mid-Cretaceous Amber Research Articles

A new baissopterid snakefly (Raphidioptera: Baissopteridae) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar

Electrobaissoptera liui sp. nov., a new species of the snakefly family Bassopteridae, is described and figured from an individual preserved in mid-Cretaceous amber from Tanai, northern Myanmar. Electrobaissoptera liui sp. nov. preserves nearly all of the known characters used to circumscribe the family and genus, and is unique among bassopterids for possessing a complete ma-mp crossvein in the hind wing, thereby dividing cell m1.

Further evidence of Cretaceous termitophily: Description of new termite hosts of the trichopseniine Cretotrichopsenius (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), with emendations to the classification of lower termites (Isoptera)

Termites (Isoptera) are among the most ecologically ubiquitous of terrestrial eusocial insects and provide an attractive environment for symbionts, which have evolved numerous times independently, and in lineages as diverse as millipedes and beetles. Previous studies reported the discovery of unequivocal termitophily in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar, providing evidence that pushed the origin of termitophily back into the Mesozoic. Here we report the discovery of two more pieces of Cretaceous amber containing individuals of the trichopseniine rove beetle Cretotrichopsenius burmiticus Cai et al., 2017 (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Trichopseniini) preserved together with their potential host termites, providing further evidence regarding the association between these two insect lineages. Two new termite species and genera are described as putative hosts for C. burmiticus: Arceotermes hospitis Engel & Jiang, gen. et sp. nov. and Tanytermitalis philetaerus Engel & Cai, gen. et sp. nov. Each is included in a new family, Arceotermitidae Engel, fam. nov. (type genus: Arceotermes Engel & Jiang, gen. nov.), and Tanytermitidae Engel, fam. nov. (type genus: Tanytermes Engel et al., 2007). In order to better characterize these two families the classification of lower Isoptera and clade Xylophagodea (= Cryptocercidae + Isoptera) is emended with the following new taxa: Idanotermitinae Engel, subfam. nov.; Melqartitermitidae Engel, fam. nov.; Mylacrotermitidae Engel, fam. nov.; Krishnatermitidae Engel, fam. nov.; Cosmotermitinae Engel, subfam. nov.; Hodotermopsinae Engel, subfam. nov.; Artisoptera Engel, minord. nov.; Cryptocercaptera Engel, infraord. nov. Lower termites were remarkably diverse during the mid-Cretaceous but declined in diversity considerably by the Palaeogene. The fossil rove beetle Cretotrichopsenius Cai et al., 2017 currently provides the earliest definitive evidence of termitophily and the complex association between rove beetles and termites.

New genus and species of †Cormopsocidae (Psocodae: Trogiomorpha) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar

A new genus, Longiglabellus Wang, Li & Yao gen. nov. with two new species, L. edentatus Wang, Li & Yao gen. et sp. nov. and L. pedhyalinus Wang, Li & Yao gen. et sp. nov. are assigned to the †Cormopsocidae (Trogiomorpha). Based on female ovipositor characteristics, ventral and dorsal valves well developed may be autapomorphy in Cormopsocidae. The strong development of the hind wing Sc is stable in Cormopsocidae.

Comment on “Mother snail labors for posterity in bed of mid-Cretaceous amber” by A. Jochum, T. Yu and T.A. Neubauer, Gondwana Research, Volume 97, Pages 68–72

Comment on “Mother snail labors for posterity in bed of mid-Cretaceous amber” by A. Jochum, T. Yu and T.A. Neubauer, Gondwana Research, Volume 97, Pages 68–72

Reply to Jiang et al.’s comments on the article “Mother snail labors for posterity in bed of mid-Cretaceous amber” by Jochum, Yu and Neubauer (2021) Gondwana Research 97, 68–72

Reply to Jiang et al.’s comments on the article “Mother snail labors for posterity in bed of mid-Cretaceous amber” by Jochum, Yu and Neubauer (2021) Gondwana Research 97, 68–72

