Hind Wing Venation Research Articles

Vitisma coriacea sp.n. (Insecta: Dictyoptera) from the mid-Cretaceous in northern Myanmar, first record of the genus in amber

The genus Vitisma Vršanský, 1999 is characterised by a shield-like, convex pronotum with transverse margins, scleroritized forewings with sometimes white macula, long clavus and rather simplified venation (simple Sc, straight and expanded M veins, CuA narrow and branched, A simple, R reaching apex). The hindwing venation is similar to the Blattulidae with a distinct pterostigma, but R1 is comb-like and CuA branched. The first record of Vitisma coriacea sp. n. in Burmese amber extends its palaeogeographic distribution to Gondwana, similar to other Umenocoleoidea. So far, the genus was only known from sediments in Spain, Russia, Mongolia, and possibly Japan. It also suggests that representatives of Vitisma inhabited warmer, tropical forest biomes.

Nothochrysinae (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) from the early Eocene Fur Formation, Denmark, with description of a new genus

Furochrysa alisae gen et sp. nov. is described, and Stephenbrooksia multifurcata Willmann, 1993 and Danochrysa madseni Willmann, 1993 are re-described based on their holotypes and additional specimens from the early Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark. The very long crossvein 1icu between CuA and CuP in the hind wing distinguishes Furochrysa gen. nov. from all other Nothochrysinae. The hind wing venation of the holotype of S. multifurcata is strongly aberrant; in particular, its MA is deeply forked proximad the origin of RP, while it is not forked proximad the pseudocubitus in other Chrysopidae. The forewing venation of the three examined specimens of D. madseni show variability in the branching of the anterior branch of CuP and A2. The chrysopid assemblage of the early Eocene Fur Formation strongly differs from that of the late Paleogene (late Eocene/Oligocene) of Europe, while the nothochrysines of the early and late Paleogene of North America do not especially differ.

New Cretaceous Fossil Achilidae Taxa (Insecta, Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha) from Burmese Ambers with Description of Niryasaburniini Trib. Nov.

A new species Niryasaburnia nigrutomia sp. nov. of the planthopper family Achilidae from Burmese amber collected from Hukawng Valley (Tanai) of northern Myanmar, is described, notably based on forewing pattern coloration and metatibiotarsal teeth conformation. A new fossil genus with its type species Sinuovenaxius kachinensis gen. et sp. nov. is also described. The tribe Niryasaburniini trib. nov. is established to include Niryasaburnia Szwedo, 2004, and Sinuovenaxius gen. nov., based on a unique combination of characters, of which the following states are particularly notable: head with compound eyes around half the length of pronotum, late forking of ScP+R and CuA after the fusion of Pcu+A1 on the forewing, apical teeth of metatarsomeres I and II both with subapical platellar sensilla, and a unique hindwing pattern with simple RP and biforked MP, CuA with two terminals only, and with A2 simple, reaching the posterior wing margin. The hindwing venation of this new tribe with RP with only one terminal and both MP and CuA with two terminals is unique in Achilidae.

Another one bites the dust: A new Lithoserix species (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) from the early Oligocene in France, with an evaluation of wing morphometrics

A new Darwin wasp species, Lithoserix oublierisp. nov. is described and illustrated from the early Oligocene limestone formation Calcaires de Campagne-Calavon in the Luberon Region, France. It represents the third species of this extinct genus, which was first described from the late Eocene Florissant Formation in Colorado, US and later found in Aix-en-Provence, France, from the late Oligocene. The taxonomic placement of this genus in the context of tribal classification is analysed and discussed, based on geometric morphometrics of the fore and hind wing venation of fossil and extant Pimplinae species. The results suggest that Lithoserix does not belong to the same group as the extinct genus Crusopimpla, but rather represents a more basal genus within Pimplini or belongs to an extinct separate tribe, closely related to Pimplini.

Investigating Monophyly of Typhlocybini Based on Complete Mitochondrial Genomes with Characterization and Comparative Analysis of 19 Species (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae).

Tribes of the leafhopper subfamily Typhlocybinae have traditionally been defined based on differences in forewing and hindwing venation. Except for Typhlocybini (sensu lato), the classification of tribes is relatively stable. The monophyly of Typhlocybini needs to be examined, and the relationships among genera within Typhlocybini have not been resolved. Few mitogenome sequences representative of major lineages of Typhlocybini have been available to facilitate a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the tribe. In this study, the complete mitogenomes of 19 species of Typhlocybini were sequenced. The gene arrangements of the 19 new mitogenomes are consistent with ancestral insect mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analyses by both maximum-likelihood and Bayesian methods of 67 species of Typhlocybinae suggest that Zyginellini is paraphyletic with respect to Typhlocybini. The phylogenetic relationships within Typhlocybini are discussed, and the major results show that the Farynala and Linnavuoriana complexes previously recognized based on morphological characters correspond to monophyletic lineages.

