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El Soplao outcrop, an Early Cretaceous amber deposit recently discovered in northern Spain (Cantabria), has been shown to be the largest site of amber with arthropod inclusions that has been found in Spain so far. Relevant data provided herein for biogeochemistry of the amber, palynology, taphonomy and arthropod bioinclusions complement those previously published. This set of data suggests at least two botanical sources for the amber of El Soplao deposit. The ñrst (type A amber) strongly supports a source related to Cheirolepidiaceae, and the second (type B amber) shows non‐specific conifer biomarkers. Comparison of molecular composition of type A amber with Frenelopsis leaves (Cheirolepidiaceae) strongly suggests a biochemical affinity and a common botanical origin. A preliminary palynologlcal study indicates a regional high taxonomical diversity, mainly of pteridophyte spores and gymnosperm pollen grains. According to the preliminary palynologlcal data, the region was inhabited by conifer forests adapted to a dry season under a subtropical climate. The abundant charcoalified wood associated with the amber in the same beds is evidence of paleofires that most likely promoted both the resin production and an intensive erosion of the litter, and subsequent great accumulation of amber plus plant cuticles. In addition, for the first time in the fossil record, charcoalified plant fibers as bioinclusions in amber are reported. Other relevant taphonomic data are the exceptional presence of serpulids and bryozoans on the surfaces of some amber pieces indicating both a long exposure on marine or brackish‐water and a mixed assemblage of amber. Lastly, new findings of insect bioinclusions, some of them uncommon in the fossil record or showing remarkable adaptations, are reported. In conclusion, a documented scenario for the origin of the El Soplao amber outcrop is provided.

Significance We report on the unique discovery of Jurassic and Cretaceous carrion beetles (Silphidae) from China and Myanmar, early relatives of one of the most protected of beetle species in North America, and which clearly preserve evidence indicative of complex parental care. This finding represents the earliest evidence of parental care, a behavioral repertoire that is the first step in the development of truly social behavior and one that is intensely studied by ecologists, ethologists, and evolutionary biologists alike. Our fossils clearly span the origins of parent–offspring communication and allow us to provide a robust estimate of the time of origin for this complex behavior.

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One new genus and five new species of the family Evaniidae are described from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) Spanish amber of Peñacerrada‐I (Province of Burgos), San Just and Arroyo de la Pascueta (both in the Province of Teruel): Cretevania alonsoi sp. nov., C. montoyai sp. nov., C. alcalai sp. no v., C. rubusensis sp. nov., and Iberoevania roblesi gen. and sp. nov. Taxonomic changes include Cretevania pristina (Zhang and Zhang, 2000) comb. nov., C. exquisita (Zhang, Rasnitsyn, Wang and Zhang, 2007) comb. nov., C. vesca (Zhang, Rasnitsyn, Wang and Zhang, 2007) comb. nov., and C. cyrtocerca (Deans, 2004) comb. nov., as a result of the reinterpretation of the genera Procretevania and Eovernevania. The new well preserved specimens of the genus Cretevania, together with the characters shown by the type specimens of the synonymized genera, give new information about their anatomical characters of taxonomical importance, and the genus Cretevania Rasnitsyn, 1975 is re‐diagnosed. The holotypes of the Russian species in amber have been revised. A cladistic analysis of fossil and extant groups of the superfamily Evanioidea is included. Cretevania had a wide palaeogeographic distribution, with the highest diversity known from Spain. The 13 known Cretevania species show a high interspecific variation mainly in wing characteristics, and a wide range of body and wing size.

A new family of microhymenopteran wasps is described and figured from three new species discovered in Cretaceous amber of Spain (Albian) and New Jersey (Turonian). Spathiopterygidae Engel and Ortega-Blanco, new family, is allied to the Diapriidae and Maamingidae (Proctotrupomorpha: Diaprioidea), sharing with these families putatively derived features relative to Monomachidae. The family contains three genera and three species, all new: Spathiopteryx alavarommopsis Engel and Ortega-Blanco, new genus and species, and Myamaropsis turolensis Engel and Ortega-Blanco, new genus and species, both from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) of Spain, and Spathopria sayrevillensis Engel, Ortega-Blanco, and Grimaldi, new genus and species, from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) of New Jersey. Spathopria sayrevillensis is reconstructed using x-ray synchrotron microtomography. In addition, a peculiar new genus and species, Iberopria perialla Engel, Ortega-Blanco, and Delclòs, of stem-group Diapriidae is described from Spanish

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