An enigmatic Nepoidea from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

Cratonepa enigmatica gen. and sp. nov., an enigmatic new nepoid bug, is described from the Lower Cretaceous Crato formation in Brazil. Although its general habitus is strikingly similar to that of the Cenozoic and recent Nepidae, it has several plesiomorphic characters, the most obvious being the siphon retractiled into the abdomen, which supports a basal position as a sister group of either all Nepidae or even Nepoidea. The morphology of its legs suggests that it was a walking predator living in mud or in aquatic vegetation, as for extant Nepidae, although the absence of a long siphon suggests a very different way of breathing.

► A new nepoid bug from Early cretaceous Crato Formation (Brazil).
► We examine its phylogenetic position within Nepoidea.
► Its leg morphology suggests it was an aquatic walking predator.
► It had a way for breathing very different from recent nepids because of its short siphon.