| Lucihormetica luckae | |
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| Species: | L. luckae |
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| Lucihormetica luckae Vršanský et al., 2012 | |
Lucihormetica luckae is a species of giant cockroach (Blaberidae) from Ecuador.
Like other species in the genus Lucihormetica , L. luckae's back carapace features one small and two large spots that glow when exposed to light (autofluorescence), perhaps to mimic the appearance of the toxic click beetle ( Pyrophorus ) that emits light at the same wavelength, in which case this would be an instance of Batesian mimicry. [1] [2] The evidence for genuine bioluminescence in Lucihormetica cockroaches is anecdotal and inconclusive, [3] [4] though there is evidence for autofluorescence. [5]
The species may be threatened, or even extinct, as only one specimen has ever been collected, some 70 years ago. [6] In addition Tungurahua, the Ecuadorian volcano that served as the species' habitat, entered a new eruptive phase in 1999. [7] [8] [9]
The species was listed among the Top 10 New Species 2012 as selected by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University out of more than 140 nominated species. [6] [10]
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production of light, mainly during twilight, to attract mates. Light production in the Lampyridae is thought to have originated as an honest warning signal that the larvae were distasteful; this was co-opted as a mating signal in the adults. In a further development, female fireflies of the genus Photuris mimic the flash pattern of Photinus species to trap their males as prey.
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus Vibrio; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves.
Dryolestes is an extinct genus of Late Jurassic mammal from the Morrison Formation and the Alcobaça Formation of Portugal. The type species Dryolestes priscus is present in stratigraphic zones 2, 5, and 6.
Paralligatoridae is an extinct family of neosuchian crocodyliforms that existed during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It includes the genera Paralligator, Brillanceausuchus, Kansajsuchus, Shamosuchus, Scolomastax, Sabresuchus, Rugosuchus, Batrachomimus and Wannchampsus, as well as the yet-unnamed "Glen Rose form".
Eudromaeosauria is a subgroup of terrestrial dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaurs. They were small to large-sized, feathered hypercarnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period.
Worthenella is a genus of enigmatic arthropod from the Burgess Shale. It known from a single specimen described initially as an annelid by Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1911. The body is elongate and myriapod-like with a head and at least 46 body segments. The head bears poorly preserved appendages, while filamentous branched structures appear to run along the underside of the first 34 trunk segments, with the posterior 8 suggested to have had longer appendages. In 2013, David Legg placed it in the family Kootenichelidae as a sister to Kootenichela, based on the supposed presence of antenniform head appendages. However, this position was questioned in a later study, which argued that the supposed antenniform appendages were actually taphonomic artefacts.
Lucihormetica is a South American genus of giant cockroaches from the family Blaberidae, collectively referred to as glowspot cockroaches. It has been anecdotally reported that the thoracic spots of males are bioluminescent, but detailed research has been unable to conclusively prove this, although evidence for autofluorescence exists. The genus includes both relatively common and rare species: For example, L. verrucosa is relatively common and sometimes kept in captivity, while eight of the remaining species only are known from a single specimen each.
Necrolestes is an extinct genus of mammals, which lived during the Early Miocene in what is now Argentine Patagonia. It is the most recent known genus of Meridiolestida, an extinct group of mammals more closely related to therians than to monotremes, which were the dominant mammals in South America during the Late Cretaceous. It contains two species, N. patagonensis and N. mirabilis; the type species N. patagonensis was named by Florentino Ameghino in 1891 based on remains found by his brother, Carlos Ameghino in Patagonia. Fossils of Necrolestes have been found in the Sarmiento and Santa Cruz Formations. Its morphology suggests that it was a digging, subterranean-dwelling mole-like mammal that fed on invertebrates.
Lathyrus clymenum, also called Spanish vetchling, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the Mediterranean. The seeds are used to prepare a Greek dish called fava santorinis. The plant is cultivated on the island of Santorini in Greece and was recently added to the European Union's products with a Protected Designation of Origin.
Yulong is an extinct genus of derived oviraptorid theropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Henan Province, central China. It contains a single species, Yulong mini. It is known from many juvenile specimens that represent some of the smallest known oviraptorids and also a single subadult specimen.
Spermozoros impolitus is a species of insect in the order Zoraptera.
Batrachomimus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodyliform known from the Late Jurassic Pastos Bons Formation of northeastern Brazil. It contains a single species, Batrachomimus pastosbonensis, with the specific name referring to the formation, which was first described and named by Felipe C. Montefeltro, Hans C. E. Larsson, Marco A. G. de França and Max C. Langer in 2013. It is known from a nearly complete skull, osteoderms and limb bones. Batrachomimus belongs to the family Paralligatoridae and predates all other members of the family and its immediate sister group, Eusuchia, by 30 million years.