Detection of Hindwing Landmarks Using Transfer Learning and High-Resolution Networks.

Hindwing venation is one of the most important morphological features for the functional and evolutionary analysis of beetles, as it is one of the key features used for the analysis of beetle flight performance and the design of beetle-like flapping wing micro aerial vehicles. However, manual landmark annotation for hindwing morphological analysis is a time-consuming process hindering the development of wing morphology research. In this paper, we present a novel approach for the detection of landmarks on the hindwings of leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) using a limited number of samples. The proposed method entails the transfer of a pre-existing model, trained on a large natural image dataset, to the specific domain of leaf beetle hindwings. This is achieved by using a deep high-resolution network as the backbone. The low-stage network parameters are frozen, while the high-stage parameters are re-trained to construct a leaf beetle hindwing landmark detection model. A leaf beetle hindwing landmark dataset was constructed, and the network was trained on varying numbers of randomly selected hindwing samples. The results demonstrate that the average detection normalized mean error for specific landmarks of leaf beetle hindwings (100 samples) remains below 0.02 and only reached 0.045 when using a mere three samples for training. Comparative analyses reveal that the proposed approach out-performs a prevalently used method (i.e., a deep residual network). This study showcases the practicability of employing natural images-specifically, those in ImageNet-for the purpose of pre-training leaf beetle hindwing landmark detection models in particular, providing a promising approach for insect wing venation digitization.

Dumpyawnus hpungwanus gen. et sp. nov., the second genus and species of Katlasidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridoidea) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, northern Myanmar

The second genus and species of the planthopper family Katlasidae, Dumpyawnus hpungwanus gen. et sp. nov., is described from mid-Cretaceous Kachin (Burmese) amber. It can be definitely attributed to Katlasidae mainly based on its tegminal structure (e.g., costal area absent, clavus closed, tegmen widened at membrane, multiplied forked of ScP + RA, MP and CuA2, single CuA1, nodal line absent) and hind wing venation (e.g., ScP + RA, RP, MP and CuA with 3–5 terminals), but the new genus is clearly different from Katlasus Luo, Jiang et Szwedo, 2020, the type genus of Katlasidae, according to its wing venation (e.g., terminals of ScP + RA usually forked, MP with less terminals). The morphological features and placement of the new taxon are briefly discussed.

Typhlocybinae leafhoppers (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) from Eocene Rovno amber reveal a transition in wing venation and a defensive adaptation

AbstractThe first fossil Typhlocybinae inclusions from Eocene Rovno amber are described and illustrated. They include two new monotypic genera of the extinct tribe Protodikraneurini, Retrorsotettix n. gen. with type species R. vlaskini n. sp. and Protoparallaxis n. gen. with type species P. clavatus n. sp. Also described and illustrated are two new monotypic genera of the extant tribe Dikraneurini, Eodikraneura n. gen. with type species E. obscura n. sp. and Rovnodikra n. gen. with type species Rovnodikra longipes n. sp. Retrorsotettix is the oldest leafhopper known to exhibit a false eyespot and false leg markings on the forewing, representing an early acquisition of a defensive strategy against visual predators. Appearance of a small insect with false eyespots in the Eocene fossil record may reflect increased pressure by visual predators, especially crown ornithuromorph insectivorous birds. Such birds and small insect prey with false eyespots remain unknown in the Cretaceous. Eodikraneura exhibits a unique condition of the hind wing venation in which radius posterior and media anterior veins are confluent for a short distance but then diverge before separately reaching the submarginal vein. This presumably represents a morphological transition between the Protodikraneurini, in which hind-wing radius posterior and media anterior veins are completely separate and connected by a radial-medial crossvein, and Dikraneurini, in which radius posterior and media anterior veins are completely confluent distally. A key to genera of Protodikraneurini is provided.UUID: http://zoobank.org/f15e6f80-9708-4f5e-89a3-705f9d340a77

Libanogomphidae, a new extraordinary dragonfly family from the Upper Cretaceous of Lebanon (Odonata, Anisoptera)

Libanogomphus lionelcavini gen. et sp. nov., the third dragonfly fossilized in compression from the Lebanese Cretaceous, is described and illustrated. It is attributed to the new gomphid family Libanogomphidae on the basis of a series of extraordinary structures in the hind wing venation, never observed elsewhere among Odonata. More or less similar structures can be found in the Palaeozoic odonatopteran Meganeuridae or Protanisoptera. This new fossil confirms the originality of the odonatan fauna of the Lebanese Cretaceous. It also further suggests that our current knowledge on the Mesozoic odonatan diversity is quite under-evaluated.