Acrotiarini trib. nov., in the Cixiidae (Insecta, Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar, with new insights in the classification of the family

Three new genera and species of Cenomanian Cixiidae from Kachin amber (Myanmar) are described: Acrotiara Bourgoin & Luo gen. nov., type species A. multigranulata Luo & Bourgoin sp. nov., Delphitiara Bourgoin & Luo gen. nov., type species D. tibiocoronata Luo & Bourgoin sp. nov., and Pentacarinus Bourgoin & Luo gen. nov., type species P. kachinensis Luo & Bourgoin sp. nov. A key to identification of these new genera is provided. These cixiids with a pentacarinated mesonotum belong to a new tribe Acrotiarini Bourgoin & Luo trib. nov., type genus Acrotiara gen. nov., which is characterized by a specific set of characters, some being unique in the family Cixiidae such as the paired sublaterofrontal carinae and the arched RA on the tegmina. This new taxon prompts discussion of the current classification and phylogeny of the family, which remains widely unexplored, and of the evaluation of the placement of two older cixiid fossils currently known, Karebodopoides aptianus (Fennah, 1987) and Cixius petrinus Fennah, 1961. A new genus, Barremixius Bourgoin & Szwedo gen. nov., is proposed for the latter, resulting in the new combination Barremixius petrinus (Fennah, 1987). Karebodopoides Szwedo, 2001 and Barremixius gen. nov. are provisionally recognized as the oldest Cixiidae, respectively representative of the oecleinian lineage (including Bothriocerini trib. stat. nov.) and of the cixiinian lineage. Acrotiarini trib. nov. belongs to the pentastirinian lineage (including Borysthenini stat. nov.). All these fossils depict that the first main division that occurred in Cixiidae, occurred much earlier during the Cretaceous

First fossil trichophyine rove beetle from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Trichophyinae)

Trichophyinae is one of the smallest subfamilies of the megadiverse rove-beetle family Staphylinidae, with only 18 species in the single extant genus Trichophya Mannerheim. Here we describe the first fossil representative of Trichophyinae in mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin, northern Myanmar. †Trichophya minor sp. nov. is unusual in having non-filiform thick antennae, similar to T. antennalis Cameron, 1932 from India, but this new species can readily be distinguished from the latter by having much smaller and smoother body. Our finding indicates that the subfamily had been originated by the Albian–Cenomanian boundary, also showing a potential Gondwanan distribution at that time. We also briefly discuss a miniaturization trend in the Burmese amber beetles.

Two new genera of Protobraconinae (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar

Two new genera of the subfamily Protobraconinae van Achterberg & Chen, 2021 (Braconidae) are described from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar: Chainochora gen. nov. (with type species Chainochora syntoma sp. nov.), and Kleistochora gen. nov. (with type species Kleistochora dolichura sp. nov.). A key to the genera of Protobraconinae found in Cretaceous ambers is presented.

New genus and species of Tettigarctidae (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Cicadoidea) from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar

A new genus and species of Tettigarctidae, Burmaprosbole nervosa gen. et sp. nov., with well-preserved wings is described from the mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber. It can be distinguished from the other genera by its tegmen M with six branches, M 3+4+5+6 strongly arched after nodal line, basal of M and CuA connecting by a relatively long cross vein, basal cell pentagonal, medial cell short and wide. Based on the fossil records of Tettigarctidae, we consider it is inappropriate to use the number of R branches as a diagnostic character in tettigarctids’ higher categories (superfamilies or tribes).

Two new mid-Cretaceous caddisflies (Trichoptera, Philopotamidae) from amber of Northern Myanmar

Two new species of caddisflies, Wormaldia diplobifurca sp. nov. and Wormaldia denticulata sp. nov. in Philopotamidae, are described based on two well-preserved specimens from mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Haustellum of Wormaldia denticulata sp. nov. bearing granules with tubercles on its surface indicates that this type of haustellum was developed in the mid-Cretaceous. These two new species with the absence or only one comb on their tibial spurs confirm that tibial spur with two combs is probably a derived character. By comparing the characters of forewing and genitallia, the mid-Cretaceous fossil caddisflies of Wormaldia genus can be divided into at least three groups of species, but none of these fossil species can be assigned into the extant species of Wormaldia.

