On the taxonomic state of a digger wasp of the tribe Crabronini (Hymenoptera,Crabronidae, Crabroninae) from the Dominican amber

“Lindenius paleomystax” described from the Miocene Dominican amber has been included into a separate digger wasp genus, Lindocerus gen. nov. (Crabronidae, Crabroninae, Crabronini), which is similar to the genus Crossocerus Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau et Brullé, 1835, but differs in the well-pronounced hypersternaulus.     

First fossil horsefly (Diptera: Tabanidae) in Miocene Mexican amber

The fossil record of the Tabanidae is sparse when compared with other families of Diptera. Even in amber they are rare, probably because of their size and specific flight behavior. Horseflies from amber are only known from Cretaceous age New Jersey amber as well as from the Tertiary age Baltic and Dominican amber, but are herein described for the first time, with Stenotabanus oleariorum sp. n., from Mexican amber. The new species is compared to the fossil horseflies of the same genus S. brodzinskyi Lane, Poinar and Fairchild 1988 and S. woodruffi Lane and Fairchild 1989 from Dominican amber.     

A remarkable new pygmy grasshopper (Orthoptera,Tetrigidae) in Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic

A new genus and species of pygmy grasshopper (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) is described from Early Miocene (Burdigalian) Dominican amber. Electrotettix attenboroughi Heads & Thomas, gen. et sp. n. is assigned to the subfamily Cladonotinae based on the deeply forked frontal costa, but is remarkable for the presence of tegmina and hind wings, hitherto unknown in this subfamily.     

A new anaxyelid wood wasp (Hymenoptera: ‘Symphyta’) from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber

A new genus and species of anaxyelid wasp is described and figured from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber as Curvitexis kopylovi gen. et sp. nov. The placement of this new genus within the Anaxyelidae is corroborated by its wing venation and the configuration of its mesosoma. This new genus differs from all other Syntexinae from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber biota, inter alia, owing to its forewing with the vein 1Rs curved and longer than 1M, the crossvein 1r-rs absent, the vein 2Rs + M present; the hind wing with the abscissa 2M + Cu present, the vein m-cu absent, and the cell r closed. The recently described Paraxiphydria resinata Gao et al., 2022 is transferred to Anaxyelidae: Syntexinae, and the subfamily Paraxiphydriinae Gao et al., 2022 is synonymized under Syntexinae.     

A new genus of praeaulacid wasp (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (Myanmar)

The diversity of praeaulacid wasps in Kachin amber is relatively poorly documented. Here, a new genus and species of praeaulacid wasp are described and illustrated from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber as Archeogastrinus kachinensis gen. et sp. nov., and placed in the subfamily Praeaulacinae. This new genus is distinguishable from the other Praeaulacidae because of its particular tibial spurs formula 1-2-2; its forewings with a long and thin pterostigma, a 1-M longer than 1-Rs, a 1-Rs longer than its distance to pterostigma, a crossvein 2r-rs aligned (or nearly) with 2rs-m and originating near the middle of pterostigma, a 2rs-m present, a cell 3rm long, a 1cu-a postfurcal to 1-M, a vein 2-M distinct; its hind wings cu-a reaching Cu distad M + Cu fork; and its metasoma with a first segment petiole-like (i.e., long and thin) and ventrally inflated in its distal half. The position of the genus Mesevania is briefly discussed, as well as the validity of the genus Paleosyncrasis, both described from the mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber.     

A new genus and species of gall midges of the supertribe Heteropezidi (Diptera,Cecidomyiidae) found in Eocene amber from Sakhalin

A new genus and species of pedogenetic gall midge, Estoperpetua sakhalinica gen. et sp. nov., of the tribe Heteropezini (subfamily Lasiopterinae) is described. Gall midges have not been recorded in Eocene amber of Sakhalin. A female with 4-segmented tarsi, large transparent triangular sensoria on flagellomeres, short wings and legs, and long 2 + 9-segmented antennae is described. Heteropezidi shows the greatest generic and species diversity in the Late Eocene Rovno amber. Representatives of this supertribe were also found in the Late Eocene Baltic amber, Early Eocene Oise amber, Miocene amber from Mexico and Dominican Republic, and African copal. Heteropezidi from different amber faunas are reviewed.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rovnoecus</Emphasis>, a new genus of digger wasps (Hymenoptera,Crabronidae, Pemphredoninae) from the Rovno amber

A new fossil digger wasp Rovnoecus klesovicus gen. et sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae, Pemphredoninae, Pemphredonini) is described from the Upper Eocene Rovno amber. The genus Rovnoecus gen. nov. is characterized by an incomplete occipital carina, partly reduced second discoidal cell, and the presence of spines on all tibiae. Rovnoecus gen. nov. is most similar to the fossil genus Eoxyloecus Budrys, 1993 from the Baltic amber. The two genera form a monophyletic group that is a sister group to the group formed by the genera Passaloecus Shuckard, 1837 and Eopinoecus Budrys, 1993. This indirectly corroborates the hypothesis of the geographically different origin of the Rovno and Baltic ambers.     