A key to genera of Dikraneurini from China, with description of a new species of Cornicola Ohara & Hayashi (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Typhlocybinae).

The leafhopper genus Cornicola Ohara & Hayashi, previously recorded from Japan, is recorded from China for the first time and a new species, C.maculatus Xu, Dietrich & Qin, sp. nov., is described and illustrated, including its color polymorphism. This genus has male genitalia and hind wing venation similar to those found in Empoascini but it is more appropriately placed in Dikraneurini. A key to species of Cornicola is given together with a key to the genera of Dikraneurini from China.

Cretodorus multifoveatus sp. nov., a new species of Mimarachnidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoroidea) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar

A new species of Mimarachnidae, Cretodorus multifoveatus sp. nov., is described from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. This is the fourth species of the genus Cretodorus which mainly differs from the three previously described species in the number of sensory pits on the head and pronotum, and the CuA of the hind wing with three terminals. The hind wing venation and the sensory pits of this new species are briefly discussed.

A braconid wasp (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from the Lower Cretaceous amber of San Just, eastern Iberian Peninsula.

Braconid parasitoid wasps are a widely diversified group today, while their fossil record from the Mesozoic is currently poorly known. Here, we describe Utrillabraconelectropteron Álvarez-Parra & Engel, gen. et sp. nov., from the upper Albian (Lower Cretaceous) amber of San Just in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. The holotype specimen is incomplete, although the forewing and hind wing venation are well preserved. The new taxon is assigned to the subfamily †Protorhyssalinae (Braconidae) and, based on characteristics of the wing venation, seems to be closely related to Protorhyssalusgoldmani Basibuyuk & Quicke, 1999 and Diorhyssalusallani (Brues, 1937), both from Upper Cretaceous ambers of North America. We discuss the taxonomy of the Cretaceous braconids, considering †Seneciobraconinae as a valid subfamily. We also comment on possible relationships within †Protorhyssalinae, although a phylogenetic analysis is necessary. Additionally, a checklist is included of braconids known from Cretaceous ambers.

An unusual elateroid lineage from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (Coleoptera: Elateroidea)

We here report a new elateroid, Anoeuma lawrencei Li, Kundrata and Cai gen. et sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Though superficially similar to some soft-bodied archostematans, Anoeuma could be firmly placed in the polyphagan superfamily Elateroidea based on the hind wing venation. Detailed morphological comparisons between extant elateroids and the Cretaceous fossils suggest that the unique character combination does not fit with confidence into any existing soft-bodied elateroid group, although some characters indicate possible relationships between Anoeuma and Omalisinae. Our discovery of this new lineage further demonstrates the past diversity and morphological disparity of soft-bodied elateroids.

New species of Kamopanorpa Martynov from the Permian of South Siberia with comments on the systematic position of Microptysmatidae (Protomeropina = Permotrichoptera)

The systematic position of Microptysmatidae and Protomeropidae is critically reviewed in light of the latest reassessment by Minet et al. The Microptysmatidae belongs to a stem-group of Trichoptera, or at least to stem-Amphiesmenoptera (depending on chosen methodology), rather than to its own order Permotrichoptera as suggested by Minet et al., and Protomeropidae are not Mecoptera. The double anal loop of Kamopanorpa Martynov, 1928 is not significantly different from that of more advanced amphiesmenopterans, while in Microptysmella Kukalová-Peck & Willmann, 1990, anal veins show clear tendency to looping (not a “fairly different arrangement”). If Microptysmatidae are considered in the traditional way, the polarity of characters listed by Minet et al. as supporting monophyly of the order Permotrichoptera can be treated just the opposite: divided veins RS1, RS2 and M1 are symplesiomorphies with Protomeropidae, and simple M4 is the synapomorphy of Microptysmatidae, Cladochoristidae, and Amphiesmenoptera s. str. In addition, three new species of Kamopanorpa are described from the Permian deposits of Minusinsk Coal Basin, South Siberia: Kamopanorpa rasnitsyni sp. nov., K. sivchikovi sp. nov., and K. rotunda sp. nov. Some traits of fore- and hindwing venation of Microptysmatidae are discussed.