Mother snail labors for posterity in bed of mid-Cretaceous amber

When seldom life history events serendipitously get documented by exceptional preservation in the fossil record, a unique telescopic opportunity arises for interpreting fossils within their paleoenvironment as well as for understanding ancestral relationships of current life forms. We present a rare glimpse of live birth by a terrestrial mother snail, incidentally, engulfed by amber as she released her young in a tropical forest during the mid-Cretaceous (early Cenomanian). The exceptional finding featuring the preservation of a snail’s 99-million-year-old soft-body together with five neonate shells represents the earliest known fossilized incidence of viviparity in a terrestrial snail. Based on high-resolution photographs and µCT scans, we describe the mother snail as a new species of cyclophoroid, Cretatortulosa gignens sp. nov. Our finding provides remarkable perspectives for interpreting gastropod evolution 80 million years earlier than the fossil record has known up to now. It shows that viviparity was already a relevant reproductive strategy in the Cretaceous, probably increasing the offspring’s survival chance in a predator-lurking tropical forest.

A Peculiar New Genus of Bibionomorpha (Diptera) with Brachycera-Like Modification of Antennae from Mid-Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar.

Simple SummaryThe mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar (also known as Burmese amber) is almost 100 MYA old and represents an invaluable source of information about the evolution of life in the late Mesozoic. This is particularly true for the early flies (lower Diptera) which underwent rapid radiation during the Cretaceous period. Here we describe a remarkable nematocerous fossil fly which shows a character typical of the flies of the suborder Brachycera—with strongly modified antenna—representing new evidence that such a Brachycera-like modification of the antennae has evolved several times during the evolutionary history of Diptera.A new fossil genus of Bibionidae (Diptera: Bibionomorpha), Burmahesperinus gen. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, is described and illustrated (type species Burmahesperinus antennatus sp. nov., the other two species included are B. conicus sp. nov. and B. pedicellatus sp. nov.). The new genus is tentatively placed in a new subfamily, Burmahesperininae subfam. nov. of the family Bibionidae. Its possible phylogenetic position is briefly discussed. The new genus, as well as the subfamily, possesses the wing venation similar to the recent genus Hesperinus Walker, 1848, in combination with Brachycera-like modification of both the male and female antenna and the overall habitus typical of fungus gnats (Sciaroidea).

EmEminepygia/em emmyanmarensis/em sp. nov., a new Earwig (Dermaptera) Nymph in Burmese Amber.

A new fossil earwig nymph, Eminepygia myanmarensis gen. et sp. nov. (Pygidicranidae), from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar, is described and figured. Eminepygia myanmarensis gen. et sp. nov. can be readily distinguished from all other extinct and recent members of Dermaptera by the prominent bulges on the last three terga. Our new finding sheds further light on the diversity and morphological disparity of fossil dermapterans during the Late Mesozoic.

A new sinoalid froghopper in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha, Sinoalidae)

Here we describe and illustrate a new genus and species of the extinct froghopper family Sinoalidae, Cretomultinervis burmensis gen. et sp. nov. from Burmese (Myanmar) amber. The new genus can be recognized from all sinoalids by the combination of an enlarged pronotum, hind tibia armed with five interlaced lateral spines, leaf-shaped tegmen with very broad postcostal cell, basal cell extremely long, hindwing with costal margin armed with 5 micro-spines basally, and cross vein mp-cua apparently basad of stem CuA fork. This peculiar combination of primitive and derived characters suggests that Cretomultinervis likely represents an early-diverging lineage of Sinoalidae, increasing our knowledge on the morphological disparity of this extinct family during the late Mesozoic.

Angiosperm pollinivory in a Cretaceous beetle.

