New Gryllones Insects (Insecta: Gryllones) from the Babii Kamen’ Locality (Upper Permian of Russia). 2. Order Reculida and Gryllones Ordinis Incertis

Paleontological Journal - New taxa of the order Reculida (Insecta: Gryllones): imagines of Chauliodites babiy sp. nov. (family Chaulioditidae), Stegopterum kabalum sp. nov., S. pashka sp. nov.,...     

Insects from the Buntsandstein of Lower Franconia and Thuringia

Upper Buntsandstein deposits (mainly Myophoria beds, R?t Formation, Early Anisian) in Lower Franconia and Thuringia have yielded a rather rich insect fauna comprising ca. 300 insect specimens assigned to ten orders: Archaeognatha (Dasyleptidae), Ephemeroptera, Blattodea, Grylloblattida, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Glosselytrodea, Coleoptera, Mecoptera and Diptera. The systematic list of recorded insects is provided. Two species are identified as Triassodotes vogesiacus Sinitshenkova, Marchal-Papier, Grauvogel-Stamm et Gall, 2005 (Ephemeroptera: Misthodotidae) and Pseudopolycentropus triasicus Papier, Nel et Grauvogel-Stamm, 1996 (Mecoptera), which were previously described from the ??Grès à Voltzia?? Formation of the Vosges, the stratigraphically closest insect fauna. All grylloblattid specimens are identified as Chauliodites picteti Heer, 1864 (Chaulioditidae), known previously from the Middle Buntsandstein of G?dewitz, Saxony-Anhalt. The new genus and species Hammephemera pulchra Sinitshenkova, gen. et sp. n. (Ephemeroptera: Sharephemeridae) is described.     

Batesian insect-insect mimicry-related explosive radiation of ancient alienopterid cockroaches

Batesian mimicry is a relationship in which a harmful organism (the model) is mimicked by a harmless organism (the mimic), which gains protection because predators mistake it for the model. It is the most widely studied of mimicry complexes and has undoubtedly played an important role in the speciation of various animals especially insects. However, little is known about the early evolution of this important behavior and its evolutionary significance owing to a dearth of paleontological records. Here we report several specialized representatives of the family Alienopteridae from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil, mid-Cretaceous Burmite, and the Eocene of the USA. They exhibit unique morphological adaptations for wasp and ant mimicry and represent one of the oldest evidence of Batesian mimicry in the insect fossil record. Our findings reveal at least 65-million-year coevolution between extinct alienopterids and aculeates. Phylogenetic Bayesian network analysis houses Alienopteridae within Umenocoleidae explosively radiating ~127 Ma. Alienopteridae is the only Mesozoic-type cockroach family which passed K/Pg.     

New and little-known grylloblattids of the family Geinitziidae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Triassic and Jurassic of Europe,Asia, and South Africa

The fossil history of the family Geinitziidae is reviewed. New taxa are described in the family: Shurabia hissarica, sp. nov. (Lower Jurassic of Tajikistan), Sh. shartegica, sp. nov. (Upper Jurassic of Mongolia), Sh. serrata, sp. nov. and Ginitzia sagulensis, sp. nov. (both Lower Jurassic of Kyrgyzstan). The subfamily Stegopterinae Sharov, 1961 is synonymized under Geinitziinae Handlirsch, 1906. The genera Minesedes Fujiyama, 1973 and Ominea Fujiyama, 1973 (Upper Triassic of Japan) are synonymized under Shurabia Martynov, 1937 and Geinitzia Handlirsch, 1906, respectively. Geinitzia varia Bode, 1953 (Lower Jurassic of Germany) and Fletchizia picturata Riek, 1976 (Upper Triassic of South Africa) are redescribed from their holotypes. F. kapokraalensis Wappler, 2001 and F. aleda Wappler, 2001 (both Upper Triassic of South Africa) are transferred to the genus Shurabia.     