The fourth new species of the leafhopper genus Thaioneura Song, Li & Dietrich from China (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Typhlocybinae)

• A new species of the leafhopper genus Thaioneura was discovered in China. • The male genitalia of the new species was described and illustrated. • The appearance and collection site of the new species were photographed. • The female genitals of the new species were photographed and described. • A key can distinguish all species worldwide of the genus was provided. In this paper, one new species of the leafhopper genus Thaioneura Song, Li & Dietrich, 2016 from Guizhou Province, China are described and illustrated: Thaioneura huajiangensis sp. nov. And the female ovipositors are photographed and described. A key to distinguish all known species of the genus is provided. The hind wing venation of the new species are the same as the T. suphanburia and T. sinuata , and not common in the tribe Erythroneurini.

A new species of Loneura Navás and taxonomic update of L. boliviana Williner and L. meridionalis García Aldrete (Psocodea: Psocomorpha: Ptiloneuridae).

A new species of Loneura named as Loneura willineri n. sp. is described from Bolivia, and and variation in the venation of the fore and hindwings discussed. Both sexes of Loneura meridionalis García Aldrete are described, inclulding variation in the fore and hindwing venation, and this species is withdrawn from synonymy with Loneura boliviana, a species now considered a nomen dubium.

Songs and morphology in grasshoppers of the Stenobothrus eurasius group (Orthoptera: Acrdidae: Gomphocerinae) from Russia and adjacent countries: clarifying of taxonomic status.

On the basis of the song and morphological analyses, we revised the status of the subspecies Stenobothrus eurasius eurasius Zubowsky, 1898, and S. eurasius hyalosuperficies Vorontsovskii, 1927. The status of the subspecies S. eurasius hyalosuperficies Vor. has been changed to the species level. The most striking difference between S. eurasius and S. hyalosuperficies lies in the song parameters. The calling songs differ not only in temporal parameters but are also produced by different mechanisms. S. eurasius generates calling songs by common leg stridulation, whereas S. hyalosuperficies produces sound by wing clapping. The courtship songs of both species are complex (contain several elements) and very different in temporal structure. The morphological differences between the two species are not as striking as the differences in bioacoustics: we found the only differences in the hind wing venation. At the same time, we suggest these differences to be important since they might be due to different mechanisms of sound production. We revised the ranges of the two species on the territory of Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. We also reviewed the type localities of S. eurasius Zub. and designated lectotype and paralectotype of this species.

A new species of Galleria Fabricius (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) from Korea based on molecular and morphological characters.

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella Linnaeus, is well known as a pest of honey bees and for the biodegradation of wax and polyethylene by their larvae. The genus Galleria has long been considered monotypic and found worldwide. A taxonomic study of the genus Galleria is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI, CAD, wg). A new species (Galleria similis Roh & Song, sp. nov.) is recognized on the Korean peninsula. The new species is superficially similar to G. mellonella but they can be separated by the structures of hindwing venation and male genitalia. Habitus photographs and illustrations of diagnostic characters are provided.

<p><strong>A new genus and species of wasp (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea: Praeaulacidae) associated with an angiosperm flower in Burmese amber</strong></p>

A new genus and species of small wasp (body length, 4.3 mm, exclusive of antennae) of the extinct family Praeaulacidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) is described in Burmese amber. Placement in the Praeaulacidae is based on the hind wing venation with RS, cu-a and apparent r-m present and a 10-celled forewing. Special forewing features are a large CuA cell and very narrow 3rm cell that is not aligned with 2r-m. The narrow hind wings have a unique venation with RS, M, Cu and A reaching the lower wing margin. The metasoma is attached to the propodium by a 1-segmented petiole. The ovipositor is long, exceeding the length of the metasoma. An angiosperm flower is adjacent to the wasp and the presence of herbivorous insect larvae on the flower may have attracted the female wasp.

A new stick insect (Phasmatodea: Susumaniidae) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China

A new genus and species, Liutiaogoucuna arachnoidea gen. et sp. nov., is established based on a stick insect with almost complete four wings preserved in the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Inner Mongolia, northeastern China, and assigned to the subfamily Susumaniinae of Susumaniidae (Phasmatodea). The discovery of the new taxon provides novel morphological diversity of Susumaniinae, both in forewing and hindwing venation. The high diversity of stick insects with four wings developed in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota indicates that even lack of advanced camouflage, this kind of Phasmatodea had good adaptability in the Early Cretaceous Jehol ecosystem.