A new titanopteran Magnatitan jongheoni n. gen. n. sp. from southwestern Korean Peninsula

Abstract

Titanopterans are spectacular giant predatory insects mainly known from the Triassic, but they are known from a few localities in Central Asia (including European Russia) and Australia. The Nampo Group is a nonmarine sequence, located at southwest Korean Peninsula, the age of which has remained controversial, due to lack of proper age-constraining fossils. Here we report a new titanopteran Magnatitan jongheoni gen. et sp. nov. from the Amisan Formation, the Nampo Group. The division of RA and RP beyond the distal half of the fossil wing is a characteristic of the family Paratitanidae. This is the first discovery of a titanopteran fossil outside Central Asia and Australia, suggesting a possible circum-Tethys Ocean distribution. Given the possibly widespread distribution of titanopterans, this group may have played a critical role as giant predatory insects in the Triassic terrestrial ecology. Since titanopterans have never been found beyond the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, the occurrence of a titanopteran corroborates the Triassic age of the Nampo Group.