| Electrotettix Temporal range: Burdigalian | |
|---|---|
 | |
| E. attenboroughi encased in amber | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Caelifera |
| Family: | Tetrigidae |
| Subfamily: | Metrodorinae |
| Tribe: | Metrodorini |
| Genus: | † Electrotettix Heads & Thomas, 2014 |
| Species: | †E. attenboroughi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Electrotettix attenboroughi Heads & Thomas, 2014 [1] | |
Electrotettix is an extinct genus of pygmy locust found in amber collected in the Dominican Republic. Represented by a single species, Electrotettix attenboroughi, which lived 18-20 million years ago, it fed primarily on moss, fungi, and algae. [2] The genus name is derived from electrum , Latin for "amber", and Greek tettix , meaning "grasshopper". [2] The species was named after Sir David Attenborough. [3] The female measures 8 millimeters in length: the male is unknown. The species is distinguished from modern members of the Cladonotinae subfamily by the fact that it retains vestigial wings, a feature lost somewhere between the ancient specimens and more modern species. [1] [2] E. attenboroughi was identified from a collection of amber at the Illinois Natural History Survey, which had been stored in a cabinet under a sink since it was collected in the 1950s by entomologist Milton Sanderson. [4]