Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 4486 No. 4: 1 Oct. 2018
Type: Article
Published: 2018-09-30
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4486.4.8
Page range: 548–558
Abstract views: 160
PDF downloaded: 137

A first survey of Cretaceous thrips from Burmese amber including the establishment of a new family of Tubulifera (Insecta: Thysanoptera)

Thrips-iD, Straßburger Straße 37A, 77652 Offenburg, Germany.
Thysanoptera Burmite Cenomanian Myanmarothrips gen. n. Merothripidae new species new genus new family Rohrthripidae fam. n.

Abstract

Burmite, a Cretaceous amber coming from the north of Myanmar, is known to preserve a great diversity of fossil arthropods, particularly insects. Many inclusions of different taxa in several insect orders have been well analysed, but this is the first study focussed on the Thysanoptera found in Burmite. In the sub-order Terebrantia, family Merothripidae, Myanmarothrips pankowskiorum gen. n., sp. n. is recognized in various amber samples from a total of 34 females but only one male. In the sub-order Tubulifera, Rohrthrips burmiticus sp. n. is based on a single female with a tubular tenth abdominal segment. This is an exceptionally well-preserved specimen, and details of the mouth parts indicate that the gnathal apparatus of modern Tubulifera was already developed in the Cretaceous. Due to plesiomorphic characters with respect to extant Tubulifera, the genus Rohrthrips is transferred to Rohrthripidae fam. n., and this family is clearly differentiated from extant Phlaeothripidae.

 

References

  1. Bhatti, J.S. (1979) A revised classification of Thysanoptera. In: Workshop on Advances in Insect Taxonomy in India and the Orient, Manali (H.P.), October 9–12, 1979. Association for the Study of Oriental Insects, Delhi, pp. 46–48.

    Bhatti, J.S. (1986) A new species of Holarthrothrips (Insecta: Terebrantia: Stenurothripidae) from Iraq, with notes on host-plants and key to species, along with clarification of this genus among Thysanoptera. Zoology (Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology), 1, 1–33.

    Bhatti, J.S. (1988) The orders Terebrantia and Tubulifera of the superorder Thysanoptera (Insecta). A critical appraisal. Zoology (Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology), 1, 167–240.

    Buckman, R.S., Mound, L.A. & Whiting, M.F. (2013) Phylogeny of thrips (Insecta: Thysanoptera) based on five molecular loci. Systematic Entomology, 38 (1), 123–133.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3113.2012.00650.x

    Cruickshank, R.D. & Ko, K. (2003) Geology of an amber locality in the Hukawng Valley, northern Myanmar. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 21, 441–455.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/S1367-9120(02)00044-5

    Ellington, C.P. (1980) Wing mechanics and take-off preparation of thrips (Thysanoptera). Journal of Experimental Biology, 85, 129–136.

    Engel, M.S. & Grimaldi, D.A. (2004) New light shed on the oldest insects. Nature, 427, 627–630.
    https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02291

    Gaunt, M.W. & Miles, M.A. (2002) An insect molecular clock dates the origin of the insects and accords with paleontological and biogeographic landmarks. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19, 748–761.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004133

    Grimaldi, D.A. (1996) Amber: Window to the past. Harry N. Abrams Inc. in association with The American Museum of Natural History, New York, 216 pp.

    Grimaldi, D.A., Shmakov, A. & Fraser, N. (2004) Mesozoic thrips and early evolution of the order Thysanoptera (Insecta). Journal of Paleontology, 78, 941–952.
    https://doi.org/10.1666/0022-3360(2004)078%3C0941:MTAEEO%3E2.0.CO;2

    Guo, M., Xing, L., Wang, B., Zhang, W., Wang, S., Shi, A. & Bai, M. (2017) A catalogue of Burmite inclusions. Zoological Systematics, 42 (3), 249–379.
    https://doi.org/10.11865/zs.201715

    Koteja, J. & Azar, D. (2008) Lower Cretaceous Scale Insects. (Hemiptera: Coccinea) from the Hammana outcrops in Central Lebanon. Alavesia, 2, 133–167.

    Lewis, T. (1973) Thrips—Their biology, ecology and economic importance. Academic Press Inc., London, 349 pp.

    McKellar, R.C., Wolfe, A.P., Tappert, R. & Muehlenbach, K. (2008) Correlation of Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake ambers using infrared spectroscopy, stable isotopes, and palaeoentomology. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 45, 1061–1082.
    https://doi.org/10.1139/E08-049

    Moritz, G. (2006) Thripse. In: Moritz, G. (Ed.), Pflanzensaftsaugende Insekten 1. Die Neue Brehm Bücherei. Bd. 663. Westarp Wissenschaften, Hohenwarsleben, pp. 1–384.

