coptoclavidae, Elateridae, Ommatidae, and Staphylinidae, were previously described from the Jinju Formation (Albian), South Korea. However, numerous beetle fossils require further research to fully understand the biodiversity of this important Cretaceous deposit. In this study, we present an overview of the div...

The order Psocodea, including barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice, is diverse and widely distributed since the Cretaceous. That is particularly the case for the speciose extinct family Empheriidae (Psocodea, Trogiomorpha, Atropetae), recently fused with the ‘Archaeatropidae’. Understanding the evolution of barklice is dependent in part on studyi...

The family Coniopterygidae, commonly known as dustywings, occupies a distinctive niche within the Neuroptera, as they are the smallest members of this order (Grimaldi & Engel, 2005; Engel et al., 2018). Characterized by forewing lengths seldom surpassing 5 mm, with a few exceptions (Liu & Lu, 2017), this family has achieved a remarkable speciosity,...

A new species of Tettigarctidae Sanmai? zetavena sp. nov. is described and illustrated from the Late Triassic Amisan Formation (Republic of Korea). This new species is the oldest representative of the genus Sanmai Chen et al., 2016, previously only known from the Middle Jurassic of China. This discovery expands the temporal range of the genus Sanma...

The past diversity of Isoptera stands in stark contrast to their extant diversity as the number of fossil termite species is relatively low. Many early-diverging families are unknown from the Cretaceous, a crucial period encompassing the origins of many extant lineages. Therefore, the study of their past diversity dynamics, leading to their present...

Notre connaissance du vivant est encore très limitée, moins de 20% des espèces présentes sur terre sont à ce jour connues. Il est donc indispensable d’accroître notre travail d’inventaire de la biodiversité. C’est le but de la recherche scientifique, mais c’est aussi une responsabilité vitale à l’heure de la sixième extinction. Alors qu’un contre-l...

Luberotenthredo cerestensis gen. et sp. nov. is the first record of the sawfly family Tenthredinidae from the Oligocene of Céreste (Southern France). This taxon is described and illustrated based on a well-preserved specimen. This genus resembles the extant genus Perineura (subfamily Tenthredininae, tribe Perineurini) with which it shares forewing...

The Paleocene Paskapoo Formation in Alberta, Canada, offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into insect diversity at that time. This fossil insect-rich formation has yielded a variety of fossil arthropod specimens, including several wings of Odonata related to the genus Alloaeschna Wighton and Wilson, 1986. Here, we demonstrate that morphologi...

The Cretaceous fossil record of the aculeate superfamily Chrysidoidea has been greatly enriched in the past few years, thanks especially to the abundance of available material in the late Albian-early Cenomanian amber from the Kachin state (Myanmar). We here document the discovery of a new genus and species, Thagyaminobythus martini gen. et sp. nov...

The order Mecoptera, commonly known as scorpionflies, has a long and fascinating evolutionary history that spans over 270 million years, if we consider its stem group. Despite their well-documented fossil record during the Mesozoic, many aspects of their diversity and evolution remain poorly understood. In this study, we increase the fossil record...

We introduce a novel paoliid, Carbonidelia gallica gen. et sp. nov., which may share close affinities with the ‘ideliid’ genus Sojanidelia Storozhenko, 1992. This new taxon is described from Gzhelian strata exposed at Tante Victoire in Var, France. Additionally, we present a remarkably well-preserved forewing from the same outcrop belonging to the...

Hanguksyntexis haeretica gen. et sp. nov. is the first Anaxyelidae described and illustrated from the early Albian Jinju Formation (Republic of Korea). This new taxon is attributed to the subfamily Syntexinae because of its forewing venation (i.e., 1-Rs+M forking at 1m-cu level), but differs from all other syntexines genera because of its peculiar...

A new species of the extinct genus Eocenostenus Cai, Clarke, Huang & Nel, 2014, is described from the middle Paleocene (Selandian) of Menat (France). Eocenostenus vanja sp. nov. is the second known species of the genus, the first being Eocenostenus fossilis Cai et al., 2014 described from the late Eocene (Priabonian) of Monteils, France. The discov...

Oligomonoctenus neytiriae gen. et sp. nov., the second fossil representative of the family Diprionidae from the uppermost Oligocene of Aix-en-Provence, France, is described on the basis of a well-preserved compression fossil. It is compared to the other extant and fossil diprionid genera. Its morphology and wing venation support placement in the su...

Cretevania kachinensis sp. nov., a new species of evaniid wasp (Hymenoptera: Evaniidae), is described and illustrated from a male specimen preserved in the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of the Noije Bum deposits (Myanmar). Cretevania kachinensis sp. nov. is readily attributed to the genus Cretevania because of its forewing venation (i.e., forewing w...

