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Issue: Vol. 8 No. 5: October 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-10-31
DOI: 10.11646/palaeoentomology.8.5.13
Page range: 570-577
Abstract views: 57
PDF downloaded: 4

The oldest fossil record of jump tree bug from mid-Cretaceous amber (Insecta: Hemiptera: Miridae)

School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, 135 Xingangxi Road, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Tianjin 300071, China
School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, 135 Xingangxi Road, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Insecta Hemiptera Miridae new tribe Burmese amber the oldest known fossil Isometopinae

Abstract

A new tribe Cretaloxini tribe. nov. of jumping tree bugs is established for the fossil Cretaloxus wanae gen. et sp. nov., a well-preserved specimen from mid-Cretaceous amber. This taxon is classified within the subfamily Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) and represents the oldest fossil record of Isometopinae found so far from northern Myanmar as well as the whole world. High-resolution habitus photographs of the female holotype (Cretaloxus wanae gen. et sp. nov.) are provided. The new species can be placed in Isometopinae by the following characters: the ocelli present and antennal fossa situated below compound eyes. The fossil serves as a critical source of morphological data, offering novel insights for analyzing the phylogenetic relationships within Miridae through external characters. Specifically, this mid-Cretaceous Burmese fossil may preserve an early morphological stage of Isometopinae, offering key evidence for reconstructing the initial diversification of Miridae.

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