Insects and crustaceans from the latest Early–early Middle Triassic of Poland

Two stratigraphical horizons in the Pałęgi clay-pit, a new Triassic paleontological site within Buntsandstein deposits (latest Olenekian–early Anisian in age) in the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland), have yielded arthropod faunas comprising ca. 400 fossil specimens assigned to two subphyla: Crustacea (class Branchiopoda and Maxillopoda) and Hexapoda (class Insecta). The Pałęgi arthropod assemblage is similar to that described from the Middle Triassic of France and Germany but is dominated by remains of conchostracans and cockroaches. This new fauna expands our knowledge of the latest Early–early Middle Triassic diversity of insects and freshwater arthropods in the Germanic Basin. The newly discovered fauna represents one of the oldest Mesozoic records of insects described from the Buntsandstein facies of Europe, and provides important information to better appreciate the process of ecosystem recovery after the Permian–Triassic extinction.