Korehelorus jinjuensis gen. et sp. nov., a new genus and species of the family Heloridae, is described and figured from a specimen preserved in the dark grey shales of the lower Albian Jinju Formation (Republic of Korea). This description further increases the diversity of the family Heloridae in the Mesozoic and provides additional evidence for a...

Bilebullephlebia legendrei n. gen., n. sp. is described, illustrated, and placed into the small epiproctophoran family Burmaphlebiidae. This family was previously known from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber by two monotypic genera, but the new fossil shows that its diversity is underestimated. At least one additional genus with an enigmatic wing ven...

The infra-order Isoptera, or termites, is a diverse group of eusocial insects with a worldwide distribution. Despite their importance in many ecosystems, little is known about their origin and early evolution. Recent discoveries of new fossils of Isoptera from Burmese amber (Albian- Cenomanian) and in the Crato Formation (Aptian) have shed added li...

The diversity of praeaulacid wasps in Kachin amber is relatively poorly documented. Here, a new genus and species of praeaulacid wasp are described and illustrated from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber as Archeogastrinus kachinensis gen. et sp. nov., and placed in the subfamily Praeaulacinae. This new genus is distinguishable from the other Praeaula...

The representatives of the superfamily Evanioidea are easily distinguishable from all other extant and extinct Hymenoptera because of their metasoma (sometimes rounded) articulated high on the propodeum and well above the metacoxae (e.g., Goulet & Huber, 1993). Recent phylogenetic studies on the superfamily Evanioidea have shown strong support for...

The past diversity of vespid wasps is relatively poorly documented. Many early-diverging fossil subfamilies are only represented today by a single or a few species. Therefore, the delineations of these clades and the early evolutionary history of the family remain difficult to decipher and require additional fossil occurrences. Here, a new genus an...

The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) is one of the most important Cenozoic climatic events shaping modern biodiversity, yet reconstructions of its palaeobiomes remain controversial. Here we describe Gesomyrmex gallicus sp. nov., a new, extinct species of the ant genus Gesomyrmex Mayr, 1868, based on minor and major workers preserved in the...

A new genus and species of the archaeorthopteran order Caloneurodea are described and illustrated from the Salagou Formation (France) as Lodevogramma pumilia gen. et sp. nov. The particular wing venation of this species precludes its placement within one of the already described families of Caloneurodea. Consequently, the family Lodevogrammatidae f...

Lodevoisadia coheni gen. et sp. nov. is described as the ninth species of ‘Grylloblattodea’ from the middle Permian of the Salagou Formation, near Lodève town (France). It is currently not reasonable to place this species into a specific family, even though it seems to share most characters with the small family Tunguskapteridae. The lack of phylog...

Glaphyrophlebia victoiriensis sp. nov. (Paoliida: Blattinopsidae) is the third Gzhelian representative of the genus and is described based on a beautiful forewing from the Var department in Southern France. Together with the description of another forewing fragment of a Glaphyrophlebia sp. from the Province of León in NW Spain, they improve our kno...

Shurabia taewani sp. nov., is the first representative of the reculid family Geinitziidae described from the Upper Triassic of South Korea. The preservation of numerous wing venation characters on this new fossil allows for its placement in the genus Shurabia and a deep comparison with other genera of Geinitziidae. This discovery suggests that the...

A new genus and species of anaxyelid wasp is described and figured from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber as Curvitexis kopylovi gen. et sp. nov. The placement of this new genus within the Anaxyelidae is corroborated by its wing venation and the configuration of its mesosoma. This new genus differs from all other Syntexinae from the mid-Cretaceous B...

Glaphyrophlebia victoriensis sp. nov. (Paoliida: Blattinopsidae) is the third Gzhelian representative of the genus and is described based on a beautiful forewing from the Var department in Southern France. Together with the description of another forewing fragment of a Glaphyrophlebia sp. from the Province of León in NW Spain, they improve our know...

Koreatriassothemis elongatus gen. et sp. nov. is the first representative of the odonatan superfamily Triassolestoidea described from the Upper Triassic of the Republic of Korea. Despite close similarities with the genera Pseudotriassothemis and Triassoneura, exact affinities within Triassolestoidea remain uncertain, thus discoveries of more comple...

Tennentsia koreana n. sp. is the first representative of the family Dysmorphoptilidae described from the Upper Triassic of South Korea. This discovery extends the distribution of the genus Tennentsia in Asia and suggests that it was broadly distributed during the Triassic. Tennentsia koreana n. sp. differs from the other species currently included...

The past diversity of Isoptera is relatively poorly documented. Many early-diverging families are only represented today by relicts of their Mesozoic and Cenozoic richness. Therefore, the onset of their evolutionary history and the transitions between families, or even between subsocial and eusocial ways of life, remain difficult to decipher and re...

In the current era of data explosion, the use of genetic information is increasingly being applied across numerous biological questions. One application has been to develop more robust evolutionary frameworks. Such well-resolved phylogenetic relationships are currently lacking from many of the basal branches of diversity-rich taxa. This is most pro...

