Phylogeny of the Eocene Aphalarinae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from Baltic amber, with description of a new species using X-ray micro-computed tomography scanning, and a new genus synonymy

Abstract

A new Eocene species of Psylloidea is described from Baltic amber. Eogyropsylla pankowskii Ashe-Jepson & Ouvrard sp. nov., along with E. magna and E. parva, is micro- computed tomography (CT) scanned to produce three-dimensional reconstructions, facilitating the detailed description of its morphology, and updated descriptions of other members of Eogyropsylla. The thoracic structures are described in detail. Eogyropsylla pankowskii may be the first fossil psyllid found excreting honeydew. With the addition of this species, a phylogeny of Eogyropsylla is constructed using a discrete character matrix of morphological characters. These characters have been collected from the micro-CT scans, from direct observation, and from published literature for all known members of the genus. Parascenia weitschati Klimaszewski, 1997 appears wrongly classified in a separate genus based on male genitalia characters only, and we conclude that Parascenia Klimaszewski, 1997 is a junior synonym of Eogyropsylla Klimaszewski, 1993. Eogyropsylla now contains eight species, with Eogyropsylla weitschati comb. nov. being the only known male of the genus. The assignment of Eogyropsylla to Aphalarinae is confirmed. This genus branches basally in the aphalarine cladogram, as sister group to Colposcenia. The early evolution and Laurasian origin of the oldest known modern Psylloidea is discussed. This study demonstrates that micro-CT techniques are an invaluable tool for palaeontology and entomology.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DAF44D3D-4C64-41E3-B525-E9E158302CC9