A New Genus of Aplodontid Rodent (Mammalia,Rodentia) from the Late Oligocene of Northern Junggar Basin,China

A new genus and species of aplodontid rodent, Proansomys dureensis, from the late Oligocene of the northern Junggar Basin of China is described. The new genus is referred to as Ansomyinae because the ectoloph on the upper cheek teeth, although not fully crested, has attained the same characteristic bucket-handle-shaped configuration as other members of the subfamily. It represents the earliest record of the subfamily yet discovered in Asia and is more plesiomorphic than species of the genus Ansomys in having a partly crested ectoloph, a lower degree of lophodonty, and less complex tooth basins (lacking accessory lophules). Proansomys has transitional features between Prosciurus and Ansomys, suggesting that the Ansomyinae derived from a group of aplodontids related to Prosciurus, as did other advanced aplodontid rodents. This provides new light on the paleobiogeography of the Ansomyinae.     

Have ladybird beetles and whiteflies co-existed for at least 40 Mya?

The beetle family Coccinellidae is rarely recorded from fossils. Most of the records come from the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. A complete list of Coccinellidae records from Baltic amber is presented and discussed. Extensive literature research provided a surprising conclusion that not a single species of Coccinellidae has been formally described from Baltic amber till now. The first two species of ladybird beetles from Eocene Baltic amber are described and placed in the genus Serangium, namely S. twardowskii sp. nov. and S. gedanicum sp. nov. Their phylogenetic placement in the subfamily Microweiseinae is provided. A key to the fossil species of Serangium is given. Extant representatives of the genus are distributed mainly in tropical areas of Asia and Oceania, and are specialised predators of whiteflies. Current discovery shows that during the Middle Eocene, the genus Serangium was distributed wider in the Northern Hemisphere and the evolution of these ladybird beetles was probably influenced by the evolution of whiteflies which are also found in the Baltic amber.     

Chulpasia and Thylacotinga, late Paleocene-earliest Eocene trans-Antarctic Gondwanan bunodont marsupials: New data from Australia

A new marsupial from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna of southeastern Queensland, Australia, is named and referred to ChulpasiaCrochet and Sigé, 1993, a genus otherwise known from early Tertiary deposits of Peru. This taxon, Chulpasia jimthorselli nov. sp., differs in upper molar morphology only in minor details from the Peruvian type species Chulpasia mattaueri and is almost identical in size. New materials referable to the Tingamarra marsupial Thylacotinga bartholomaii Archer, Godthelp and Hand are also described. Species of Chulpasia and Thylacotinga share many striking derived as well as plesiomorphic dental features that allow recognition of a new monophyletic subfamily, Chulpasiinae. Its familial relationships are in doubt, but members of the subfamily could have provided the ancestral stock for Rosendolops and other early Tertiary South American polydolopimorphian marsupials. This is the first evidence that a Gondwanan genus of therian land mammals spanned South America, Antarctica and Australia during the early Tertiary. The very close similarity between the Peruvian and Australian fossils (and suggested short time span between their stratigraphic occurrences) provides further paleontological support for a trans-Antarctic land connection between South America and Australia extending well into the early Paleogene.     

New fossil ants of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Germany

Two new fossil members of the subfamily Myrmeciinae are described: Archimyrmex wedmannae, sp. nov (Grube Messel, Germany, Middle Eocene) and Prionomyrmex wappleri, sp. nov. (Rott, Germany, Late Oligocene). Members of the genus Archimyrmex were known earlier from Eocene deposits of the United States and Argentina, and members of the genus Prionomyrmex were known from Late Eocene Baltic amber.     

A new Planthopper (Insecta: Hemiptera: Nogodinidae) from Chiapas amber, middle Miocene of Mexico

A new species of Planthopper, Nogodina chiapaneca sp. nov. from the Mexican Chiapas amber (southeast Mexico) is described. The new species belongs to Nogodinidae: Nogodinini: Nogodinina. This is the second nogodinid species described from Mexican amber. Both species belong to Nogodinina, a taxon with a Neotropical distribution. The only recent species of Nogodina, N. reticulata, ranges from Honduras to Brazil and is unknown from Mexico yet.     

A remarkable new fossil species of Amplectister with peculiar hindleg modifications (Coleoptera: Histeridae): further evidence for myrmecophily in Cretaceous clown beetles

Myrmecophily is a phenomenon of the symbiosis of organisms that depend on various ant (Formicidae) societies. Such interspecies associations are found in several unrelated lineages within the clown beetle family Histeridae. Recent studies have suggested that the origin of myrmecophily can be traced back to mid-Cretaceous based on a few fossil records from Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. Here, we describe a remarkable new species, Amplectister terapoides n. sp., from Kachin amber. This is the second species of the extinct genus Amplectister Caterino and Maddison, which has been found from the same amber deposit and has also been considered to be myrmecophilous. The new species here described has the most heavily modified hindlegs in any fossil histerids or even beetles discovered until now, indicating further evidence for ant colony association. Our discovery demonstrates that significant and diverse morphological adaptations to myrmecophily had already occurred during the Cretaceous.     

