Abstract
† Pyrenicocephalus jarzembowskii, gen. et sp. n. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Enicocephalomorpha: Enicocephalidae: Enicocephalinae) from Early Eocene, London Clay, England, Isle of Sheppey, is described and illustrated according to the unique pyritized adult head reported as a larval enicocephalid head by Jarzembowski (1986). The head anatomy of similar and related genera of Enicocephalinae is compared and the close relationship of the new genus to a clade including the extant genera Oncylocotis, Embolorrhinus and Hoplitocoris is suggested, most probably as the sister genus to Hoplitocoris (presently with Afrotropical, East Palaearctic and Oriental range).
Highlights
Occurrence of a minute enicocephalid head capsule in early Eocene deposits of London Clay formation was reported by Jarzembowski (1986)
He described and illustrated the head, considered it as belonging to an unidentifiable larva of the Enicocephalidae and, for this reason, left the fossil unclassified. He reviewed the insect fauna and taphonomy of the fossil site, the eroding cliffs on the Isle of Sheppey situated off the Kent coast in Southern England, and summarized the data on the Sheppey palaeoenvironment (Jarzembowski, 1992)
Many adult heteropterans have wings reduced or absent, and a concomitant loss or reduction of ocelli is frequent in all major clades, being often sex- or morph-limited
Summary
Occurrence of a minute enicocephalid head capsule in early Eocene deposits of London Clay formation was reported by Jarzembowski (1986). He described and illustrated the head, considered it as belonging to an unidentifiable larva of the Enicocephalidae and, for this reason, left the fossil unclassified. He reviewed the insect fauna and taphonomy of the fossil site, the eroding cliffs on the Isle of Sheppey situated off the Kent coast in Southern England, and summarized the data on the Sheppey palaeoenvironment (Jarzembowski, 1992). I have re-examined the head concerned, found it to belong to an adult individual of a new genus and species that are described and formally classified in the present paper jointly with a discussion of the relevant diagnostic characters and comparison with the head anatomy of similar and related taxa
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