Acheroraptor is an extinct genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur known from the latest Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of Montana, United States. It contains a single species, Acheroraptor temertyorum. A. temertyorum is one of the two geologically youngest known species of dromaeosaurids, the other being Dakotaraptor, which is also known from Hell Creek. A basal cousin of Velociraptor, Acheroraptor is known from upper and lower jaw material.
The year 2013 in Archosaur paleontology was eventful. Archosaurs include the only living dinosaur group — birds — and the reptile crocodilians, plus all extinct dinosaurs, extinct crocodilian relatives, and pterosaurs. Archosaur palaeontology is the scientific study of those animals, especially as they existed before the Holocene Epoch began about 10,000 years ago. The year 2013 in paleontology included various significant developments regarding archosaurs.
Lucihormetica verrucosa is a species of giant cockroach in the family Blaberidae, commonly known as the warty glowspot cockroach. It is native to Venezuela and Colombia.
Meridiolestida is an extinct clade of mammals known from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic of South America and possibly Antarctica. They represented the dominant group of mammals in South America during the Late Cretaceous. Meridiolestidans were morphologically diverse, containing both small insectivores such as the "sabretooth-squirrel" Cronopio, as well as the clade Mesungulatoidea/Mesungulatomorpha, which ranged in size from the shrew-sized Reigitherium to the dog-sized Peligrotherium. Mesungulatoideans had highly modified dentition with bunodont teeth, and were likely herbivores/omnivores. Meridiolestidans are generally classified within Cladotheria, more closely related to living marsupials and placental mammals (Theria) than to monotremes, barring one study recovering them as the sister taxa to spalacotheriid "symmetrodonts". However, more recent studies have stuck to the cladotherian interpretation. Within Cladotheria, they have often been placed in a group called Dryolestoidea together with Dryolestida, a group of mammals primarily known from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of the Northern Hemisphere. However, some analyses have found this group to be paraphyletic, with the meridiolestidans being more or less closely related to therian mammals than dryolestidans are. Meridiolestidans differ from dryolestidans in the absence of a parastylar hook on the molariform teeth and the lack of a Meckelian groove.
Achyrodon is an extinct genus of mammal from the Berriasian epoch of Early Cretaceous southern England. The taxon was first described by Richard Owen in 1871 for teeth from the Lulworth Formation. The taxon has been considered a synonym of co-existing Amblotherium pusillum, but can be distinguished by differences in the dental anatomy and an overall smaller size. Achyrodon was closely related to co-existing genus Phascolestes and the slightly younger European form Crusafontia, and together they make up the subfamily Kurtodontinae within Dryolestidae, a family of early mammals between modern monotremes and therians with no living descendants.
Phascolestes is a genus of extinct mammal from the Berriasian epoch of Early Cretaceous Southern England. The type and only species is Phascolestes mustelulus, which was named by Richard Owen in 1871 for dental material from the Lulworth Formation. Phascolestes is a close relative of co-existing taxon Achyrodon within the subfamily Kurtodontinae of the family Dryolestidae, with Kurtodon being a junior synonym of Phascolestes although the subfamily name is still applicable.
Spalacotherium is a genus of extinct mammal from the Early Cretaceous of Europe. The type species Spalacotherium tricuspidens was originally named by Richard Owen in 1854, and its material includes maxillary and dentary fragments and many teeth from the Berriasian Lulworth Formation of southern England. Referred species include S. taylori, S. evansae and S. hookeri also from the Lulworth deposits, and S. henkeli from Barremian deposits of Galve, Spain. The Lulworth taxon Peralestes longirostris, named by Owen in 1871, is a junior synonym of the type species S. tricuspidens. Spalacotherium is the namesake taxon of the family Spalacotheriidae, which is an extinct clade within Trechnotheria that may be closely related to the Gondwanan clade Meridiolestida, or united with the family Zhangheotheriidae to form Symmetrodonta.S. evansae is also from the Berriasian aged Angeac-Charente bonebed in western France.
Mesoblattinidae is an extinct, problematic family of cockroaches known from the Mesozoic. It was formerly considered a wastebasket taxon for Mesozoic cockroaches, but the family has subsequently been better defined, with many taxa transferred to Caloblattinidae. It is considered to have close affinities with Blattidae and Ectobiidae, as well as possibly Blaberidae. The family first appeared by the Early Jurassic. They are considered to represent amongst the oldest groups of modern cockroaches, and like them are thought to have laid oothecae.
