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New 105-Million-Year-Old Wasp in Spanish Amber Leads to Cretevania Genus Revision

An international team highlights distinctive antenna and wing venation, proposing Cretevania as a fossil guide for dating Cretaceous deposits.

Overview

  • The species, Cretevania orgonomecorum, is formally described from El Soplao amber in Cantabria and published in the journal Palaeoentomology.
  • The mid‑Albian specimen is among the largest known in its genus and shows unique antennal structure and wing venation.
  • The study updates the diagnosis of Cretevania, adding new characters to better delimit species in future research.
  • Researchers note parallels with Cretevania material from Myanmar and China, underscoring the group’s wide Cretaceous distribution.
  • El Soplao’s significance is reaffirmed with over 1,500 fossil inclusions and around 30 described species, in work led by IGMECSIC with partners in Spain, the UK and China and backed by regional and national funders.