New zorapterans (Zoraptera) from Burmese amber suggest higher paleodiversity of the order in tropical forests

Abstract

Our knowledge of Mesozoic zorapteran diversity is largely acquired from two recent works by Engel and Grimaldi (2002) and Kaddumi (2005), where five new species of the order were described from lower Cretaceous Jordanian and mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Here, we report the occurrence of two additional species, Zorotypus (Octozoros) cenomanianus sp. n., and Z. (s. str.) denticulatus sp. n., in Burmese amber. The former new species shares with Z. nascimbenei Engel & Grimaldi, Z. acanthothorax Engel & Grimaldi, and Z. hudae (Kaddumi) a reduced number of antennomeres (eight), while the latter possesses nine-segmented antennae similar to Z. cretatus Engel & Grimaldi. Both new species are readily separable from known extinct congeners by features of the antenna, nota, wings, and terminal abdominal segments, as well as the spination of the metafemur and metatibia. The discovery of two additional Zorotypus species in Myanmar amber suggests a potentially higher diversity of Burmese zorapterans in tropical forests than currently documented.