Tityus apozonalli

Last updated

Tityus apozonalli
Temporal range: Early – Middle Miocene
Tityus apozonalli plosone plate 02 B.jpg
T. apozonalli holotype
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Scorpiones
Family: Buthidae
Genus: Tityus
Species:
T. apozonalli
Binomial name
Tityus apozonalli
Riquelme, Villegas, & González, 2015

Tityus apozonalli is an extinct species of scorpion in the family Buthidae known from a fossil found in North America. The species is one of two scorpions described from Mexican amber and one of seven species from Central American amber deposits. [1]

Contents

History and classification

Tityus apozonalli was described from a solitary fossil, which is preserved as an inclusion in a transparent chunk of Mexican amber. At the time of description, the amber specimen was housed in the fossil collection of the Museo del Ámbar de Chiapas in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Simojovel. The holotype fossil is composed of a very complete adult male recovered from the Guadalupe Victoria site. [1] Mexican amber is recovered from fossil bearing rocks in the Simojovel region of Chiapas, Mexico. The amber dates from between 23 million years old at the oldest and 15 million years at the youngest. The Guadalupe Victoria site is an outcrop of amber bearing strata belonging to the Mazantic Shale and Balumtum Sandstone. The deposits preserve a transitional river or stream environments near the coast and preserves fossils of a mangrove forest ecosystem. [1]

The holotype was first studied by a team of researchers headed by Francisco Riquelme of the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos with their 2015 type description of the species being published in the natural sciences journal PLoS ONE . The specific epithet apozonalli was derived from the Náhuatl word "apozonalli", coined by the Aztecs for amber, and translating as sea bubble or foam. [1]

T. apozonalli is one of two Tityus species described from Mexican amber, the other being Tityus knodeli . Three other species have been described from the similarly aged Dominican amber Tityus azari , Tityus geratus and Tityus hartkorni . [1]

Description

The T. apozonalli is a reddish-brown in overall coloration with the manus pedipalps, and legs a pale yellowish tone. The total body length is 17.8 mm (0.70 in) and a 9.3 mm (0.37 in) metasoma. There are several eyes on the ocular node, with two smaller ocelli placed to the sides of the median node. On the 1.1 mm (0.043 in) chelicerae there are rows of dentition which line up on each side of the jaws and scattered macrosetae on the lower back edges. The enlarged pedipalps have raised ridges along the femur, patella, and the chelae. There are trichobothria present but the exact configuration is hard to determine due to the preservation. Both the fixed and mobile sides of the chela have rows of teeth with a slightly darkened coloration. The underside of the mesosoma clearly shows the paired pecten combs each with twenty-nine teeth. At the rear of the mesosoma the male genitalia are only faintly visible in the subtriangular genital operculum. The telson has both a large Aculeus and a smaller subaculear tubercle. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Cephalotes alveolatus</i> Extinct species of ant

Cephalotes alveolatus is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from a single Middle Miocene fossil found in amber on Hispaniola. At the time of description C. alveolatus was one of seven fossil ant species placed in the Cephalotescoffeae clade.

<i>Cephalotes caribicus</i> Extinct species of ant

Cephalotes caribicus is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from two Middle Miocene fossils found in amber on Hispaniola. At the time of description C. caribicus was one of nine ant species placed in the Cephalotespinelii clade.

Hyptia deansi is an extinct species of ensign wasp in the family Evaniidae known from a solitary Late Oligocene to Early Miocene fossil found in Mexico. H. deansi is the only species in the genus Hyptia to have been described from fossils and the only ensign wasp described from Mexican amber.

Schwenckfeldina archoica is an extinct species of dark winged fungus gnat in the family Sciaridae known from a solitary Late Oligocene to Early Miocene fossil found in Mexico. S. archoica is the only species in the genus Schwenckfeldina to have been described from fossils found in Mexican amber.

Termitaradus protera is an extinct species of termite bug in the family Termitaphididae known from several Late Oligocene to Early Miocene fossils found in Mexico. T. protera is the only species in the extant genus Termitaradus to have been described from fossils found in Mexican amber and is one of four species from new world amber; the others are Termitaradus avitinquilinus, Termitaradus dominicanus and Termitaradus mitnicki. T. protera was also the first termite bug described from the fossil record.

Hymenaea mexicana is an extinct legume species in the family Fabaceae described from a series of isolated fossil petals, leaflets, and amber. The species is known from a group of Late Oligocene to Early Miocene locations in southern Mexico. It is one of two extinct Hymenaea species placed close to the living species Hymenaea verrucosa and along with Hymenaea allendis, is one of the two extinct species which have been found in Mexican amber.