    Mound, L.A., Heming, B.S. & Palmer, J.M. (1980) Phylogenetic relationships between the families of recent Thysanoptera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 69, 111–141.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1980.tb01934.x

    Mound, L.A. & Morris, D.C. (2007) The insect order Thysanoptera: classification versus systematics. Zootaxa, 1668, 395–411.

    Mound, L.A. & Marullo, R. (1996) The Thrips of Central and South America: An Introduction (Insecta: Thysanoptera). In: Memoirs on Entomology, International. Vol. 6. Associated Publishers, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 1–487.

    Mound, L.A. & O'Neill, K. (1974) Taxonomy of the Merothripidae, with ecological and phylogenetic considerations (Thysanoptera). Journal of Natural History, 8, 481–509.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00222937400770411

    Nel, P., Peñalver, E., Azar, D., Hodebert, G., & Nel, A. (2010) Modern thrips families Thripidae and Phlaeothripidae in Early Cretaceous amber (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Annales de la Société entomologique de France, New Series, 46 (1–2), 154–163.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2010.10697651

    Nel, P., Azar, D., Prokop, J., Roques, P., Hodebert, G. & Nel, A. (2012) From Carboniferous to Recent: wing venation enlightens evolution of thysanopteran lineage. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 10 (2), 385–399.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2011.598578

    Nel, P., Retana-Salazar, A. P., Azar, D., Nel, A. & Huang, D.-Y. (2014) Redefining the Thripida (Insecta: Paraneoptera). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 12 (7), 865–878.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2013.841781

    Peñalver, E., Labandeira, C.C., Barrón, E., Delclòs, X., Nel, P., Nel, A., Tafforeau, P. & Soriano, C. (2012) Thrips pollination of Mesozoic gymnosperms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109 (22), 8623–8628.
    https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1120499109

    Peñalver, E. & Nel, P. (2010) Hispanothrips from Early Cretaceous Spanish amber, a new genus of the resurrected family Stenurothripidae (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Annales de la Société entomologique de France, 46 (1–2), 1–10.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2010.10697649

    Poinar Junior, G.O., Buckley, R. & Brown, A. (2005) The secrets of Burmese amber. Mid-America Paleontology Society, 29, 20–29.

    Polet, D.T., Flynn, M.R. & Sperling, F.A.H. (2015) A Mathematical Model to Capture Complex Microstructure Orientation on Insect Wings. PLoS ONE, 10 (10), 1–15.

    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0138282

    Sharov, A.G. (1972) On the phylogenetic relations of the order Thripida (Thysanoptera). Entomological Review, 54, 854–858.

    Shi, G., Grimaldi, D.A., Harlow G.E., Wang, J., Wang J., Yang, M., Lei, W., Li, Q. & Li, X. (2012) Age constraint on Burmese amber based on U-Pb dating of zircons. Cretaceous Research, 37, 155–163.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2012.03.014

    Shmakov, A.S. (2008) The Jurassic Thrips Liassothrips crassipes (Martynov, 1927) and Its Taxonomic Position in the Order Thysanoptera (Insecta). Paleontological Journal, 42 (1), 47–52.

    zur Strassen, R. (1973) Fossile Fransenflügler aus mesozoischem Bernstein des Libanon (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, 256, 1–51.

    Thrips Wiki Contributors (2018) Thrips Wiki—providing information on the world’s thrips: Classification overview. Available from: http://thrips.info/wiki/Classification _overview (accessed 31 May 2018)

    Ulitzka, M.R. (2015a) Praemerothrips hoodi Priesner, 1929 and Merothrips balticus sp. nov.—Two new fossils of thrips from Baltic Tertiary amber (Thysanoptera: Merothripidae). Entomologische Zeitschrift, 125 (4), 213–216.

    Ulitzka, M.R. (2015b) Two new species of Aeolothripidae from Baltic Tertiary amber (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Palaeodiversity, 8, 89–94.

    Ulitzka, M.R. (2017) Revision of the fossil Melanthripidae from Baltic Tertiary (Eocene) amber including a new genus (Insecta: Thysanoptera). Entomologische Zeitschrift, 127 (4), 205–212.

    Ulitzka, M.R. (2018) Thrips-iD: Thunder flies. Available from: http://www.thrips-id.com/en/thrips/thunder-flies/ (accessed 8 June 2018)

    Zherikhin, V.V. (2000) A new genus and species of Lophioneuridae from Burmese amber (Thripida (=Thysanoptera): Lophioneurina). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum London, Geology, 56 (1), 39–41.

    Zherikhin, V.V. (2002) Order Thripida Fallen, 1914 (= Thysanoptera Haliday, 1836): The Thrips. In: Rasnitsyn, A.P. & Quicke, D.L.J. (Eds.), History of Insects. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, pp. 1–517.