A remarkable new pygmy grasshopper (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae) in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic.

Yinan Wang,M Thomas,Sam Heads

doi:10.3897/zookeys.429.8020

Abstract

A new genus and species of pygmy grasshopper (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) is described from Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Dominican amber. Electrotettix attenboroughi Heads & Thomas, gen. et sp. n. is assigned to the subfamily Cladonotinae based on the deeply forked frontal costa, but is remarkable for the presence of tegmina and hind wings, hitherto unknown in this subfamily.

Highlights

The Tetrigidae are a diverse group of small orthopterans characterized by their often remarkable morphological crypsis
Unlike other members of the subfamily the new genus possesses both tegmina and hind wings, which are absent in all other cladonotines
Fossil taxa are widely recognized as a valuable source of data concerning the morphology and evolution of their extant relatives

Summary

Introduction

The Tetrigidae (pygmy grasshoppers, grouse locusts or ground hoppers) are a diverse group of small orthopterans characterized by their often remarkable morphological crypsis. Members of the family are readily distinguished from other orthopterans by the marked posterior elongation of the pronotum which covers the entire dorsal surface of the abdomen and often extends well beyond it as an acuminate process (Hancock 1902, 1907; Rentz 1991; Heads 2009a) In addition to their comparatively small size, tetrigids share several morphological characters with Tridactyloidea (in particular, Tridactylidae and Ripipterygidae), including the reduction of the pro- and mesotarsi to only two tarsomeres, the absence of arolia between the pretarsal claws, and the presence of a precoxal bridge connecting the pronotum to the prosternum (Rentz 1991; Heads 2009a, b, 2010). The only other Eocene representatives of the family are organic compression fossils from lacustrine deposits of the Green River Formation and were recently described and named Eotetrix unicornis by Gorochov and Labandeira (2012) The latter authors did not publish photographs of their specimens and it would appear that they are rather poorly preserved, limiting interpretation. Unlike other members of the subfamily the new genus possesses both tegmina and hind wings, which are absent in all other cladonotines

Material and methods

Findings

Discussion