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

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 non-marine
sequence, located at the 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.