Alicodoxa

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Alicodoxa
Temporal range: Middle Eocene – Late Eocene
Alicodoxa rasnitsyni holotype cropped.jpg
Holotype 4th instar nymph
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha
Family: Dictyopharidae
Genus:† Alicodoxa
Emeljanov and Shcherbakov, 2011
Species:
†A. rasnitsyni
Binomial name
†Alicodoxa rasnitsyni
Emeljanov & Shcherbakov, 2011

Alicodoxa is an extinct genus of planthopper in the fulgoroid family Dictyopharidae. The genus contains a single described species, Alicodoxa rasnitsyni and is known from several Late Eocene fossils which were found in Europe.

Contents

History and classification

Alicodoxa is known from several fossil specimens of third and fourth instar nymphs. The holotype nymph was first identified from an inclusion in a transparent chunk of Rovno amber found in Ukraine, and two other nymphs have been found in Baltic amber, the genus being one of a number of arthropods shared between the two amber deposits. [1] [2] The Rovno amber inclusion was recovered from amber mining operations in the Klesov area working Late Eocene sediments [1] of the Mezhigorje Formation and underlying Obukhov Formation which cover granite basement rock of the area. [2] Baltic amber has very similar chemical and physical properties to Rovno amber, both ambers possibly being produced by the same forest. The ages of the two ambers differ, with the most common age for Baltic amber being Lutetian, slightly older than the Rovno amber, though both are redistributed into younger sediments and so the absolute age is uncertain. [2]

Both the Baltic amber nymphs were originally figured in earlier publications as other taxa. One was first pictured in 1998 labeled as a third instar nymph. The other specimen was first illustrated in 1856 as a third instar nymph of "Pseudophana reticulata", a species now placed in the genus Protepiptera . [1]

The Rovno amber specimen was first studied by Russian entomologists Alexander Emeljanov and Dmitry Shcherbakov, with their 2016 type description for the genus and species being published in the journal ZooKeys . The genus and specific epithet were coined as patronyms honoring Russian paleoentomologist Alexandr Rasnitsyn, the genus name Alicodoxa being formed from Alexandr and the species name rasnitsyni from Rasnitsyn. [1]

Description

The holotype nymph is 4.1 mm (0.16 in) long and 2.2 mm (0.087 in) at the widest, with a generally ovoid outline. The exoskeleton is a dark brown color, with patches of shagreened texturing along the upper surfaces. The head extends beyond the oval outline of the body, with the rostrum folded under the body and reaching to just past the coxae of the hind legs. [1] The pronotum is modified in outline, with 2/3 of its middle length placed between the eyes and the front edge is nearly straight. The rear section is divided into two lobes spreading away from each other to the sides with the lobes converging 1/3 of the pronotal length from the rear. Raised ridges run along the full border of the pronotum with varying degrees of development; the area where the lobes join the central mass show very little ridging, while the free margins of the pronotum have well developed ridges. There are a number of sensory pits on the upper surface and sides of the pronotum. [1] Seven sensory pits are present on the pectoral area of each side, and four pits are developed in the humeral area. Along the upper surface there are rows totaling between nineteen and twenty-one sensory pits. Behind the pronotum, the mesonotum has an arrowhead shaped outline, bracketed by the forewing pads. The front edges are raised ridges and run parallel to the rear inside margin of the pronotum. Along each side margin are groups of six to seven sensory pits ranging in size. The wing pads are nearly parallel to each other, with the fore wing pads overlaying the hind wing pads. There are six sensor pits on the fore wing pads and only two on the hind wing pads. The abdomen has a ridge running down the center from the pronotum to the tip, and poorly developed side ridges present on tergites 4 and 5. There are rows of pits on the upper surfaces of tergites 4 to 9 ranging in number from 3 to 8 pits per tergite. On the rear faces tergites 6 to 8 there are pairs of circular wax plates covering wax gland pores, with a large central plate and a smaller upper plate. Each of the wax pores is surrounded by ridges, and the smaller upper plate of tergite 7 is divided in half by a chitinous bridge. [1]

Related Research Articles

Alexandr Rasnitsyn Russian entomologist (born 1936)

Alexandr Pavlovich Rasnitsyn is a Russian entomologist, expert in palaeoentomology, and Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation (2001). His scientific interests are centered on the palaeontology, phylogeny, and taxonomy of hymenopteran insects and insects in general. He has also studied broader biological problems such as evolutionary theory, the principles of phylogenetics, taxonomy, nomenclature, and palaeoecology. He has published over 300 articles and books in several languages. In August 2008 he was awarded the Distinguished Research Medal of the International Society of Hymenopterists.

Planthopper Superfamily of insects

A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment and that they often "hop" for quick transportation in a similar way to that of grasshoppers. However, planthoppers generally walk very slowly. Distributed worldwide, all members of this group are plant-feeders, though surprisingly few are considered pests. The infraorder contains only a single superfamily, Fulgoroidea. Fulgoroids are most reliably distinguished from the other Auchenorrhyncha by two features; the bifurcate ("Y"-shaped) anal vein in the forewing, and the thickened, three-segmented antennae, with a generally round or egg-shaped second segment (pedicel) that bears a fine filamentous arista.

Stephanidae Family of wasps

The Stephanidae, sometimes called crown wasps, are a family of parasitoid wasps. They are the only living members of the superfamily Stephanoidea. Stephanidae has at least 345 living species in 11 genera. The family is considered cosmopolitan in distribution, with the highest species concentrations in subtropical and moderate climate zones. Stephanidae also contain four extinct genera described from both compression fossils and inclusions in amber.

