Systematics of Blittersdorffia Martins-Neto (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontoidea) from the Crato Formation (Lower Crataceous Araripe Basin)

• Grant number: 23/06667-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme Cunha Ribeiro
• Grantee: Gabriel Marangão Maihato Bueno
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/23814-8 - Systematics of Cretaceous Myrmeleontidae: integrating paleofaunas from the Crato Formation and Burmese amber, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

The fossiliferous limestones of the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Araripe Basin) preserve one of the most diverse records on the planet of the Mesozoic biota of Gondwana. With well-preserved fossils found in abundance, the study of the Crato paleoentomofauna is of great importance for understanding the evolution and diversity of Cretaceous insects. The Neuroptera are the group of insects with more species described for the formation, but many of the descriptions are presented as incomplete or deficient. Thus, the present project aims to fill part of this gap, with the revision of one of the largest genera of Myrmeleontoidea (Blittersdorffia, Pseudonymphinae) and related taxa. The genus is the largest of the subfamily Pseudonymphinae and needs extensive taxonomic revision. In addition, a study of its phylogenetic position within Myrmeleontoidea is necessary, seeking to elucidate some controversies regarding its monophyly.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BUENO, GABRIEL M.; MACHADO, RENATO J. P.; MARTINS, CALEB C.; RIBEIRO, GUILHERME C.. Taxonomic reassessment of the genera Blittersdorffia and Diegopteryx (Neuroptera, Myrmeleontidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation with the description of three new species. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 169, p. 16-pg., 2025-01-22. (23/06667-9, 20/02844-5)