A new trogiid genus from lower Eocene Fushun amber (Insecta: Psocodea: Trogiomorpha)

A new fossil brachypterous psocid tax on belonging to the family Trogiidae is characterized, illustrated and described from the early Eocene Fushun amber. Paralepinotus fushunensis nov. gen., nov. sp., shares several characters with the genus Lepinotus von Heyden, 1850, but differs from it mainly by the presence of tibial spurs other than apical ones and the absence of a forked sensillum on the last maxillary palp. This fossil taxon is also characterized by relatively developed elytriform forewing but still not reaching the tip of the abdomen. A checklist of all known Trogiidae is provided.     

New Fossil Scorpion from the Chiapas Amber Lagerst?tte

A new species of scorpion is described based on a rare entire adult male preserved in a cloudy amber from Miocene rocks in the Chiapas Highlands, south of Mexico. The amber-bearing beds in Chiapas constitute a Conservation Lagerstätte with outstanding organic preservation inside plant resin. The new species is diagnosed as having putative characters that largely correspond with the genus Tityus Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Accordingly, it is now referred to as Tityus apozonalli sp. nov. Its previously unclear phylogenetic relationship among fossil taxa of the family Buthidae from both Dominican and Mexican amber is also examined herein. Preliminarily results indicate a basal condition of T. apozonalli regarding to Tityus geratus Santiago-Blay and Poinar, 1988, Tityus (Brazilotityus) hartkorni Lourenço, 2009, and Tityus azari Lourenço, 2013 from Dominican amber, as was Tityus (Brazilotityus) knodeli Lourenço, 2014 from Mexican amber. Its close relationships with extant Neotropic Tityus-like subclades such as ‘Tityus clathratus’ and the subgenus Tityus (Archaeotityus) are also discussed. This new taxon adds to the knowledge of New World scorpions from the Miocene that are rarely found trapped in amber.     

A new ripiphorid beetle from Upper Cretaceous Burmese amber sheds light on early evolution of the extant subfamily Ripidiinae (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae)

Fossils belonging to Ripidiinae are rare. Here, we describe and figure a remarkable new genus and species of Ripidiinae, Protoripidius burmiticus gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous amber of Myanmar. Protoripidius can be placed in the extant subfamily Ripidiinae based on the widely separated and abbreviated elytra (in male), unfolded hind wings, simple claws and the absence of tibial spurs. Protoripidius bears many transitional features shedding new light on the relationships of the two extant tribes of Ripidiinae. The discovery also highlights the palaeodiversity of the subfamily Ripidiinae in the mid-Cretaceous.     

Two new fossil genera and species of Cerocephalinae (Hymenoptera,Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae), including the first record from the Eocene

Cerocephalinae (Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae) is a small group of parasitoid wasps characterized by a number of derived diagnostic features. Their hosts are endophytic beetles. So far, 43 species of Cerocephalinae have been described, including one fossil species from the Miocene. In this study, we add two new genera and species from Baltic and Dominican amber to the fossil record. Tenuicornus dominicus gen. et sp. n. is the second genus described from Dominican amber, and Pteropilosa lailarabanorum gen. et sp. n., described from Baltic amber, represents the oldest record of the subfamily, pushing the minimum age of Cerocephalinae back to the Eocene. Diagnostic characters of both species are discussed in comparison with other Cerocephalinae. An updated key to extant and fossil Cerocephalinae is presented.     

New genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ennoticus</Emphasis> from the Upper Cretaceous of Taimyr (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae)

Ennoticus mnemosynon gen. et sp. nov. is described from Upper Cretaceous (Santonian) Taimyr amber. The new genus belongs to the tribe Cryptophagini and seems similar to the extant genus Mnionomidius, but differs from it in the presence of femoral lines. The new genus is similar to the tribe Caenoscelini in the presence of femoral lines, but differs from it in the parallel-sided tibia and weakly serrated lateral border of the pronotum. The new taxon is the most ancient representative of Cryptophaginae with femoral lines, an important distinctive feature.     

A remarkable new genus of Cretaceous dustywings (Neuroptera： Coniopterygidae)in amber from northern Myanmar

A new dustywing genus and species,namely Cretaconiopteryx grandis gen.& sp.nov.,from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar is herein described in the lacewing family Coniopterygidae.The new genus is distinguished from all other dustywing species by the combination of following morphological features:relatively large body-size,comparatively rich crossvenation,origin of RP+MA near wing base in both fore-and hindwing,forewing RA and RP terminally fused into a loop,and proximally zig-zagged forewing CuP.A new subfamily,Cretaconiopteryginae subfam,nov.,is erected based on this spectacular new genus.The new subfamily might represent the basalmost lineage of known coniopterygids.