Cixiidae Family of true bugs

The Cixiidae are a family of fulgoroid insects, one of many families commonly known as planthoppers, distributed worldwide and comprising more than 2,000 species from over 150 genera. The genera are placed into three subfamilies, Borystheninae, Bothriocerinae and Cixiinae with sixteen tribes currently accepted in Cixiinae.

Dictyopharidae Family of planthoppers

Dictyopharidae is a family of planthoppers, related to the Fulgoridae. The family comprises nearly 760 species in more than 150 genera which are grouped into two subfamilies, Dictyopharinae and Orgeriinae.

<i>Baltimartyria</i> Extinct genus of moths

Baltimartyria is an extinct genus of primitive metallic moths in the family Micropterigidae. The genus is solely known from the Early Eocene Baltic amber deposits in the Baltic Sea region of Europe. The genus currently contains two described species, Baltimartyria proavitella and Baltimartyria rasnitsyni.

Epiborkhausenites is an extinct genus of moth in the concealer moth family Oecophoridae and containing a single species Epiborkhausenites obscurotrimaculatus. The species is known only from Middle Eocene, Bartonian stage, Baltic amber deposits near the town of Palanga in Lithuania.

Emiliana is an extinct genus of planthopper in the Tropiduchidae tribe Emilianini and containing the single species Emiliana alexandri. The species is known only from the Middle Eocene Parachute Member, part of the Green River Formation, in the Piceance Creek Basin, Garfield County, northwestern Colorado, USA.

Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni is an extinct species of ant in the genus Pristomyrmex. The species is known from a single Late Eocene fossil which was found in Europe.

<i>Asymphylomyrmex</i> Extinct genus of ants

Asymphylomyrmex is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus contains a single described species, Asymphylomyrmex balticus and is known from a group of Middle Eocene fossils which were found in Europe.

<i>Metanephrocerus</i> Extinct genus of flies

Metanephrocerus is an extinct genus of big-headed flies in the dipteran subfamily Protonephrocerinae, for which it is one of only two genera. The genus contains four described species, Metanephrocerus belgardeae, M. collini, M. groehni, and M. hoffeinsorum. Metanephrocerus is known from a group of Middle Eocene fossils which were found in Europe and a single early Eocene fossil from North America.

<i>Usomyrma</i> Genus of ants

Usomyrma is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus contains a single described species, Usomyrma mirabilis, that is known from two Middle Eocene fossils which were found in Scandinavian amber in Denmark.

<i>Yantaromyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Yantaromyrmex is an extinct genus of ants first described in 2013. Members of this genus are in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae, known from Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene fossils found in Europe. The genus currently contains five described species, Y. constrictus, Y. geinitzi, Y. intermedius, Y. mayrianum and Y. samlandicus. The first specimens were collected in 1868 and studied by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr, who originally placed the fossils in other ant genera until the fossils were reviewed and subsequently placed into their own genus. These ants are small, measuring from 4 to 6 mm in length and can be characterized by their trapezoidal shaped head-capsules and oval compound eyes that are located slightly to the rear of the capsules midpoint, with no known ocelli present.

<i>Zherichinius</i> Genus of ants

Zherichinius is an extinct genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae known from fossils found in amber from the Middle Eocene of Sakhalin island Far eastern Russia and Bitterfeld, Germany. At the time of description the species Zherichinius horribilis and Zherichinius rapax were two of eight ant species known from Sakhalin fossils.

<i>Bradoponera</i> Extinct genus of ants

Bradoponera is an extinct genus of ant in the Formicidae subfamily Proceratiinae, and is one of four genera of the subfamily. The genus contains four described species Bradoponera electrina, Bradoponera meieri, Bradoponera similis, and Bradoponera wunderlichi. The species are known from several Middle Eocene amber fossils which were found in Europe.

Embolemidae Family of wasps

Embolemidae is a family of small solitary parasitoid wasps with around 70 species in 2 genera distributed around the world. The few species whose biology is known are parasites on planthopper nymphs of the families Achilidae and Cixiidae. There is debate regarding the status of the genus named Ampulicomorpha by Ashmead in 1893, generally considered now to be a junior synonym of Embolemus (e.g.,), though some authorities dispute this (e.g.,)

<i>Electromyrmex</i> Genus of ants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rovno amber</span> Amber found in the Rivne Oblast

Rivne amber, occasionally called Ukrainian amber, is amber found in the Rivne Oblast and surrounding regions of Ukraine and Belarus. The amber is dated between Late Eocene and Early Miocene, and suggested to be contemporaneous to Baltic amber. Major exploration and mining of the amber did not start until the 1990s.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Emeljanov, A. F.; Shcherbakov, D. E. (2011). "A new genus and species of Dictyopharidae (Homoptera) from Rovno and Baltic amber based on nymphs". ZooKeys (130): 175–184. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.130.1775 . PMC   3260758 . PMID   22259275.
  2. 1 2 3 Perkovsky, E. E.; Zosimovich, V. Y.; Vlaskin, A. P. (2010). "Chapter 7: Rovno amber". In Penney, D. (ed.). Biodiversity of Fossils in Amber from the Major World Deposits. Siri Scientific Press. pp. 116–136. ISBN   978-0-9558636-4-6.
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