Despite the crucial importance of flower-visiting insects in modern ecosystems, there is little fossil evidence on the origins of angiosperm pollination. Most reports of pollination in the Mesozoic fossil record have been based on the co-occurrence of the purported pollinators with pollen grains and assumed morphological adaptations for vectoring pollen. Here, we describe an exceptionally preserved short-winged flower beetle (Cucujoidea: Kateretidae) from mid-Cretaceous amber, Pelretes vivificus gen. et sp. nov., associated with pollen aggregations and coprolites consisting mainly of pollen, providing direct evidence of pollen-feeding in a Cretaceous beetle and confirming that diverse beetle lineages visited early angiosperms in the Cretaceous. The exquisite preservation of our fossil permits the identification of the pollen grains as Tricolpopollenites (Asteridae or Rosidae), representing a record of flower beetle pollination of a group of derived angiosperms in the Mesozoic and suggesting that potentially diverse beetle lineages visited early angiosperms by the mid-Cretaceous.

A new agamid lizard in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar

The first amber-embedded fossil representing the lizard family Agamidae, Protodraco monocoli gen. et sp. nov., is described in burmite of the lowermost Cenomanian (ca. 99 Ma; mid-Cretaceous) from northern Myanmar. It is among both the oldest known amber lizards and the oldest fossils of the family. The fossil is a well preserved left hind foot with shank, morphologically similar to basal taxa of modern Southeast Asian agamids. Because of the sparse Cretaceous fossil record it could provide a calibration point for divergence-time analyses and contradicts views that agamids colonized SE Asia during the Paleogene.

A new species and genus of Alienopteridae (Blattodea) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar

Eminespina burma gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on a female embedded in Cretaceous Burmese amber of Cenomanian age. Autapomorphic are three unique spines distributed anterior quarter of pronotum from longer posterior part. The new evidence of Batesian mimicry in the insect fossil record is briefly discussed.

A new genus and species of Aulacidae (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

The mid-Cretaceous amber from Kachin State of Myanmar provides a well-diversified fauna of aulacid wasps. Here we describe a new aulacid genus and species, Paleoaulacus minutus gen. et sp. nov. This discovery highlights the underestimated diversity of aulacid wasps in Burmese Albian–Cenomanian amber. Interestingly, Paleoaulacus minutus gen. et sp. nov. shares wing venation and body characters with the tribes Electrofoenini and Aulacini, challenging a clear placement. Future discoveries of additional specimens are necessary to precise its position or erect a new tribe to accommodate this peculiar genus. This fossil also shows a developed wing venation, similar to that of the extant genus Aulacus Jurine, 1807.

<p><strong>A new species of Sinoalidae from the topmost Late Jurassic Daohugou Bed (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha)</strong></p>

The extinct froghopper family Sinoalidae Wang & Szwedo, 2012 is one of the early representatives of Cercopoidea (Wang et al., 2012). Sinoalidae is rich and diverse taxonomically and morphologically, comprising eighteen valid genera, thereby being the most diverse member at generic level among three Mesozoic families of Cercopoidea. It has been reported in the late Middle to early Late Jurassic Daohugou biota from northeastern China (temperate zone) and the mid-Cretaceous amber biota from northern Myanmar (near-equatorial region) (Hong, 1983; Wang et al., 2012; Chen et al., 2018), indicated that they could adapt to a variety of paleoclimatic environment.

New species of Hybristodryinus Engel (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae) from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar, with notes on their possible hosts

Two new species of Hybristodryinus Engel, 2005, are described from mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar: H. castaneussp. nov. (based on one male) and H. zaifuisp. nov. (based on one female). Keys to the females and males of Hybristodryinus species are modified to include the two new taxa. A syninclusion, a nymph of Cixitettiginae (Perforissidae), present in the same amber piece containing H. zaifui, is studied. This syninclusion, together with the presence of Antennal Dorsal Organs (ADOs) in Hybristodryinus, suggests that Perforissidae are possible hosts of Hybristodryinus.