New Permian stoneflies of the family Palaeonemouridae (Insecta: Perlida = Plecoptera) from the Isady locality

New stonefly species of the family Palaeonemouridae, Palaeonemoura issadensis, sp. nov., Palaeotaeniopteryx laeta, sp. nov., and P. triternata, sp. nov., are described from the Tatarian (Upper Permian) locality of Isady (Severodvinian Stage of the Vologda Region).     

On Frasnian ammonoids of the New Siberian Islands

Ammonoids from the basal beds of the Nerpalakh Formation (Lower Frasnian) of Belkovsky Island (New Siberian Archipelago) are systematically studied. Taxonomically, the assemblage studied (Manticoceras insulare sp. nov., Tornoceras typum (Sandberger, 1851), and T. contractum Glenister, 1958) is similar to the Early Frasnian ammonoid assemblage of South Timan, from which its is distinguished by the absence of the genera Timanites and Komioceras. The same beds contain conodonts of the Palmatolepis transitans Zone (= MN 4 Zone of the Montagne Noire standard succession), which allow the correlation of the beds studied with the Timanites keyserlingi and Komioceras stuckenbergi ammonoid zones of South Timan. The Early Frasnian ammonoids could supposedly have entered the region of the New Siberian Archipelago from the southwest at the time of a major transgression, which facilitated the distribution of the genera Manticoceras and Tornoceras. A new species of the genus Manticoceras is described.     

New grylloblattids of the family Lemmatophoridae (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Permian of Russia

New grylloblattids of the family Lemmatophoridae (Insecta: Grylloblattida), Artinska sojanensis sp. nov., Sylvaprisca colorata sp. nov., and Uraloprisca lisca gen. et sp. nov., from the Soyana locality (Lower Kazanian, Arkhangelsk Region) and Paraprisca solikamskensis sp. nov. from the Tyul’kino locality (Ufimian, Perm Region) are described. Two species are transferred from the genus Paraprisca to Uraloprisca gen. nov.: Uraloprisca uralica (G. Zalessky, 1952), comb. nov. and Uraloprisca causaria (Novokshonov, 2000), comb. nov. (both from the Kungurian of the Perm Region). The evolution of the family is discussed.     

Review of grylloblattid insects (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Solikamsk deposits of the Perm Region

The Solikamsk faunas of the Vorkuta series of the Pechora Basin and the Solikamsk Formation of the Perm Region of Russia are reviewed. New taxa are described from Tyul’kino locality (Solikamsk District): Artinska ufimica sp. nov., Sylvaprisca tyulkinensis sp. nov., Ufimoprisca gen. nov. (the type species Sylvaprisca alba Aristov, 2005), U. mica sp. nov., U. kamensis sp. nov. (family Lemmatophoridae), Sylvaella ovalis sp. nov. (family Liomopteridae), Ivakhosara prima sp. nov., and Megakhosarella prisca sp. nov. (family Megakhosaridae). Additionally, Uralioma sp. is described from Shchugor locality (Cherdyn’ District). Two species, Paraprisca solikamskensis Aristov, 2009 (family Lemmatophoridae) from Tyul’kino and Kolvidelia curta G. Zalessky, 1950 (family Ideliidae) from Pokcha locality (Cherdyn’ District)), are redescribed.     

A Decade of Observations of Intertidal Benthic Communities at the Water Area of Vitino Specialized Marine Oil Port (Northern Part of Kandalaksha Bay,White Sea): A Methodological View

Biology Bulletin - Studies of the intertidal benthos of the water area of the Vitino Specialized Marine Oil Port using typical hydrobiological methods were carried out for more than ten years. From...     

New Tatarian representatives of the subfamily Chaulioditinae (Insecta: Grylloblattida: Chaulioditidae) from European Russia

New Late Permian grylloblattids of the subfamily Chaulioditinae (Chaulioditidae) are described: Chauliodites afonini sp. nov. (Sokovka locality, Vladimir Region; Vyatkian Stage), Ch. gomankovi sp. nov. (Novo-Aleksandrovka locality, Orenburg Region; Severodvinian Stage), and Ch. ponomarenkoi sp. nov. (Isady locality, Vologda Region, upper Severodvinian Stage). Stratigraphic distribution of the subfamily is discussed.