The earliest Gryllotalpinae (Insecta, Orthoptera, Gryllotalpidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

Abstract

The mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is famous for exquisite preservation of organisms, especially insects. Although plenty of insects have been described from Burmese amber, only a few belong to the order Orthoptera. Here, we report a new genus and species, Burmagryllotalpa longa gen. et sp. nov., belonging to the subfamily Gryllotalpinae (Orthoptera, Gryllotalpidae) based on a new specimen from Burmese amber. This new taxon represents the earliest record of Gryllotalpinae, indicating that three digging teeth in the fore tibia appeared in Gryllotalpinae at latest in the mid-Cretaceous, and that the digging mode of life became strengthened in mole crickets much earlier than previously recorded.