<i>Anochetus conisquamis</i> Extinct species of ant

Anochetus conisquamis is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Ponerinae known from one possibly Miocene fossil found on Hispaniola. A. conisquamis is one of eight species in the ant genus Anochetus to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is one of a number of Anochetus species found in the Greater Antilles.

<i>Anochetus dubius</i> Extinct species of ant

Anochetus dubius is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Ponerinae known from two possibly Miocene fossils found on Hispaniola. A. dubius is one of eight species in the ant genus Anochetus to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is one of a number of Anochetus species found in the Greater Antillies.

Aphaenogaster praerelicta is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from a solitary Late Oligocene to Early Miocene fossil found in Mexico. At the time of description A. praerelicta was one of three Aphaenogaster species known from Mexico.

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

Archimyrmex is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Myrmeciinae, described by palaeoentomologist Theodore Cockerell in 1923. The genus contains four described species, Archimyrmex rostratus, Archimyrmex piatnitzkyi, Archimyrmex smekali and Archimyrmex wedmannae. Archimyrmex is known from a group of Middle Eocene fossils which were found in North America, South America, and Europe. The genus was initially placed in the subfamily Ponerinae, but it was later placed in Myrmeciinae; it is now believed to be the ancestor of the extant primitive genus Myrmecia from Australia. Despite this, Archimyrmex is not a member to any tribe and is regarded as incertae sedis within Myrmeciinae. However, some authors believe Archimyrmex should be assigned as incertae sedis within Formicidae. These ants can be characterised by their large mandibles and body length, ranging from 13.2 to 30 mm. They also have long, thin legs and an elongated mesosoma (thorax) and petiole.

Dicromantispa electromexicana is an extinct species of mantidfly in the neuropteran family Mantispidae known from a fossil found in North America.

Leptopharsa tacanae is an extinct species of lace bug in the family Tingidae. The species is solely known from the Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene Mexican amber deposits. The species is the first lace bug described from Mexican amber.

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

Protopone is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Ponerinae described from fossils found in Europe and Asia. There are seven described species placed into the genus, Protopone? dubia, Protopone germanica, Protopone magna, Protopone oculata, Protopone primigena, Protopone sepulta, and Protopone vetula. Protopone is one several Lutetian Ponerinae genera.

Parastemmiulus is an extinct genus of millipede in the family Stemmiulidae known from a fossil found in Mexico. There is one described species in the genus, Parastemmiulus elektron. The species is one of three millipedes described from Mexican amber, and the oldest Stemmiulidae fossil species as of 2013.

<i>Maatidesmus</i> Extinct genus of millipedes

Maatidesmus is an extinct genus of millipede in the family Chelodesmidae known from a fossil found in North America. There is one described species in the genus, Maatidesmus paachtun, one of three millipedes described from Mexican amber.

<i>Anbarrhacus</i> Extinct genus of millipedes

Anbarrhacus is an extinct genus of millipede in the family Platyrhacidae known from a fossil found in North America. There is one described species in the genus, Anbarrhacus adamantis, which is one of three millipedes described from Mexican amber.

Mexican amber

Mexican amber, also known as Chiapas Amber is amber found in Mexico, created during the late Oligocene and Early Miocene epochs of the Cenozoic Era in southwestern North America. As with other ambers, a wide variety of taxa have been found as inclusions including insects and other arthropods, as well as plant fragments and epiphyllous fungi.

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

Gerontoformica is an extinct genus of stem-group ants. The genus contains thirteen described species known from Late Cretaceous fossils found in Asia and Europe. The species were described between 2004 and 2016, with a number of the species formerly being placed into the junior synonym genus Sphecomyrmodes.

Dolichoderus pinguis is an extinct species of formicid in the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae known from a fossil found in Asia. The species is one of a number in the genus described from fossils.

Formica biamoensis is an extinct species of formicid in the ant subfamily Formicinae known from fossils found in eastern Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Riquelme, F.; Villegas-Guzmán, G.; González-Santillán, E.; Córdova-Tabares, V.; Francke, O. F.; Piedra-Jiménez, D.; Estrada-Ruiz, E.; Luna-Castro, B. (2015). "New Fossil Scorpion from the Chiapas Amber Lagerstätte". PLOS ONE. 10 (8): 1–20. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133396 . PMC   4526686 . PMID   26244974.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.