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Issue: Vol. 1 No. 2: May–June 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-06-24
DOI: 10.11646/mesozoic.1.2.4
Page range: 125–131
Abstract views: 149
PDF downloaded: 78

Morphological features of the Upper Cretaceous planthopper Mimaeurypterus burmiticus suggest specialization for cryptic camouflage on tree bark

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; GeoBio-Center at LMU, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333 München, Germany
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Biocenter, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
fossil Mesozoic Mimaeurypterus burmiticus Myanmar amber planthopper

Abstract

The extinct planthopper family Mimarachnidae is widely known in the Cretaceous of Eurasia. Two new specimens of the monotypic genus Mimaeurypterus Fu & Huang, 2021, from the early Upper Cretaceous of northern Myanmar are described. The intraspecific variation is assessed, and the description supplemented morphology of the head, pronotum, legs, and abdomen is provided. The flattened pronotum and broad forewings are interpreted as adaptations for the reduction of shadows at body margins, thus blurring the body outline of the insect and facilitating crypsis.

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