Wing coloration is a very ancient feature among insects. Even the wings of the oldest known Pterygota showed transverse colored bands involved in a putative disruptive function. However, no evidence of wing coloration in the representatives of the superorder Odonatoptera is recorded before the latest Triassic. These were the only insect flying- pre...

Chrysopidae (green lacewings) is one of the species-rich families of Neuroptera. The Cretaceous fossils of green lacewing currently comprise 11 genera and 26 species. Here we describe a new green lacewing species, Mesypochrysa coadnata sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The new species belongs to the extinct subfamily Limaiinae and is cha...

Deciphering the timing of lineage diversification and extinction has greatly benefited in the last decade from methodological developments in fossil-based analyses. If these advances are increasingly used to study the past dynamics of vertebrates, other taxa such as insects remain relatively neglected. Our understanding of how insect clades waxed a...

A new genus and species of Odonatoptera is described and figured from the Amisan Formation as Koreaphlebia iussradiae gen. et sp. nov. This new genus and species is placed in the Zygophlebiidae and differs from all other zygophlebid, inter alia, owing to the forewing with a distinct bridge IR2-RP2-IR1 perfectly straight, crossvein between MP and Cu...

Anewfossil kalotermitid species of the genus Cryptotermes is described and illustrated as Cryptotermes pouilloni n. sp. from the Miocene Dominican amber (Dominican Republic). This new species can be differentiated from the other Cryptotermes species, inter alia, by its small size (one of the smallest Cryptotermes species), anterior margin of antecl...

A new genus and species of termite is described and figured from the Jinju Formation as Sclerotermes samsiki gen. et sp. nov. This new genus and species is left without family attribution because of the lack of information for body characters (e.g., tarsus configuration, pronotum shape). This new taxon differs from all other termites, inter alia, o...

Pristaulacus jarzembowskii sp. nov., oldest fossil of the crown group Aulacidae, is described from the Paleocene of Menat (France). The previously oldest fossil crown-aulacid was known from the Lowermost Eocene amber of Oise (France). The inferences of parasitoidism on Cerambycidae or Buprestidae together with the preferences of warm evergreen fore...

Rudiaeschna jarzembowskii sp. nov., the second species of the small aeshnopteran family Rudiaeschnidae, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation at the Liutiaogou locality, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, NE China. The new species differs from the type species of the family, namely Rudiaeschna limnobia, in possessing less cells and...

The current knowledge on the Paleocene Odonata is rather limited despite the fact that it is a crucial period for the history of this order. An overview of the fossil odonatans from the Paleocene of Menat (France) is provided. We describe the anisopteran Macrogomphus menatensis sp. nov., first fossil representative of the family Epigomphidae, toget...

In several insect eusocial lineages, e.g., some aphids, thrips, ants, some stingless bees, and termites, task specialization is brought to its climax with a sterile soldier caste solely devoted to colony defense. In Isoptera, while the reproductives are defenseless, the soldiers have unique morpho-physiological specializations whose origin and evol...

Electrobabinskaia neli n. sp., a new species of the lacewing family Babinskaiidae, is described and illustrated from an individual preserved in mid-Cretaceous amber from Tanai, northern Myanmar. Electrobabinskaia neli n. sp. preserves nearly all of the known characters used to circumscribe the family and genus, and is unique among the genus Electro...

The extant representatives of the order Mecoptera (except Siphonaptera now considered to belong to the Mecoptera: Tihelka et al., 2020) are famous among insects because of their long beaklike rostrum but also, because the males of the family Panorpidae have enlarged genitals raised over the body, and are called scorpionflies. The order Mecoptera is...

The position of the enigmatic Oligocene pamphiliid genus and species Tapholyda caplani (Cockerell, 1933) is revised based on new specimens from the late Oligocene of the Creede Formation (Colorado, USA). The study of the wing venation and body characters indicate affinities with the fossil subfamily Juralydinae. The species is transferred to the la...

Cratoaeschnidium martinsnetoi gen. et sp. nov., third genus and species of the family Aeschnidiidae from the Crato Formation (Brazil), is described and illustrated based on one well-preserved forewing. It can be differentiated from the other genera in the family, inter alia, because its discoidal triangle is very narrow with only one row of cells;...

Using a fossilized birth–death model, a new phylogeny of the superfamily Evanioidea (including ensign wasps, nightshade wasps and hatchet wasps) is proposed, with estimates of divergence times for its constitutive families and for corroborating the monophyly of Evanioidea. Additionally, our Bayesian analyses demonstrate the monophyly of †Anomoptere...

A new species of drywood termite (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) is described from a nearly complete alate specimen preserved in early Miocene Ethiopian amber. Glyptotermes abyssinicus new species is distinguished by its U-shaped head with 12-segmented antennae, the ocelli separated from the eye margin, the right mandible with an obtuse angle between th...