Paleontologists have described a new species of cricket found in Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar.
Gyeonggi crinalis: (A) Habit in dorsal view; (B) Habit in ventral view; (C) head in dorsal view; (D) Thoracic legs. Scale bars – 0.5 mm. Photo credit: Yuan and many others., doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5330.1.9.
Newly described species are named Gyeonggi crinalis and represents the family of crickets Trigonididae.
„The Trigonididae is a large family Grylloidea (Crickets) are widely distributed in the world,” said Sichuan Agricultural University entomologist Wei Yuan and colleagues.
„This family consists of two subfamilies (Nemophine And Trigonidinae) including 125 genera and 1,034 genera.”
„Trigonididae are characterized by the following characteristics: small size with strong setae over entire body; frons antennal wider than scape; apical and subapical spurs present; metabasitorsomeres irregular except for one apical inner and one apical outer spine.”
„Trigonidiinae, unlike Nemobiinae (most Nemobiinae live and scavenge on leaf litter), are found in a limited number of environments and live mainly on plants, easily distinguished by their triangular head, pronotum smaller than head, claws, protibia. With a single spur, metatibia with three sets of subequal subapical. with spurs and blade-shaped ovipositor.”
According to the authors, science knows about 10 species of extinct crickets.
„Among them, two species from Burmese amber (Burmaninemobius hirsutus And Curvosporus appears) not be employed by any sub-family,” they said.
„These two genera belong to the stem group of Trigonididae and exhibit unique combinatorial traits between Trigonidinae and Nemophinae.”
Amber model with Kyongi crinalis About 99 million years ago.
It was collected from the famous amber deposits at Noyje Pham, near Tanai in the Hukang Valley of northern Myanmar.
„Based on its compound eyes, body elongated in dorsal view, wider than the anus, and with strong setae, Kyongi crinalis could be assigned to the Trigonididae,” the researchers said.
„This new species shares with Trigonidinae a pronotum smaller than the head in dorsal view and a protipia with only one apical spur.”
„Meanwhile, it is similar to Nemophinae in lacking neural claws, the second tarsomere is not as wide or flat, the metatibia has more than three pairs of subapical spurs, and the proximal subapical spurs are much shorter than the distal subapical spurs.”
„Kyongi crinalis It can be distinguished from both of these subfamilies by its unusual head (short clypeus and protruding mandible), metabasidersomere serrulate, and numerous robust setae and hairs throughout the body.
Kyongi crinalis Relatively large head and compound eyes, prominent, rather long jaw.
These characters are more similar to some carnivorous insects than to the typical cricket.
However, all living crickets are omnivores, and there is no conclusive evidence of cricket predation.
„Although it is difficult to verify the feeding habits of this species, Kyongi crinalis The ancient cricket gives us new knowledge about head morphology,” the scientists said.
The Findings Published in the magazine Judaxa.
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Wei Yuan and many others. 2023. A new genus and species of Trigonididae (Orthoptera: Crylloidea) from northern Myanmar amber. Judaxa 5330 (1): 141-146; doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5330.1.9